Blackmailing The Billionaire(27)

"Max, can you help me with something," his brother, Austin, called.

"I'll be back in a few minutes. Don't go anywhere," he commanded. She  nodded, but didn't say anything. Of course, she wasn't going to listen.

As soon as Cassie saw him leave her view, she stood up, testing weight  on her foot. It did feel much better after him rubbing it. She made her  way across the room, and slipped out the door, pulling her cell phone  from her purse as she went. She had to get away, because if he insisted  on taking her home she knew she'd easily cave in and spend another night  with him.

She stepped out into the cool evening air, glad for the slight sprinkle.  The fresh smell of rain helped to clear her head. The cab arrived  within ten minutes, which was good. She'd been anxiously watching the  door, afraid of Max stepping through at any moment. Hopefully, he would  just let it go, and she could get on with her life. She had an article  to finish and a job to get. At least she had that to look forward to.

She climbed in the cab and looked back at the impressive mansion as a  tear fell. She knew her adventure had to eventually come to an end, but  she wasn't expecting it to rip her heart out.





Max walked into the room, frustrated it had taken so long to get back to  Cassie. She was talking as if their time was over, but he was  determined to change her mind. There was something going on with them  and he wasn't ready to call it quits. He didn't care if their allotted  time for her interview was up.

He wasn't willing to put an emotion to how he felt about her, but the  time they'd spent together had been better than anything he could  remember. He'd never enjoyed being with a woman like he'd enjoyed their  every moment. He found himself anxious to see her. He loved how she  looked lying in his bed, her chest softly rising and falling as she  slept, with the morning light streaming through the window, caressing  her features.         

     



 

She was beautiful, there was no doubt about that, but there was so much  more to her than just beauty. She had a way of drawing people toward  her. She was full of life and laughter, and she made him feel  unbelievable. He could make love to her night and day, but beyond that  he could lie next to her for hours just listening to the sound of her  voice.

He looked around the room and blew out a breath when he didn't see her  on the couch. He wasn't too concerned, yet. She'd probably went to find  his aunt. He searched around and found his aunt, and Cassie was still  nowhere in sight. He grabbed his phone, dialing her number. It went  straight to voicemail. She was gone.

His first instinct was to chase her down. He'd told her to wait for him.  It was rude to leave without saying anything. She'd snuck out the  second his back was turned. He could feel his anger level rising. His  cousin called to him, and he decided to let her have her night. They  would talk. He wasn't ready for their relationship to end, and he didn't  easily let go of something he wanted.





Chapter Eleven





Cassie was miserable. She hadn't seen Max for a few days, no phone  calls, no emails, no speaking. It was what she wanted, she told herself  throughout the lonely days, but she knew she was lying to herself. She  had a feeling it would take her a very long time to get over him. She  had to see him that afternoon to give him the preview of her article,  and a few other items she'd borrowed. She'd keep her head high and not  let him see how much pain she was in.

All her misery, at least, was getting poured into what she thought was a  great story. She was sure to get her dream job. Just a few more days  and she could start pounding the pavement. If the paper wouldn't hire  her, then she'd try to get a job with one of the local magazines. She  knew she was a good writer, and she didn't mind starting at the bottom,  working her way to the top. She could do it, she was meant to report.

She'd half expected Max to show up at her apartment the night of the  party, or the next day, if for no other reason than he didn't like to be  walked away from. She couldn't believe how badly she'd wanted him to do  just that. She realized she wanted him to show up with roses and  confess his undying love for her, tell her she was the only woman he  could ever love. She sounded like so many others, thinking she could  change a man. The reality was that their time together had meant a lot  more to her than him.

As Cassie stepped from the cab and looked at the familiar building, her  heart started pounding uncontrollably. She took deep breaths to calm  herself, but for once it wasn't working. How could she face him, looking  as if all was right in the world, when inside her heart was shattering?  You can do this, she commanded herself.

As she stepped in the elevator, her feelings intensified. She was going  to have a panic attack before she ever made it to his office if she  didn't get herself under control. She ignored the people around her, not  able to make any kind of small talk. As soon as she stepped from the  claustrophobic box, she headed to the bathroom.

She looked in the mirror, hating the amount of make-up on her face.  She'd had to layer on cover-up to hide the shadows under her eyes, a  dead giveaway to her sleepless nights. She re-applied her lip gloss and  stared back at her reflection until she was sure she had an indifferent  look plastered on her face.

When she was satisfied she looked fine, she stepped from the bathroom,  and walked to the coffee pot. She'd need something in her hands to  prevent them from shaking. In reality, she knew she was just postponing  the moment she had to speak to him. It was early in the morning and the  offices only had a few people moving about. It was unusually quiet,  which was fine with her. She didn't need witnesses to her humiliation.

She stepped through his open door and firmly shut it behind her. There  he was, leaning back in his chair with his foot propped on his desk. He  looked up from his computer, his keyboard resting in his lap. He was  clean shaven, and as usual, his tie was cast aside. He looked good, way  too good. She wanted to move the keyboard and curl into his lap.

"Good morning, Cassie. I'm glad you're here. I was going to call and  have you come in today. I would've called sooner, but got called away to  Montana for a couple days. It was a disaster, and for once I'm actually  glad to be back at the offices. We got the problem solved, though," he  said, as if there was nothing wrong. There wasn't anything wrong in his  world. Sleeping with a woman, then moving on to the next was a regular  thing for him, she thought bitterly.

Cassie couldn't get into a long conversation with him. She only had so  much strength, before she couldn't keep the mask on any longer. She  reached into her briefcase and pulled out the papers.         

     



 

"I wanted to give this to you. It's not the finished version, but I've  outlined everything going into the article. I don't think I've broken  any of the rules of our agreement," she said, sliding the papers across  his desk. Her tone finally registered that this wasn't a happy meeting.

His eyes narrowed as he looked at the papers, then to her face. Please,  don't make this more difficult than it needs to be, she inwardly  pleaded. She waited as he glanced back at his desk.

"I'm going to refill my coffee, can I get you anything?" she asked,  needing an excuse to get away from him. She didn't want to wait in his  office. She took the other things she'd used from the office and set  them on his desk. The act seemed to irritate him even more.

"You're cup is full. You can stay here until I look through this," he  commanded. His relaxed state was over. He set his feet down and picked  up the document, quickly scanning through it.

"I don't have any complaints," he said, after what seemed like forever.  His voice startled her, as she'd been looking out the window. He didn't  look as if he thought it was fine.

"If you have an issue, I need to know now," she spoke in the same monotone voice.

"I don't have an issue with the damn paper. What I have an issue with is  your attitude this morning. Why are you acting this way?" he demanded.

"I'm done with the article, Max. There's no other reason for us to be  around each other, any longer. I just want to finish this last bit of  business and get on my way," she said. She was proud that her voice  didn't crack. She was holding the tears at bay, but just barely.

"So, you've gotten what you want from me, and now you're done.  Everything that's happened over the last month means nothing to you? I  have to say, you're not who I thought you were," he snarled. If she  didn't know better, she'd actually think he was hurt. There was no way  he cared about her. If he did, wouldn't he say something?

"We agreed to a month, Max. I'm not going to make more out of our brief  fling than what it was. I also don't plan on being your mistress until  you get bored with me, and toss me aside for your next supermodel," she  said, more emotion creeping into her voice.