Cassie’s POV
His hand trailed over my body, still brushing his lips against mine. My body found its rhythm, instinctively with the moment as he cupped my pussy in his palm. His hands were electrifying.
He pushed asides my panties and slide a finger through the lips of my pussy. I gasped as my eyes rolled back in pure euphoria. Then slid one more finger, pumping in and out. I moaned loudly. I needed this.
Suddenly he stopped. "What’s wrong?"
"Do you really want this?"
"Yes, I d—" I never finished the word. My stomach turned, and before I could stop it, I threw up all over his shirt.
Apparently five vodka sodas was too many. I never could hold my liquor.
***************
My head throbbed before I even opened my eyes. My whole body felt like it had been hit by a truck.
I rubbed my head and dragged myself to the kitchen, desperate for tea . Anything to kill this hangover.
"Kate! You scared me."
"Sorry, sleepyhead."
She was already making omelets. She handed me a plate, then a cup of tea.
"Thanks."
"So. What happened last night?"
"Honestly, I can barely remember." My head was still fuzzy. "I had way too much to drink."
"Well, you came back home looking like a mess."
If you hadn’t ditched for a stranger maybe I wouldn’t look like a mess, I thought.
"I met a guy at the club, he bought me a drink. We danced. I kissed him."
"Ooh." Kate grinned, sipping her tea.
"Then we left the club, ended up in his car, and .....right when things were getting good — I threw up on him."
Kate almost spat out her tea. "You what?"
"I know. I’m so embarrassed."
"Oh my god! Cassie." She said, cleaning the little drop of tea on the table. "So, tell me about him."
"I don’t really know much about him." I shrugged, but I was smiling a little. "I barely saw his face, but he was tall, broad shoulders, smelled really good. He was... almost perfect."
"Anyway." I sighed. "Fantasy’s over. Back to reality."
"Oh, and by the way — you have an interview this morning. Nine o’clock."
"You’re kidding." I dropped the cup of tea in my hand. "It’s basically nine right now!" I didn’t even finish the sentence before I was bolting for the bathroom.
"I know, I know, I’m sorry — it slipped my mind!" Kate said following me to my room.
"Fuck you, Kate!" I yelled back, half-dressed and scrubbing my teeth at the same time, moving faster than my hangover had any right to allow.
Twenty rushed minutes later, I was standing outside Blackwood Holdings, the largest company in town.
Everyone knew how difficult it was to get a job here. Blackwood Holdings was reserved for the best of the best, and somehow, Kate had managed to get me an interview simply because of her family connections.
I took a deep breath, trying to pull myself together.
I needed this job. Desperately.
Starting over meant starting everywhere: new city, new apartment situation, new job. I just wished my first interview in this new life didn’t come the morning after what happened yesterday.
I’d submitted my resume a week ago, but I still couldn’t shake the nerves. I knew what Kate had gone through to get me this opportunity, and I refused to be the reason it fell apart.
"Hello, I’m looking for the HR manager," I told the receptionist.
She pointed me toward an office at the end of the hallway. I stood outside it for a second, took one breath, then another, a habit my mom drilled into me years ago before she passed. I knocked, and a voice told me to come in.
"I’m Cassie. Cassie Ha—"
"Hayes, right?" the woman behind the desk completed it for me, not even looking up from my file.
"Yes."
"Sit." Her tone was brisk but not unkind. "Your resume is quite impressive."
"Thank you."
"And it seems you know people at the top." She said it plainly, but I caught the edge underneath it.
I didn’t know how to respond. Leave it to Kate to work her magic without telling me exactly how.
"Congratulations. You’re hired."
"Thank you." I kept my voice level, forcing myself to focus on the present instead of the fog still clinging to me from last night.
"You’d resume work next week." She said it like she was reading off a grocery list. "Personal Assistant to Mr. Blackwood. He’s out of the country right now, back by next week."
"He values his time, so punctuality is extremely important. He’s usually in the office before nine, which means you’ll need to be here before him.
His coffee should be ready and waiting on his desk, and his workspace must be arranged exactly the way he likes it. Everything has it’s place, and he notices when something is out of order."
"Book his lunch reservation at Maison Noir before noon, every day. He doesn’t eat anywhere else."
"Don’t speak unless he asks."
"Don’t look him in the eyes too long."
"He hates incompetence." She rattled it off like none of it was insane.
Is this man even a real person?
"And your hair — always in a bun. Never wear it down."
A bun? Seriously? I hated buns. This man sounded exhausting before I’d even met him.
"Miss Cassie." Her voice sharpened, pulling me back. "Are you still with me?"
"Yes."
"So.... are you in?"
I genuinely didn’t know how to answer that. But I needed this job. Badly.
"Yes. I’m in." The words left my mouth before I could second guess them.
"Wonderful. Welcome to Blackwood Holdings."
"Thank you." I forced a smile that probably looked more like a grimace.
"You can go now."
I stood, walked out, and didn’t breathe until I was in the hallway.
What have I gotten myself into.