006

Cassandra’s POV 

I took several shaky breaths as I tried to calm my racing nerves, but I couldn’t relax, especially not with that man in the same room as me.

How could he do it? One minute he was flirting with me, and the next, he was back to being cold and professional.

“Erm… we’re going to give you…” I stuttered as I tried to explain my proposal, looking like a complete fool because nothing I said made sense.

“Thanks for the presentation, Ms. Monroe,” he said, voice cool and clipped, “but it looks like you’ll need to come back with another proposal. Make sure you’re better prepared.”

“No!” I blurted, cutting him off. “We need to have this meeting now. I can convince you..you won’t regret partnering with us.”

“Really? Humor me,” he rumbled, that husky voice crawling under my skin. I rolled my eyes, wondering why the man seemed determined to make my life hell. I continued my presentation, but my mind faltered every time his piercing gaze met mine.

Get a grip, Sandra! What the hell are you doing? I screamed in my head, trying to steady my breathing, but Dante’s unimpressed expression told me I was failing miserably.

“Thanks for your presentation, Ms. Monroe,” he said calmly, “but you’ll need to bring me something better before we can discuss a contract.”

I nodded quickly, wiping the sweat off my forehead. “Okay,” I mumbled as I stood from the seat, but he suddenly grabbed my hand. I jumped, startled, and he chuckled.

“Funny,” he teased.

“Goodbye, Mr. Blackwell!” I managed, cheeks burning with embarrassment.

“See you again, Ms. Monroe, my full-course meal,” he drawled, and my face flamed redder as I hurried out of the room.

I knew my supervisor would kill me if she ever found out what transpired in there, but I didn’t care. I was just glad I escaped with my dignity and clothes barely intact. Still, I wasn’t sure how much longer I could resist the temptation before begging that man to fuck me.

Could this horniness be because of my breakup? Damn, I really needed a drink.

It was already past office hours, so I couldn’t go back to the office, but I didn’t want to go home either. If I did, I’d just crash and spiral over Nicholas’s betrayal. I’d been keeping it together because work kept me busy, but alone in my room, I knew I’d lose it.

“What am I going to..” I muttered under my breath outside the building, but my phone rang, flashing Mira. I answered immediately, desperate for a distraction.

“Mira, let’s go to the club tonight!” I said, my voice bursting with relief, but my excitement faded when I heard her reply.

“Sorry, girl, I can’t. It’s my grandfather’s birthday tonight, we’re having a family dinner. You should come! I promise it’ll be fun.”

“No, go without me. I’ll be fine,” I said.

“Please, come with me. You know my grandparents adore you,” she urged, and she wasn’t wrong. Mira’s grandparents doted on me like family.

After much persuasion, I finally agreed to attend the birthday dinner. I stopped by the mall first to pick out a gift for old man Blackwell, even though I knew whatever I bought would be nothing compared to what others would bring.

Mira picked me up later.

“Can you at least smile, Sandra? You look like you’re heading to my grandfather’s funeral,” she teased, pouting as I climbed into the car.

Mirabelle Blackwell, brown-eyed, stylish, and stunning was living the dream. Her sense of fashion was flawless, and since she owned her own fashion house, she was thriving. She was everything I wasn’t, yet I never envied her. Mira was the kind of friend every girl wished she had.

“I know,” I sighed, “but that screaming witch at work is making my life miserable, I don’t know things have just been… hectic.” I left out the details.

If I told her about Nicholas’s betrayal, I’d ruin her night. And no way was I mentioning the middle-aged man I couldn’t stop lusting after right after a breakup.

She would murdered me for the thought of it. 

“I’m sorry,” Mira said softly. “Maybe we can plan a weekend getaway so you can let off some steam.”

We drove off toward the Blackwell ancestral mansion, one of the most majestic buildings I’d ever seen, and arrived late in the evening.

The elders welcomed me warmly. It wasn’t my first time there, so I settled in easily, but being with the family still made me feel like an outsider. Mira noticed and took me out to the garden.

The garden was breathtaking flowers in full bloom, the night air crisp, but my attention snagged on a man standing there, smoking. His back looked familiar, the slope of his shoulders, the dark hair. Even without seeing his face, something in me knew I’d met him before.

“Who are you?” Mira asked, and my breath hitched as the man turned around.

It was him.

“Long time no see, Mirabella,” he rasped, but his gaze locked on me. My stomach flipped.

“Uncle Dante!” Mira squealed, running to him. I froze.

Uncle Dante?

“I’m thrilled to see you,” she said, hugging him tight. “But put out that cigar! The smoke’s bad for the plants, and if Grandmother catches you, you’re dead.”

My mind spun. Her uncle? The same man I’d just humiliated myself in front of? No fucking way!

“So, Uncle Dante,” Mira continued cheerfully, “this is my best friend, Cassandra. Cassandra, this is my uncle Dante, the Casanova I told you about.”

I felt sweat bead on my forehead.

“Uncle? What nonsense are you saying?” I whispered, praying it was a joke.

How could the man I’d been running from be tied to me like this?

“You heard me right,” she said with a grin. “That’s my Uncle Dante, the Casanova himself.”

I stared at him in disbelief.

I’ll be goddamned.