Chapter 5: Talks and T***s

Cassandra’s POV

“Come on,” Cameron said, tugging my hand. We saw Jordyn’s figure approaching us. He just have followed us into the parkade.

“Can you…just go ahead without me? To the car? I won’t be long, I promise.”

Cameron studied my face. He was wary to leave me alone with Jordyn. But I wanted to handle this situation on my own. He finally relented.

“Okay. But not too long. And I’ll be right over there if you need me.”

“I know,” I smiled.

Cameron walked away just as Jordyn approached. The parkade was well lit, and the harsh fluorescent lights shone down on Jordyn’s distraught face.

“Look, we need to talk,” he said.

“I agree. I assume you’ve had your lawyer look over the divorce papers,” I said.

“I know you cheated on me.”

Umm. What? He just ignored my comment and went straight to his own accusations. This was SO typical.

“Excuse me?” I said, aghast.  

“Don’t even try to hide it,” he told me, his voice firm.

I blinked, staring at him in disbelief.

HE was the one who cheated, not me! With the first love of his life, none-the-less. And now he had the audacity to stand here, in this parkade, and accuse me of being unfaithful?

He stared at me with a hard look. I realized there was no point in trying to defend myself. No matter what I said, he wouldn’t believe me.

So instead I sighed deeply.

I wanted him out of my life.

“Whatever,” I said. “Just sign the divorce papers so we can both be done with this.”

Then I turned to leave.        

But as I did, he reached out and grabbed my arm, roughly. I whipped back towards him.

“Let go,” I said sternly. He tightened his grip.

“Don’t walk away,” he said, his voice earnest. “There are things we need to…sort out…”

“There’s nothing to sort out,” I told him. “It’s over. Sign the papers. And let me go!”

He wouldn’t though. He kept a firm hold on my arm. So I stomped on his foot. The heel of my pumps dug right into the pressure point on the top of his foot.

He cried out in pain, letting go of my arm.

The sound alerted Cameron.

“You okay?” he yelled down the parkade.

“Yes,” I yelled back. “I have to go. Trust me, you don’t want my brother here. To say he despises you is an understatement. There’s no knowing what he’ll do if he sees you holding me like this against my will.”

It was true. Cameron had been holding back his distaste for Jordyn for a long time, out of respect for me since we were married.

But now?

Cameron had no reason to hold back anymore.

“Seriously Cassandra?” Jordyn asked, turning to me. “It doesn’t have to be like this. You make everything so goddamn difficult.”

“Me?” I said. “I make things difficult? You’re the one who screwed up our marriage.”

“I…I…” Jordyn stammered.

“I’m leaving now,” I said firmly. “DON’T follow me, or I’ll call the police.”

I turned and walked back to the car. We drove back to Stoneworth Estate in silence. I rested my head on the window and watched the lights blur past.

How had it come to this? My heart felt heavy. I thought back to my wedding day. I’d been so happy. I never believed, in a million years, that one day, I’d be sitting here, on the brink of divorce.

I tried everything. I really did. I treated him so well, bent over backwards for him, catering to his every need and whim. Why couldn’t he love me? I was a good wife.

But no matter what I did, he just couldn’t warm up to me.

We approached the gates of the estate.

I’d done EVERYTHING I could, and still….

This was the outcome.

Divorce.

“You okay?” Cameron asked as we entered the round-about in front of our house.

“Yes. No,” I confessed with a weak smile. Cameron parked the car and nodded.

“He never appreciated you, Cassandra. He never saw your worth. You’re better off without him,” he comforted me.

“I know. I really do. At least, my head knows that. It’s just gonna take some time for my heart to catch up I guess.”

          

***

I woke up the next day feeling a bit better. Cameron was right – I WAS better off without him. I got dressed and met up with Stella for brunch.

It was our favorite spot. We’d whiled away more mornings here nibbling on bagels and lox and sipping mimosas than I could count. She was already waiting for me as I entered.

She stood and we air-kissed cheek to cheek.

“Love the dress,” I told her. “Chanel?”

“Dior,” she shook her head. “It’s new. Thanks. And you look smoking hot, as always,” she smiled.

We sat down.

“Hope you don’t mind, but I already ordered. Our usual,” she told me.

“Amazing,” I said. And I was just about to launch into the events of last night, when my phone pinged.

I glanced at it.

It was a work email. I opened it and skimmed it.

“What is it?” Stella asked, tucking her jet black, shiny hair behind her ears.

“Looks like we’ve just been invited to the Talks and T***s Banquet.”

“Whoa,” Stella said.

The Talks and T***s banquet was an annual business banquet famous for its elaborate appetizers (t***s) and the enormous networking potential (talks). It was very exclusive, invite only, and as such, it attracted some of the most powerful, most successful CEOs around.

Being invited was an honor, one that had never previously been bestowed onto me.

“Crazy, right?” I asked, staring at the invite in disbelief.

The waiter appeared with two champagne flutes of mimosas.

“No, it’s not crazy at all,” Stella smiled, lifting her glass. “We earned this. We’ve worked hard. We started Hot House Flower with basically nothing. Built it from the ground up. We deserve to be at that banquet just as much as everyone else.”

“It’s a great opportunity,” I admitted. “We could find a lot of potential business connections. Maybe even some partners.”

“Right. It’s just that…” Stella’s voice trailed off.

“What?” I asked.

“Isn’t the event sponsored by ‘you know who’s’ company?”

Jordyn.

Yes. Yes it was.

I sighed and took a long swig of my champagne.

“Chances are we’ll run into him,” Stella pointed out.

“Yes, but I’ll also run into a lot of bigwig power players who could really help out business.”

“True,” she agreed. “When it is?”

I read off the date.

“No,” she whined. “That’s my mom’s surprise birthday party. I can’t miss it. I’m so sorry, Cass, but you’ll have to do this alone. If you decide to go…”

It was an enormous opportunity, even IF I’d probably run into Jordyn.

“So what do you think?” Stella smiled slyly. “Do you walk into the lion’s den willingly and take advantage of the invite? Or do you politely pass? To go or not to go…that is the question…”