CHAPTER EIGHT - BOSS IS CHANGING
1224 Words
Cassandra stared at her own reflection in the washroom mirror. She had been in here for almost fifteen minutes now. Her face looked drained, the kind of drained that vomiting does to you when it won’t stop coming. She pressed both hands against her stomach and dropped her voice to something just above a whisper.
“Stop stressing mummy out. I need to work. I need to save money to take care of you and pay off this debt.”
Her phone rang.
She wiped her hands on a tissue and pulled it from her pocket. Becca. She answered it.
“Cassa!” The voice on the other end was bright enough to light up a room. “You promised to call me. How dare you not do it? I am ending this friendship right now.”
Cassandra almost smiled. Almost. “I’m sorry. I’ll call you tonight when I have more time.”
“Since when do you have a job?” Becca’s voice sharpened with curiosity. “You have so much to tell me. Don’t you dare forget to call me this evening.”
They exchanged a few more words and then the call ended. Cassandra fixed her dress, took one last look at herself in the mirror and walked back out to the office.
Alexandro was on his feet before she had fully crossed the room.
“Are you still sick?” He moved toward her. “Should I call the doctor?”
The expression on his face was not something she had seen from him before. Something softer sitting just beneath the surface of his usual coldness. If anyone else had been in that room they probably wouldn’t have believed it belonged to the same man.
For a split second Cassandra was tempted to tell him the truth. Pregnancy hormones. That was all it was. But a man like Alexandro Grant finding out she was pregnant and unmarried — he might judge her. He might fire her. She couldn’t risk either.
“I… I ate something bad. I’m fine now.” The words came out in pieces.
Alexandro looked at her for a moment then stepped closer and pressed the back of his hand lightly against her forehead, checking for himself like he hadn’t quite decided to believe her story.
Then he stepped back and picked up his phone.
“Prepare the car. We are done for the day.” He put the phone down and looked at her. “Get your things. We are going home.”
Cassandra blinked. She glanced at her wristwatch. She still had three hours left before closing time. Three full hours. Was he doing this because of her? She pushed the thought away almost immediately. A man like Alexandro Grant did not rearrange his entire day for a member of staff. That was ridiculous.
She told herself that and almost believed it.
Kelvin was at the car when he got the call and he had to stop for a second to make sure he had heard correctly. They were going home? Now? He glanced at his watch. Something was very off. In all the years he had worked for this man Alexandro had never left the office three hours early. Not once.
He looked back toward the building.
It had to be her. It had to be Cassandra. This woman had been in their lives for less than a month and already the man Kelvin thought he knew was doing things that made no sense.
He shook his head quietly and went to bring the car around.
The staff watched them step into Alexandro’s private elevator together and the whispers started before the doors had even closed. Who was this new girl? What was her position here exactly? Why was she riding in the boss’s personal elevator?
Nobody had answers. But everyone had theories.
The airport was loud and full of the particular kind of energy that airports always carry — people arriving, people leaving, people waiting for someone they had missed.
“Grandma! Here!” A small voice cut through the crowd and a little girl waved both arms in the air, her face split into the widest smile. Two large men stood on either side of her, watching the crowd carefully.
Madam Clara moved through the people quickly with Stacy close behind her. The little girl broke free and ran straight into Madam Clara’s arms.
“Oh my girl.” Madam Clara held her tight and ran a hand through her hair.
When the little girl finally pulled back she turned and launched herself at Stacy next.
“Auntie Stacy!”
Stacy caught her and held on a little longer than necessary. “Lydia, look how big you have gotten.”
Lydia giggled and wiggled free. “Lydia is a big girl now!” She repeated it to herself proudly, then stopped giggling and started scanning the crowd around them. Her small eyes moved from face to face, searching.
“Where is Daddy?”
ack at the house, three of them stepped out of the Bentley. Alexandro gave Kelvin a look — the specific kind that Kelvin had learned to read years ago. He moved toward Cassandra to take her bags.
Cassandra pulled back. “I have it.”
“Miss,” Kelvin said, dropping his voice. “Please don’t make me lose this month’s bonus.”
Cassandra blinked. She opened her mouth to ask what that meant but Kelvin had already taken the bags and disappeared through the front door. She stood there for a second trying to make sense of what had just happened then followed with her head down. Alexandro walked in behind her. As if he had only been waiting for her to go inside first.
Which he had.
Alexandro had barely settled in his study when Kelvin appeared at the door.
“Sir.” He stepped inside and lowered his voice. “We found the person who sold the bracelet. The one from that night.”
Alexandro looked up immediately. “Where are they?”
He looked toward the door. There was no one there.
Kelvin hesitated. “There is a problem, sir.”
“What problem?”
Cassandra had changed out of her office clothes and into one of the casual outfits from her shopping trip. It looked simple at first glance. Only she knew what the price tag had said.
She stepped outside and found Mrs. Felicity in the corridor.
“My dear, are you going somewhere?”
“Yes, Auntie. To see a friend.” There was something lighter in her voice than usual. Something close to excitement.
Mrs. Felicity looked at her for a moment then reached out and gently smoothed a piece of her hair. “You look pretty. Stay safe out there.”
Cassandra smiled — a real one — and hugged her before heading toward the gate.
She was almost there when a voice came from behind her.
“Stop right there.”
She stopped. Turned around slowly.
Alexandro was at the top of the stairs, eyes on her, already descending.
Cassandra’s heart did the thing it did whenever he appeared without warning. She stood very still and waited for him to reach her.
- Writer
