Destined To Fall (4 page)

“Can I get you anything else, baby?” Jarred asks. Quinn shakes her head quietly, something I’ve never seen her do. Jarred gets up and follows behind Drew,
heading towards the bar situated in the middle of the big space.
“Are you okay, Quinny?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”Her voice is forced and a little too high pitched. Both attributes
give away her lie. But I drop it. We’ll talk about it later, when we’re alone. An
awkward silence fills the space between us, until Drew and Jarred arrive back
at our table. Drew places my drink on the table, and takes a seat alongside me.
“One dirty martini for the lady,” he says, smirking at me. Something about it
makes my skin crawl.
“Thanks.”
“So, Cassey,” Drew begins. He smiles at me in with what I think is meant to
be a flirtatious grin, but instead it’s just creepy. “Tell me about yourself.”

And so it begins. The tedious process of divulging the little nuances that make
me Cassey Emerson. The only time I don’t pretend to be interested in our boring conversation is when I tell Drew about my job. I can’t help the excitement
in my voice when I talk about my career, and how much I love what I do. Not
that Drew is paying any attention. He’s too busy texting on his phone. So I
change the topic, and ask about him instead.

Big mistake.
While he prattles on about his own job (of course he’s an investment banker, duh.) and the material objects that he owns, I notice three things. 1. He’s
vain, to the point that if I gave him a mirror, he’d probably flirt with his own
reflection. 2. He’s a douche bag. And 3. Kyler hasn’t taken his eyes off of us
since Drew sat down next to me. I can feel the penetrating heat of his cool blue
eyes boring into the side of my face. I chance a peek, but as soon as my head
turns, he looks away, pretending to be enthralled by the busty blonde currently
attached to his side.

I think I’ve had enough of egotistical men and their idiocies for one night. I’ll
just have to satisfy the ache between my legs with a hot bath and my B.O.B.
He never lets me down.

“But it’s still early,” Quinn whines.
“I’m tired,” I lie. If my Southern manners weren’t so deeply embedded in my
brain I would tell them all I’m bored as hell. But I won’t. Instead I make some
feeble excuse about a late night last night, which Quinn knows is complete
rubbish, and gather my purse.
“Are you coming home tonight?” I ask Quinn, standing up.
“No, I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”
I hug her goodbye, and head for the door.
“It was nice meeting you, Drew. Maybe I’ll see you again some time.”
He smiles, having the audacity to look disappointed that I’m leaving.
“You too, Cassey..”
I leave the crowded bar and hail a cab instead of walking all the way home.Too
bad I can’t get far enough away from the cool blue eyes that now belong to a
real face. A face that is more than what I conjured up in a dream
^.

I walk into my little office, feeling energized and enthusiastic about my day.
I take out my company issued MacBook Pro and connect it to the monitor
on my desk, before walking the short distance to our kitchenette. The smell
of fresh coffee assaults my nose and even though I stopped at Starbucks this
morning on my way to the office, I can’t resist a fresh cup of java.

I mentally run through my To-Do list for today as I walk back to my office,
coffee in hand. The office is still pretty quiet, and I decided to come in an hour
earlier today to get some extra work done.

A warm, deep voice greets me on the other end and I grip my coffee mug
tighter, just to stop my skin from breaking out in goosebumps. “Good Morning, Miss Emerson.”
It takes me a minute to recognize the voice. I’m a little distracted by the way it
practically melts over my name. Sweet baby Jesus.
I finally find my own voice and force my words out, trying not to sound affected. “Good morning, Mr. Knight. What can I do for you?”

“We have some things to discuss. I will have lunch ready for us in my office
at twelve p.m sharp. I expect you to be on time.” His tone is clipped, agitated
almost, and I wonder what it is that we could possibly have to discuss. Unless
he’s going to chew me a new one for being a little rude to him last night.

“Okay, Mr. Knight,” I reply politely. The line clicks and he’s gone. I stare at my
phone as if it might possibly have an explanation for what just happened. After
several minutes, I finally put my phone down and pull myself towards myself
enough to start working. I check my emails, glancing at the clock every fifteen
minutes as it gets closer to twelve o’clock. By now the office has filled up and
there are people teeming around trying to cram as much as they into one day.
At eleven, my desk phone rings, breaking me out of my work-induced haze.
“Cassey Emerson speaking,” I say automatically.

“Hey bitch.” It’s Quinn.
I smile. “Well if it isn’t my nymphomaniac best friend,” I reply, teasing.
“Oh shut up. You’re just jealous because you’re not getting any sexy time.”
I snort. “Okay, Quinny, whatever you say.”
“You could remedy that you know. Just have one night with Kyler and you’ll
be good to go.”
“Is there another reason you called, besides encouraging me to screw my new
boss?”
Quinn hums on the other end of the line, and I can picture her at her desk, a
pencil in her hand with an article in front of her and her dark rimmed glasses
she only wears at the office.
“Oh yes,” she exclaims. “Drew is going to call you. I think he might ask you to
go as his date to his parents anniversary next weekend.”
I groan. “Why?” There’s a brief pause and then it hits me. “And how the hell
did he get my number, Quinn?”
Silence. Except for Quinn’s breathing on the other end.
“Quinn?”
“Ok, fine,” she sighs. “I gave it to him after you left. I thought you two could
get to know each other while’s in the city this week.”
“And you didn’t think to ask me before giving him my number?”
“I didn’t think you’d mine, Cass.”
“Well, I do. I don’t like him, and if you have some elaborate plot up your sleeve
to get me to sleep with him, you have a better chance of getting me into bed
with Kyler.”
Saying his name makes me look up at the clock. Only fifteen minutes have
passed, and I feel like time is deliberately slowing down to torture me.
“Speaking of which,” I add quickly. “He called me.”
“Who did? Kyler?” Quinn’s voice raises an octave and I can literally hear her
perk up.
“Yes. He told me to meet him in his office. He’s ordering lunch?”
“Did he say why he wants to see you?”
“All he said was that we have something to talk about, and then he hung up.”
Quinn goes quiet for a few moments, thinking about what this means, no
doubt.
“I give it two weeks,” she says.
I frown. “Give what two weeks?” I ask, confused by her statement.
“That’s how long it’ll take before you screw him.”
My irritation starts to boil, simmering just below the surface. Quinn is being
too pushy about this, and it’s starting to annoy me. “Are you being serious right
now, Quinn?”
“Yip.”
“How can you be so sure?” I ask. “We barely know each other. I met him yesterday for God’s sake!”
Quinn snickers, and I know she’s doing it to rile me up. She gets a kick out of
pushing my buttons from time to time. “Trust me, you don’t need to know a
man to ‘bump uglies’, as you call it.”
“Well maybe you don’t,” I retort quickly. “But I do. And what makes you think
I’d want to have sex with Kyler anyway?”
“Because anything with a vagina wants to sleep with him. Except me.”
I roll my eyes. “Okay, whatever, Quinn. I’m done with this conversation. You’re
wrong, and I’m going to prove it.”
“If you say so, Cass, but I’m only looking out for you sexual well-being, and I
look forward to hearing about how good Kyler is in bed.”Too late. I’m already
thinking about it.
“Enough!” I cry out. “I’m seeing him in fifteen minutes and the last thing I
want to think about is how good he is in the sack. Now, change of topic please.
Are you going to be home tonight?”
“Yes, and dinner is on me.”
“No Jarred?”
“Not tonight,”Quinn replies.“Or for the next five days.The red taxi is in town.”
“Join the club,” I mutter. “A girls night is in order then. I’ll bring the vino, and
you can bring the Ben & Jerry’s.”
“Sounds like a date. I expect a full report on your meeting with Mr. Knight,”
Quinn says, her voice imitating that of a love-sick school girl.
“Okay, I’ll see you later.”
“Bye babe.”
I put my phone down, very aware of the nerves that have suddenly taken residence in my belly.
It’s Quinn, and her silly ideas. She never knows when to quit it. I glance at my
watch one last time, and prepare myself. For what, I have no idea, but I feel
preparation is needed. I’m nothing if not professional.

I put my phone down, grinning. I had no reason to call Cassey, but I wanted
to see her, and what better way to make that happen than pull the ‘boss’ card.
Not that it’s complete bullshit, since my father did ask me to help her.
I pass the remainder of my morning by with reports, phone calls and meetings
with board members. It’s only my second day here, but I’m already working
hard. Knight Media is my father’s legacy. He started it from the ground up before I was born. And now he’s preparing me to step into his shoes, so that one
day soon, this will all be mine.
My desk phone rings and I pick it up.

“Knight,” I say as a greeting. Just like my old man.
My assistant Nilkola’s voice comes through on the other end. “Mr Knight,
there’s a Cassey Emerson here to see you.”
“Let her in,” I reply, smiling again. “And please order us some lunch from the
deli on the corner.”
“Of course, Mr. Knight.”
A few minutes go by and then my office doors open. Cassey walks in and
something in the air shifts, keeping my eyes locked on her. I rise slowly, as
if my body remembers that I do have manners, and watch her walk towards
my desk. Her long brown hair hangs just past her breasts, her curls bouncing
with each step. Her tight skirt wraps around her body, showing off the most
exquisite curves I’ve ever seen on a woman’s body. And I’ve seen my fair share
of those. The black blouse she’s wearing fits snug and gives me but a glimpse
of the roundness of her breasts. Our eyes clash, and I’m in no way embarrassed
that she caught me eye-fucking her.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Knight.” Her voice is professional, and formal, nothing
like the snippy tone she had at the bar last night.
“Please, call me Kyler,” I reply, gesturing for her take a seat. She hesitates,
fighting a smile and finally obliges.

We stare at each other for a moment. The temperature in the room rises, and
the sudden sexual tension crackles to life between us. I imagine that if the energy flowing between us now had a sound, it would be like a crack of lightning,
loud and obtrusive.
The slight stutter of Cassey’s pulse reveals that she feels it too. Her muscles
tense, and her posture becomes frigid, like she’s fighting the undulated surge
that surrounds us.
“My father tells me you are preparing a presentation for the Board next week,”
I say, breaking the somewhat awkward silence.
“How is that going?”

Cassey looks stunned, but then recovers quickly. “Uh, yes, I’m meeting with
them next week friday, and so far I think everything is on schedule for the presentation.”
“Good. So what nights are you available this week?”
Her mouth almost drops. “Excuse me?”
“I’m helping you with your presentation, so tell me what night’s you’re available so we can work on it together.”
Her brows dip and I feel an argument coming on. Unfortunately, my assistant
chooses that exact moment to walk into my office. Her timing couldn’t be
worse, and it has somehow muted the tension that cloaked the room only seconds ago. But I can’t be too annoyed about that, considering she’s putting our
lunch on my desk and I’m starving. I thank her and she scurries out my office,
giving Cassey the stink eye on her way out. Women.They can be so full of shit,
and if I didn’t know better, I’d say she was sizing Cassey up the way an opponent would. Too bad, because the only woman I’m even remotely interested in
right now is the one frowning at me.
I ignore it, and take a bite of my sandwich. Cassey’s eyes dart to my mouth,
watching the way it wraps around my food. She shifts, squirming in her seat.
If I didn’t have food in my mouth right now I would smirk, knowing that she’s
turned on. I wonder if her nipples are hard too? Because fuck, that would turn
me on.
“What makes you think I need your help?”
Now it’s my turn to look a little surprised. Cassey clearly has no problem
speaking her mind, and I like it. A lot.
“Forgive me,” she says quickly, realizing her mistake. “That was rude of me, Mr
Knight. What I meant was I don’t need your help, but thank you for offering.”
Well I’ll be damned. It’s the first time a woman has ever been so straight forward with me. If I wasn’t turned on by the way she’s trying not to undress me
with her bedroom eyes, I sure as hell am after she practically told me off.
“I wasn’t offering. I’m helping you.”
“And I don’t need it,” Cassey replies. “I’m doing just fine on my own.”
I smirk, knowing I’m going to win this round because she just doesn’t have a
choice. I finish off my sandwich and throw the wrapper away. When I look at
Cassey, her eyes are hard, and determined. She hasn’t touched her food.
“It’s going to happen, Cassey, so why not save yourself the trouble and tell me,
your office or mine.”
Her cheeks flush and I’m positive she’s thinking the same thing I am. Even so,
I have an argument to win, and I’m willing to bet that she’s going to put up a
fight. In fact, I want her to put up a fight. It excites me, and it also unnerves
me.
I’ve never chased a woman before, they’ve always sought me out first. But
Cassey Emerson can’t seem to stomach the sight of me, and yet, her body says
otherwise.