Cassandra’s POV
It was only three days after the bathroom incident that another strange thing happened. I was getting dressed, and when I reached into my underwear drawer, I felt something cold.
I recoiled my hand and peered in.
“Ahhhh!” I screamed in shock.
Cassandra’s POV “Come on. What else do we have going on? It’s a palace!” I’d hung up with Blaire Montgomery, who had learned that I was in Paris and called me immediately. It hadn’t even occurred to me to call her to tell her that I’d be in town. Of course, she insisted that we both come and visit her. She was sending a car for us first thing tomorrow morning. All I had to do was text her the address of my villa. I told her we could only stay a couple of nights. She’d said it was better than nothing. Jordyn was hesitant though. “You barely know her,” he said. “And now you want to get in a car with some stranger and go god knows where?” “I do know her,” I protested. “She’s a client and a friend. I had lunch with her a while back in the city when she was there for some sort of gala. She’s a riot, really. A wonderful person. And she’s a dutchess. She’s legit royalty, Jordyn. Stop making it sound like she’s some sort of mu
Cassandra’s POV I felt positively giddy when we left the store front. “Let’s go shopping,” I said, taking Jordyn’s hand. I’d been a billionaire for a few months now, but I hadn’t really bought anything significant. What did I need to buy? Stanley had left me his estate and a yacht. I’d bought some new furniture for the estate, and some clothes, but other than that, my money had pretty much sat in the bank. I didn’t realize how good it felt to spend a shit ton of money. The realtor said she would reach out to the client to see if they were willing to sell. “Make them an offer they can’t refuse,” I said flippantly. “And call me as soon as you have.” Then we shook hands and Jordyn and I left. “Cassandra,” Jordyn said. “I’m not sure you need to BUY the place. I mean, what if it doesn’t work out or…” “Then I’ll own a beautiful store in the most beautiful city in the world and I’ll find somet
Cassandra’s POV “I don’t get it,” I said, my head tilted to the side. We were in the Louvre staring at the Mona Lisa. The iconic painting was a lot smaller than I thought it would be. It looked far less imposing than I’d imagined. “Don’t get what?” Jordyn asked. “I guess I don’t get why this painting is so famous,” I said. “I mean, the woman’s kinda ugly. Don’t you think?” “It has something to do with her smile,” Jordyn said, leaning in close and dropping his voice to a whisper. “No one knows what she’s smiling at. It’s like she has a secret.” I stared at the painting again, but I just didn’t see it. Needless to say, of all the famous paintings we’d seen that day, the Mona Lisa was NOT one of my favorites. We left the ugly lady painting and strolled off to look at some more art. But I glanced at my watch as we passed some paintings by an artist I’d never heard of. To my surprise, our realtor had c
Cassandra’s POV Two days into our Paris adventure, and I was smitten with the city. It felt like everywhere I turned, there was a new surprise. Including my amazing villa! Jordyn and I decided to stay at the villa because why not? And the moment I saw it, I was happy we had. It was…Parisian at its finest, with beautiful architecture, a sitting parlour, and five stunning bedrooms. It was right in the heart of the city too and – get this – it had a view of the Eiffel tower. Jordyn and I sat out on the balcony our first night there and marveled at lights of the tower. It lit up at night, something I hadn’t known about, and it looked positively magical. I couldn’t get enough of everything, from the cobblestone streets to the cute little cafes to the art museums. There was something about the air in Paris. It just smelled different, fresher, more full of possibilities. “Would you stop sniffing the air like a craz
Cassandra’s POV Later that night, I filled Dillon in over a glass of wine out on the veranda. Apparently, Jordyn had already been planning a trip to Paris to check in on some of his European vacation homes left to him in Stanley’s will. When he heard the word Paris come up in our conversation, he’d stopped and listened. He reminded me that I had a villa in Paris, also left to me by Stanley. I’d completely forgotten about it. Then he told me it would be a great opportunity for us to get started on some of the charities we’d planned. Stanley always had a soft spot for Paris, so Jordyn wanted to start a charity there, along with some national ones here of course. I’d told Jordyn that I had to talk it over with Dillon. If Dillon wanted to come, then Jordyn could still go too, but I’d want some extra alone time with Dillon in Paris to take in some of the more romantic aspects of the city. “So?” I asked, sipping from my glass. “What do you think?
Cassandra’s POV Laura’s big cast was off and had been replaced with a lighter, smaller cast, so she could get around a lot better now. When we called her, she insisted on meeting us in our office. I was willing to set aside my personal feelings about Laura for the sake of our company. Even though the whole fabric thing had ended in a fiasco, Laura had made the right decision about the fabric the last time we called her in. It wasn’t Laura’s fault that our silly intern had plastered pics of our secret fabric all over the internet. Milan or Paris. It was a big decision, and even though Laura was a sociopathic bitch who had tried to blow up my car, she had a brilliant mind when it came to business. “Well, let’s hear it,” she said, sitting in our boardroom. “Pros and cons of both? Market research? Possible locations? Whatcha got?” Stella and I both looked at each other. Stella shrugged. “That’s the problem,” Stella said. “