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he captivating woman in his arms had unknowingly hit a nerve. One that was far too sensitive. The less his thoughts lingered on his family, the better. He relegated anything to do with them out of bounds, even for himself. Especially so. That dumpster fire always made his thoughts spiral, dragging him down into a quagmire of self-recrimination and misery that he struggled to break free of.
He stilled when Cassidy nuzzled closer to him, silently comforting him. He hadn’t expected her to even tolerate his touch—not that the suspicion helped him resist repeatedly reaching out for Cassidy. But when she’d reciprocated, she could have knocked him over with a feather. It was the best kind of surprise.
He’d seen her striding into the function room with purpose, her head held high and her eyes assessing the room, zeroing in on her targets. He’d been transfixed, soaking up the confidence she exuded. Cassidy’s magnetism drew him in and held him there, and he’d been spinning around her since, the pace dizzying. Like the planets orbiting the sun, he was ensnared in her gravitational pull. For all the shade she’d thrown at him at the networking event, she’d noticed him now. She’d picked up on the dip in his mood and reacted. She’d reached for him, comforting him. He could have shouted out, victorious, excitement pulsing through him. But he reined it in and went for mature instead, shoving down his inner giddy teenager crushing on the most beautiful girl he’d ever laid eyes on. He cleared his throat, and his tone lightened when he asked, “What about you? Did you grow up in Sydney?”
Cassidy’s lips turned up in the tiniest of smiles. He wasn’t sure whether it was because of him or because she was thinking about her family, but he’d take it either way. She’d been frosty to him from the moment they’d met, and he didn’t blame her one bit. He could understand how his involvement in the deal she’d been trying to strike had been perceived, but he’d told her the truth. The company she was courting had no intention of signing her agency, opting for the more back-slapping boys club Charles, his boss, nurtured with them. They’d confided a desire to compare the terms of CIR’s retainer with City Space’s to make sure they weren’t paying too much, and Charles had encouraged them.
He pulled himself back into the present when she answered, “Dad works for the government and Mum’s a teacher. I grew up in the western suburbs, but I don’t remember spending a single summer there. Dad used to save up his leave and we’d road trip it up to the Gold Coast for a few weeks. Mum and Dad still have their holiday home at Land’s End.”
That sounded nice. Much like his own early childhood memories—minus his father—but even that had ended pretty soon after he’d turned eight. His father had hired people to look after Jake from then on, delegating as much of Jake’s childhood needs to them as possible. He was just like every other mundane obligation to his father, no more worthy of the man’s time than paying bills or folding socks were. His family life from that point onward had been cold and lonely. He had great memories of the au pairs his father hired playing games with him and riding bikes together, then later on staying at friends’ houses and experiencing their families, but his own had been less than stellar.
When Jake saw the names on the invitation to the university alumni event, he’d immediately accepted. His motivation for being there wasn’t for work, like everyone else was. He was there to say thank you. There was a long story behind how he’d gotten to know the three executives, but it focussed too heavily on his father, so Jake preferred not to think about it. The night they’d met, Marcello had been kind to him, and over time, he’d become like a pseudo father figure to Jake. Daan and Dieter had encouraged him to follow his dreams, and like cool older cousins, had asked him to sneak them out of the party so they could get away from all the stuffiness.
Jake hadn’t ever expected to meet Cassidy, never mind be standing next to her as she introduced herself to his friends.
She’d floored him. Rendered him utterly speechless, not just because of their fiery encounter, but because of the sultry purr of her voice and her sublime beauty. Long blonde wavy hair and green eyes the colour of emeralds had narrowed at him, and her lips, all shimmery with just a touch of colour, had pursed. His dick had thickened, desire pulsing through him as his eyes had slid over the lines of her body. A slim waist with a perfect butt and legs that he wanted more than anything to be wrapped around his hips. Delicate fingers with perfectly manicured nails topped with pink polish that was understated but bold at the same time, clenched into fists. He could imagine the crescent indentations in her palms as she white-knuckled her restraint. The look she’d given him was all fire and passion. His cock had gone from interested to hard enough to hammer nails with. Her snark was a hell of a turn on. Jacob wanted to tease more of that acerbic tongue out of her just to see the flash in her eyes and the fiery passion bubbling in her. He loved the banter, the quick-witted comebacks, and even though he knew better than to poke a bear, she was unexpectedly fun to bait.
Jake collected the pizza and a couple of the old-fashioned glass bottles of 7Up, and they walked back over to the park. He hadn’t expected Cassidy to accept his dare, but there she was. He just hoped she enjoyed their time well enough and could look past their history to give him a second date, because Jake already knew that one wouldn’t be enough.
He opened the box and offered the first piece to Cassidy, who took it and moaned when flavours hit her tongue. The sound was heady. Intoxicating. Jake was already addicted. “Come on another date with me. A proper one.”
Cassidy shook her head, a smirk tilting her glossy lips upward. “I don’t date.”
His eyebrows ratcheted upward, and his mouth popped open. “Not at all?”
She shook her head, looking out toward the bay. “Relationships complicate things. I’m focused on my career, and I’m not prepared to compromise that for a hook-up.”
“What if it wasn’t just a hook-up?” He was treading on dangerous ground, trying to poke the bear again. He was lucky she was giving him the time of day, never mind discussing a relationship with him. Her reaction, though, was exactly as he’d hoped. She turned to him wide-eyed and stared him down for a moment before she belly laughed. Her hand covered her mouth as she snorted out a giggle, tears forming on her long eyelashes.
“That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard,” she gasped between laughs. “There‘s no chance.”
Jake raised an eyebrow at her, challenging her words. “You said the same thing about coming to dinner with me, and look where we are. I can be persuasive when it’s called for.” One of the many traits he’d inherited from his father, but unlike the other man, Jake didn’t use his powers of persuasion to make the world bow down at his feet.
“I was hungry, and pizza sounded good. I would have been just as happy to be sitting on my couch eating it with my TV for company. In fact, think I prefer its company to yours.” He had to give her props; she had no qualms about being blunt. He admired it and still couldn’t understand why those idiots had chosen his agency over having a gun like Cassidy working for them. Where his boss was brilliant at talking the talk, he relied on the people in his team to try and match his promises, more often than not struggling to meet them. Jake had no doubt that Cassidy would call it as she saw it and over-deliver every time.
“Eh, TV doesn’t converse with you.”
“No, it’s completely passive, and there’s a mute button, so when I’ve had enough of the banal conversation, it stops. I can even turn it off altogether when I don’t want it there anymore.” It was Cassidy’s turn to raise her eyebrow at him, and Jake couldn’t help his grin.
“Passive and quiet? You’d get bored. You secretly love listening to my voice.”
Cassidy huffed out a laugh and patted him on the arm. “You keep telling yourself that, Denyer. While you’re living in a fairy tale, I’ll be here kicking your arse in the real world.”
“That’s perfect.” He smiled. As employees of the two leading commercial agencies in Sydney, they were each other’s main competition and bound to cross paths again soon. Jake was prepared to wait. He was patient and knew a good thing when it was in front of him. “Next time you better me at work, I’ll let you buy me dinner. Oh, wait…” Cassidy rolled her eyes but didn’t answer him, and Jake took it as a win. He grinned happily.
“I still maintain that you stole my clients.”
Jake bit his lip, stifling his laugh. “Of course you do.” She whirled on him, eyes flashing, and brows furrowed, and Jake lost the battle, snorting out a laugh and trying not to spit food all over her.
“You’re an arsehole,” she said with a pout.
“Agreed.” He chuckled harder and nudged her shoulder with his. “But you don’t hate me, right?”
“Oh, I totally do, but the pizza makes up for the shitty company, so I’ll stick around.” Jake grinned harder, barely containing the fist pump.
*****
