Chapter 13

Cassandra glared with annoyance as she thought of the night before.

It was the first time she was to see the boss face-to-face.

She had dressed perfectly for the occasion having been tipped off before of the occurrence of Clara Kane's famed dinner and had taken painstakingly long to get ready.

Her gown had been gorgeous, showing off her assets and hugging her just right.

She had taken her time making sure her hair was beautiful and that her makeup could seduce any man that laid eyes on her.

It had been the best chance she could have ever gotten; the perfect first-impression.

Before foolish Tim had ruined everything.

Tim had started a sexual relationship with Cassandra a month before and the two had had a thrilling time.

Something about misbehaving with a taken man set Cassandra's pulse racing and it was clear Tim could give her a good time.

Cassandra had had more fun spotting Tim's girlfriend among the guests at the hall.

Although she had first wondered how rich Tim's girlfriend really was to afford a dinner there, what had annoyed her even more was Tim's reaction.

He'd made a scene when he'd heard his girlfriend scream his name all the way down from where she'd sat.

He'd scampered and Cassandra had hated it.

Scampered down the stairs where his small, insignificant girlfriend and her companions were quickly exiting the dining area.

Tim had been cheating on the blond anyway.

Why was he so eager to appease her?

He had left her, the stunning Cassandra, by herself on the stairs while he'd hurried down to the panicking ugly woman he had been dating.

Cassandra could scoff about it all day.

What had made matters worse and really heightened her rage, however, had been Bruce.

He was the one she was seething at.

Bruce had stepped down quickly from the stairs that night, and without giving her even the barest of glances, waved at them dismissively.

That had been it.

She had tried to protest but the glare he shot her had shut her up.

Cassandra fumed silently before taking a deep breath.

She willed the headache to go away as she glanced at her reflection.

Tight dark jeans hugged her legs and showed her very curvy behind. The dark green V-neck she wore was much too low and her lips shone red.

She nodded to herself.

If she saw the man today, he would fall straight into her lap.

--

Sasha placed the spoon back into the empty bowl.

The peach cobbler had been delicious.

She eyes the delicacies that sat on the table with sad eyes.

The brunette was too full to eat anything else but the food looked so tasty.

It was clear the Kanes were all about quality and excellence. Even the Peach cobbler she'd been handed by the man next to her and blown her mind. It was the most perfect Peach Cobbler she had ever had.

She sighed as she eyed the empty bowl in her hand.

Her cousins were right.

There was nothing wrong with Bruce asking for a quality check every week.

They were new to this business and especially to events of this large a scale.

It was foolish of Sasha to still ride the high of the successful business venture before. They were still novices and needed more experience before they could earn the confidence of the people around them.

Sasha was glad she still had a million ideas and lots of passion for the projects ahead but Bruce had not been wrong to suggest an inspection as he had.

She turned her head slowly to look at him.

Clara Kane was speaking to Rayne and Rayne was taking his final notes of the meeting, his head nodding vigorously every so often as the young heiress spoke.

Bruce's eyes were focused on his employer.

Sasha looked at him closely for the first time.

He was a handsome man. Handsome in less of a shocking way and in more of a stern way.

Her stomach flipped and she blinked.

She needed to stop herself.

She'd done this before.

Sasha was known for building entire fantasies about her partner inside her head and then getting sorely disappointed. That's why she'd sworn to herself to never entertain a crush again.

Biting her lip, she peeked at him again.

He had a strong jaw and intelligent eyes. His eyebrows seemed to perpetually pinch together and she could see gentle lines along his forehead. His dark red hair was slicked back flawlessly and he had a strong neck.

He caught her eye and heat flushed up her ears.

Bruce's gaze shifted to Clara Kane quickly and then back at Sasha's face.

He frowned slightly before raising an eyebrow.

Sasha shook her head no and turned away.

She blinked several times and forced herself to focus on what Clara was saying.

Thankfully, her cousin and the wealthy client had not paid any attention to her.

She could still feel Bruce's eyes on her and her cheeks burnt up.

How stupid of her.

He'd caught her staring at him; gawking more like. She'd clearly been admiring him too.

Sasha wanted to kick herself.

They were here on business. Important business that could take their company to bigger and better things far above what even their imaginations could fathom.

This was not the time for Sasha to be entertaining dim thoughts of falling in love with anyone. Especially not the extremely serious and severe Bruce Slader.

Sasha felt an ache in her chest when she thought of what love had done to Leah.

Her poor cousin was probably still curled up in bed unable to move from the pain that worthless jerk of a boyfriend had caused her.

Sasha grew resolute.

They were here on business and business was what Sasha would conduct.

The cousins would make sure to give the Kanes an event they would never forget. After this current meeting was over, Rayne and Sasha would rush home and comfort Leah and take care of her.

There were only two things on the agenda for the next month and Bruce Slader was not on the list.