The CEO Next Door

I stood beneath the crystal chandeliers as they glittered like stars above my head I hated every single one of them, the ball room was packed with wealthy strangers dressed in designer suits and expensive gowns all smiling congratulating my mum as though they had known her for ages They hadn't half of these people probably didn't even remember her name,yet they were raising glasses and celebrating her marriage to Mr Richard my mum looked happy ,that should have been enough for me it wasn't Scarlet , sweetheart smile my mother whispered as she passed beside me I forced my lips upward There she laughed That was terrifying,she said with one of her eyebrows raised that's the best you're getting I replied taking the wine I was served a few minutes before she rolled her eyes and disappeared into another crowd of guests I immediately escaped towards the corner of the ballroom,if I had to survive this wedding ,I planned on doing it with as little social interaction as possible unfortunately life had other plans the ballroom suddenly grew quiet , conversations slowed head's turned . even the waiters seemed distracted curious I followed everyone gaze , and immediately I understood why A man had just entered the ballroom Tall Broad shoulders Dark hair Tailored black suit He had a very alluring face , the kind of face magazines paid ridiculous amount of money just to put on their covers The kind of man who looked like trouble without even trying Cassian Sterling The son of the man my mum had married less than an hour ago My new step brother I'd heard plenty about him a young billionaire CEO, a business genius and a professional heartbreaker According to articles I had read Cassian changes girlfriends more often than most people changed phone cases Committment apparently wasn't his thing Neither was smiling, as they walked through the ballroom people practically moved out of his way he barely acknowledged them his expression remained cold , detached bored like he'd rather be anywhere else for the first time that afternoon I found myself agreeing with someone and then his gaze lifted , and looked directly on me a strange feeling settled in my stomach his eyes narrowed slightly not in recognition but ,in assessment. like he was trying to figure out whether I belonged here without breaking eye contact he walked towards me great just great when he finally stood in front of me silence stretched between us he looked exactly like the rumours described arrogant cold unapproachable and very handsome , although I wouldn't say that out loud Never so he said at last his voice was deeper than I expected "you"re scarlet not hello not nice to meet you just you're scarlet I folded my harms 'And you're Cassian ' his eyebrow lifted slightly clearly he wasn't used to people speaking to him that way some one should His gaze travelled over my body before returning to my face not the flirting kind of look or the I am interested in you kind of look he was literally judging me I could feel it i already disliked him "looks like we're family now" the words sounded more like an inconvenience I smiled sweetly don't sound so excited ,I replied looking directly into his eyes for a second his expression hardened , then something flickered across his face amusement Gone almost immediately you have no idea he said with a smirk on his face before I could reply a blonde woman appeared at his side as she slid her arm around his waist possessively I've been looking everywhere for you the woman glanced at me then at him then back at me what did I interrupt Cassian didn't reply , the silence itself was answer enough The blonde's lips curved into a satisfied smile before she pulled him towards the dance floor as they walked away I caught the woman whispering something into his ear he didn't smile didn't react didn't even look interested yet she remained attached to him love is truly blind cause he's an arrogant jerk i said to myself That's one way to describe him I turned Richard sterling stood beside me looking far too amused most people call him intimidating I prefer arrogant Richard laughed you two are getting along wonderfully well although I doubted that because less than five minutes later ,I had decided two things First, Cassian Sterling is the most irritating man I had ever met and second living under the same roof with him was going to be a disaster I was halfway through packing my life into cardboxes when my phone rang please tell me you're not crying over your billionaire stepbrother I rolled my eyes Hello to you Ava I knew it you're sulking I'm not sulking you sound like you're sulking though I shoved another stack of books into a box My tiny apartment looked like a disaster zone , clothes were scattered everywhere half packed boxes covered the floor somewhere beneath the chaos my favourite pair of sneakers. Hopefully how's married life treating your mum? Ava asked she's happy And "and that's all that matters" there was a pause Ava knew me too well. "you don't like moving in with them" I sighed it isn't the mansion it's the son I hated that she was right he is everything I expected even Worse Ava burst out laughing ,oh this is going to be fun for me she said still laughing as she hang up the truth was , Cassian Sterling annoyed me more than he should have the way he looked at people the way he rarely spoke The way everyone acted like he was some kind of king The worst part he knew it *********************** By afternoon I found myself standing outside the sterling mansion with the last of my luggage A black SUV pulled into the driveway the driver's door opened And of cause Cassian he stepped out without even glancing at me Not a hello Not even a greeting Nothing He simply handed his keys to one of the staff members and walked towards the entrance What a jerk I grabbed my suitcase and followed inside servants moved around carrying my boxes upstairs Richard was at work My mother had gone shopping which meant there was only one other person in the house unfortunately I was carrying the last box toward the staircase when my foot got caught at the edge of a rug the box slipped books fell everywhere "great" I dropped on my knees A novel landed near the staircase Another slid beneath a table Before I could grab it, a polished black shoe stepped on the book cover I looked up to see cassian Naturally He picked up the book His eyes moved over the title , then over the dozens of romance novels scattered around me one dark eyebrow lifted I immediately knew I was being judged "Don't " Don't what" whatever you're thinking his mouth twitched interesting taste I snatched the book from his hand thank you it wasn't a compliment he said There it is what are you talking about the personality everyone keeps warning me about For the first time he actually looked at me Not through me At me His eyes narrowed "And what personality is that he said as one of his eyebrow lifted slightly" The one where you think you are better than everyone The air between us changed instantly A normal person would have ended the conversation there Unfortunately I had never been normal before "Have you ever been told how rude you are " I asked staring directly into his eyes Frequently he replied I'm shocked you should be I stared Was that sarcasm Cassian Sterling knew sarcasm ? Who would've guessed? Then unexpectedly,he crouched down and picked up another book Then another II blinked What are you doing ? "Helping " The answer surprised me you know for someone who dislikes me , you ask a lot of questions He said picking up the last book who said I dislike you ,I only find you rude Really he replied ,too bad Cause I do I stared not shocked by his reply What can you ever expect from a jerk I said under my breath. A few minutes later the last book was back inside the box Cassian stood So You should unpack That advice changed my life I said rolling my eyes His smirk widened like actually widened , like he was about to laugh Then he turned and walked away I carried my box as one of the staff carried the last box upstairs seems like this is your new home I said to myself while walking upstairs ************************ I couldn't sleep Maybe it was because the mansion was too quiet ,or the fact that my bed was five times my bed at home or probably because anytime I close my eyes I remember the smirk on that rude jerk earlier he was actually very hard to resist although I would never admit it to his face Either way by midnight i was still wide awake With a sigh I threw off the blanket and climbed out of bed A glass of water that was all I needed Then I would try and get some sleep At least that was the plan The kitchen was dark except for a small lamp above the counter I had just poured myself a glass of water, when I heard voices coming from the living room one of the voice belonged to cassian and the other to a woman I know i should just have turned back and gone back upstairs but you know curiosity made me want to look As I got closer I could visibly see cassian ,he stood beside a lady different from the one at the party wow cassian really lives up to his name cause what a scene she was sitting on a desk as the lady kissed him hungrily with Cassian hand at her back Yuck Can't they get a room I felt his gaze on me and I definitely saw him smirk It was definitely time to leave,I carefully tiptoed my way back upstairs to my room and just lay on my bed trying to forget what I just saw Looks like I will be seeing more of this ,I said finally falling asleep I didn't even get to see mum.