Cassie’s POV
It was already the weekend. I’d survived a full week under the vicious hand of Mr. Blackwood. The last few days had actually been better, mostly because I’d kept my head down and stopped poking my nose where it didn’t belong.
He was still annoying, sure the side-eyes, the little jabs, but aside from that, it had been almost peaceful.
Kate and I were deep into binge-watching her favorite show when her phone rang.
"Hi, Daddy."
Of course it was him. Probably checking in about the date with Dylan tonight. He’d agreed to my terms, somehow which surprised me more than it should have. Part of me was terrified. The other part was, annoyingly, looking forward to it. He still had no idea I’d been the one impersonating Kate.
After a few minutes, she hung up. "He just wanted to know if I was getting ready."
I checked my phone. 5pm. "We’ve got two hours."
She was already on her feet, hauling me up with her. "He’s picking you up. We need to get you ready now."
"I can be ready in an hour."
"No. You need time for the wig, the makeup, all of it." She was already steering me toward the bathroom.
"Okay, okay... fine. You win." There was no arguing with her once she got like this.
I looked in the mirror and smiled, small and involuntary. I couldn’t wait to see him again but not as his employee this time, but as his date.
I caught myself smiling and shut it down immediately. He was an arrogant, insufferable man who’d apparently made it his personal mission to ruin my life. There was no version of this where I let myself fall for him.
I turned the shower on and stepped in, freezing for a second, then warm, then genuinely, finally, relaxing.
I came out feeling human again, and before I could even reach for my lotion, Kate had already taken over my room, laying out my makeup kit like a surgeon prepping for an operation.
"Sit. I’m doing your face today."
I genuinely didn’t understand why she was treating this like it mattered so much. It wasn’t like I was going on a date with my man. I was just impersonating her, same as before.
"Babe, relax, it’s not that big a—"
Before I even finished the sentence, she’d already sat me down in front of the mirror.
I smiled. "This is very high school, you doing my makeup before we’d sneak out to the club."
"You were so demanding back then. ’I don’t like this, I don’t like that.’ God, you were insufferable."
"Guess I finally found my match." We both burst out laughing.
It took her nearly an hour to get everything exactly the way she wanted.
"There." She stepped back, admiring her work.
I looked at my reflection. Perfect disguise, but underneath it, something else too. A different version of myself looking back at me, someone I wasn’t used to being. And weirdly, I was starting to enjoy the charade a little too much.
I slipped into my black dress, shimmering, a little more restrained than the last one, but still enough to show off my curves and huge tits. Enticing, but practical enough to run in, if it came to that.
Kate handed me the blonde wavy wig she’d spent the last twenty minutes straightening.
(Phone buzzes.)
"He’s here." Kate glanced at her screen. I’d told him to park a few blocks from the estate — anything to keep my cover intact.
"How do I look?"
"Gorgeous. My girl." She fussed over my hair and dress one last time. "Perfect."
I stepped outside, walking toward his car. He was already rushing over before I’d made it halfway, opening the door for me himself.
Why is he playing the gentleman now, when he’s the devil incarnate at the office?
"Thanks." I smiled, still smiling as he slid into the driver’s seat.
"So... where to?" He barely glanced my way. Almost like he was... nervous.
Mr. Blackwood. Nervous. I nearly choked holding back a laugh.
"I’ll send you the address." I shared the location.
"Okay." He hesitated, then said it anyway: "You look beautiful, by the way."
There it is.
"Thank you." I couldn’t stop smiling the rest of the ride.
*************
The restaurant was warm and quiet when we arrived, dim lighting that somehow still felt bright enough for real conversation. I sat directly across from him.
"Thank you for giving this another chance." He smiled, sipping his wine.
"I hope you’re not planning to sabotage tonight too."
"I won’t." I held his gaze — and it wasn’t the cold, clipped stare of Mr. Blackwood at all. Something warmer. Different.
"I haven’t stopped thinking about you since our last dinner." He paused. "You have a hold over me I really wasn’t expecting. I’d like this to be more than just an arranged date."
The whole room went still for a second. Is my boss about to ask me out for real? Since when was he capable of this?
"Kate..." He said the name so seriously it took me a second to remember it wasn’t mine. "Will you be my girlfriend?"
I’d never seen him look this vulnerable. This unguarded.
Is he insane? What am I even supposed to say to that? Was this another one of his games, some long, elaborate setup? Because underneath all my panic, some traitorous part of me wanted to say yes and kiss him senseless right there at the table. But this was Mr. Blackwood. The man who’d spent an entire week trying to break me.
"I don’t— I’m not sure I’m ready for that." It came out before I could stop it. Did I just turn my boss down? "Maybe I just need more time. To know you better."
"That’s fair." He nodded, easy about it. "Take whatever time you need. No pressure."
I would’ve melted completely if I didn’t already know exactly what kind of man he was underneath all that charm — controlling, narcissistic, borderline unhinged, and somehow, impossibly, still attracted to him anyway.
I kept forgetting, in these moments, that none of this was actually mine to have. How was he supposed to date me when he thought he was dating Kate? This entire thing was a disaster waiting to happen.
We talked, laughed, traded stories for another hour, and even though I didn’t want the night to end, it eventually had to.
Thirty minutes later, we headed to his car because it was getting late, he’d drop me off first then go home. We sat in his waiting patiently for who to break the silence. I guess I won.
"What if I planned something... just for us? No parents, no arrangement. Our actual first date."
Just us. If only he knew who "us" actually was a liar, a fraud, his own assistant, who couldn’t even manage to make his coffee right.
"That sounds nice," I said quietly, smiling despite myself. I shouldn’t be encouraging this. I’m making everything so much worse.
"I was thinking my place. I’ll cook. Maybe you stay over."
I swallowed hard. "I’d love that." Shut up, Cassie. What if this was exactly the kind of setup where he could get rid of me quietly, no witnesses?
We sat in the silence after that, eyes catching for a second too long before he broke it.
"Are you cold?"
Weak excuse, but — "Yeah. A little."
He reached across me toward the window, close enough that his cologne filled the space between us, his arm brushing over me as he cranked the glass shut. My heart did something embarrassing. Not fear this time. Something else entirely.
As his arm came back down, he caught my hand in his, steering with the other, thumb tracing slow circles over my palm.
"Your hand is so soft." A pause. "Warm too. Makes me wonder what else is."
I couldn’t bring myself to look at him. Is he actually flirting with me right now?
"I can’t wait for our next one." He smiled easy, satisfied, like a man who already knew he’d gotten exactly what he wanted.
He pulled up to the same spot he’d picked me up from, still holding my hand, and brought it slowly to his lips.
"I could stay out here with you a lot longer." He kissed my knuckles, unhurried.
If I stay one more second, I’m going to do something I can’t undo.
"My friend’s sick," I said quickly. Not entirely a lie. "She needs me tonight."
"Of course. Take care of her. I’ll be in touch."
"Okay." As I turned to go, he pulled me back gently and kissed me.. warm, soft, lingering just long enough that it reminded me, unwillingly, of someone else. A stranger from a club I could barely remember.
"Bye." He finally let go.
I stood there waving until his car disappeared around the corner, then walked the last few blocks home on legs that didn’t quite feel like mine.
As I reached the gate, a voice called out behind me.
"Cassie."
I knew that voice. I knew it far too well.
What was he doing here? How did he even find me?