15
2169 Words
Cassia shuffled through the crowd of the airport to reach her luggage. It had been a short flight, but it had worked her nerves. She was pushing her way to the front of the terminal unsure of how she was going to find her ride. She had no idea what Dominic Sanchez looked like. She saw a line of people with signs of names standing by the door. Chauffeurs in suits picking up wealthy individuals but not one had her name displayed.
“Cassia? Cassia Dillinger?” A man behind her called. Cassia turned around and saw a tall man with short dark hair and bright blue eyes smiling at her. There was something very familiar about his face. “Dominic Sanchez.” He introduced himself shaking her hand. She saw it now, the similarities between him and Lance. The family features they both shared. She wasn’t sure why she hadn’t seen it right off the bat. Dominic’s features were more feminine than Lance’s almost angelic really.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She said.
“The pleasure is all mine.” He said taking her bag. “Let’s get you settled in. How was your flight?” He asked as they headed for the door.
“Nerve-racking.”
He just laughed. “Yeah, Lance said you had a fear of flying.”
“Just a little.” They stepped out into the sun and Dominic led her through the parking lot to a red and black Bugatti Veyron. She watched him open the trunk and toss her bag in the back. “Wow, this is your car?”
“Do you like it? I got it for graduation.” What a graduation gift, all she got was a necklace. Dominic opened the passenger door for her just like his brother. Lance was right his parents had done a great job instilling manners. “I hear you’re a small-town girl. How did you get mixed up with a guy like Lance?”
“It’s a funny story. I moved to LA to be a model, and when I found out Lance lived in the same building, I just knew I had to meet him, to boost my career. Well, I devised the cunning plot to steal his mail only it went wrong, and he called me on it.”
Dominic chuckled. “You tried to steal his mail? That’s a new one.”
“Yeah, I can’t believe he didn’t have me arrested. He’s a pretty good guy.”
“He is, not a lot of people can get past his bad attitude to get to know the guy underneath. His often misjudged. People think he’s hard and callous, so they think he doesn’t have feelings. Lance is a pretty emotional kind of guy, especially when it comes to women. He’s been dumped on a lot.”
She had gotten that feeling. She wasn’t sure about the women in his past; she got the impression Lance didn’t like to talk about his past. He was especially irritable whenever it was brought up. She had a hunch Cindy Ratter was not his first heartbreak.
“I tell you when I heard about Cindy dumping him for another man it broke my heart. He cared for her, I thought he would marry that girl, but then she turned out to be just another gold-digging bitch.” He said then instantly backtracked. “Not that I’m saying you’ll turn out to be one just that so far the women in his past have left a bad taste in his mouth.”
It left her wondering. “Have there been a lot of women in his past?”
“You would think the answer would be yes. That Lance would be a playboy, but he’s not. He’s pretty particular when it comes to women. He doesn’t just go from girl to girl. He likes to settle down with one girl.”
“How many have there been?” She asked.
“In the last eleven years there have been six, including you, every one of them broke his heart but none worse than Missy Darcy. She was his first serious girlfriend, back when he was sixteen. Prettiest girl in school. My god, he was crazy about her.”
Cassia waited to hear the rest of the story, but Dominic did not continue. “Well?”
“Well, what?”
“What happened with Missy?”
“Oh, she took a bribe. Our Mother paid her fifty thousand dollars to dump him. To a sixteen-year-old that’s a lot of money. She took it and dropped Lance like a bad habit. It killed him, after that he wasn’t the same guy anymore. He became guarded and moody. He became the nasty jerk the world thinks he is.” He shook his head and sighed. “She broke him.”
Now she understood why he got so defensive when she asked him if he loved her. He’d been in love, and it never worked out for him. She felt sorry for him. The trip took only half an hour. Dominic pulled into an underground parking lot of a towering building. They took the elevator to the top floor of the twenty-story apartment building. The elevator opened onto a private hallway with one door.
Dominic took out his keys and went through them one by one trying to find the right key. He had a lot of keys. When he finally got the door open, they went inside. There was a large foyer with a roundtable and with fresh cut flowers. “When I heard you were coming I had the maid freshen the place up a bit.” Dominic led her farther into the apartment. The sight left her speechless. It was beautiful.
To her left was a huge living room with contemporary décor. A floor to ceiling window wall that looked out onto a large stone balcony that overlooked Central Park. To her right was a kitchen with stainless steel appliances, black marble countertops and bamboo cupboards. In the corner of the kitchen was a small wine cellar. Next to the kitchen was a short hall that led to a bathroom and a study.
In front of her between the living room and kitchen was a suspended staircase that went up to a second story. “There are two bedrooms and a full washroom upstairs.” He said putting down her suitcase.
“Which room is mine?”
“Either one, it’s your pick.”
“No one else lives here?”
“Well Lance and Lucas stay here when they come into town, and I sometimes use it when I have a date, but for the most part, it sits empty. I half suspect my folks sneak off to get away from us. You know how hard it can be to get some alone time in a house with five boys.”
“They won’t mind that I’m staying here, will they?”
Dominic didn’t look like he knew how to answer. “Well, Dad has no problem with it.”
“But your mom doesn’t like me.”
He shrugged his shoulders and offered her a sheepish grin. “Don’t take it personally she doesn’t like any of our girlfriends.” He then clapped his hands and grinned. “So, there is no food in the house I’d be happy to take you to a great Korean Barbeque place that is to die for.”
“I can’t eat that stuff.”
“Intolerant?”
“No Lance says I can’t eat a lot of things. I got to be able to fit into the clothes for shoots, and those clothes are really small.”
Dominic looked her over. “You look great to me; I can’t imagine one meal would ruin your flawless figure.”
Cassia blushed, oh he was good, a real smooth operator. “Lance warned me about you, said you were a sweet talker that used art to get women naked.”
Dominic got a guilty look on his face. “And I thought he thought I wasn’t a threat.”
“You’re not.” She said drawing a wounded playful look from him.
“So cruel, you’ve broken my heart.”
Cassia laughed. “Somehow I think you will survive.”
“Ok, then I’m out of here, if you need anything at all or if you want to go out give me a call, I am at your service. My number’s in the address book by the phone in the kitchen. You can call at any time I don’t sleep much so I’m usually up.” He said and then kissed her cheeks like they were in Europe. Cassia showed him out, but then he stopped short and turned around. “Oh, and there is a spare key on the counter in the kitchen along with a number for a car service. They’ll take you to and from work don’t worry about the bill my family pays the service at the end of every month.”
“I don’t want to add to the bill. I’ll take a taxi.”
“It’s already paid for, you may as well use it. Or I could drive you around. I know Lance would kill me if he found out I let you take a New York City taxi. What time do you get to be at the shoot?”
“Eight.”
“I’ll be here by seven.”
“Thank you. It’s not a bother is it?”
“No, I love showing models around town. Maybe you can hook me up with one of the pretty ladies on the set.”
She didn’t believe he had any trouble finding willing women. “Ok, it’s a deal. I’ll see you in the morning.”
***
Lance tossed his camera to his assistant. “That’s a wrap.” He said grabbing his jacket from the stagehand holding it. “I’m out of here.”
“Aren’t you going to check the proofs to be sure you like the shots?” His assistant asked following him.
“The good thing about being me is that I always get the shot the first time. It’s why they pay me the big bucks.” He said heading for the door.
“Don’t you think you rushed the job?”
Lance stopped short and glared at his assistant. “Are you questioning my skill?”
“No Sir.”
“Good.” He said heading for the door. “I’ll send Gucci the prints next week when I get back.”
“Where are you going?”
“New York City. I’ll be back in a week.” He had finished the project early. He wanted to fly out to surprise Cassia. He already had the family jet standing by. He’d be in her arms in a few hours. He hadn’t been able to sleep without her. They spent all night on the phone. He hadn’t felt like this in a long time. Not since Missy, his feelings for Cassia far outweighed the ones he had for Cindy.
It was time to take the plunge he was going to tell Cassia how he felt about her. Maybe it was too soon, but he couldn’t deny it any longer. He was in love with her.
Lance drove home and took a taxi to the airstrip. He boarded the plane and dropped into the leather seat by the window. He reached into his pocket and took out his grandmother’s ring. This had to be the right one. He couldn’t be wrong twice.
He’d been wrong about Cindy, but Cassia wasn’t like Cindy. She was different he believed that. He could be happy with her. His mother wasn’t going to love it, but it was his life, and he was sure she would grow to accept it when she saw how happy Cassia made him.
He’d thought it out. He was going to make Cassia his wife.
- Writer
