Indulgence (204 page)

They served me a light lunch after my shower and everyone
was very professional through all of my appointments. I couldn’t help but
wonder if they treated all their customers like royalty or if it was because of
James. I opted for a few highlights, at Scott’s recommendation, and he also
gave me a few long layers before cleaning up my ends. I felt like a million
bucks when I was finished and headed out the door.

I got to the elevator and decided to pop up to see James.
When I arrived at his floor Jennifer greeted me, but told me James hadn’t been
in the office all day. I couldn’t stop the look that crossed my face as I got a
sinking feeling.

“He’s had meetings off site all day,” she smiled sweetly and
I took my leave.

Heading out of the elevator and into the lobby, I heard the
shrill of a familiar voice. Walking hesitantly toward it, I saw Melissa Westin
berating the security desk.

“Ma’am we have strict instructions that you’re not allowed
in the building when Mr. Benedict is gone.”

Snickering to myself I snuck out of the building, pulling my
coat tighter around me as I handed the valet my ticket and eagerly awaited the
arrival of my car. November had officially arrived, evident by the chill in the
air. I took a deep breath and enjoyed the cold that pierced my nostrils.

“Oh, it’s you.” I rolled my eyes, trying to ignore her. “I’m
talking to you.”

After taking a deep breath, I turned to her with raised
brows. “Yes, can I help you?”

Putting on a fake smile, she said, “Have you thought about
what I said?”

I was SO not in the mood for her and her bullshit. Looking
her up and down, I took in her appearance. Did she always dress this way in
thirty degree weather? Melissa was dressed in a short tight dress and her
nipples looked ready to burst against the tight, shiny material as her coat
hung open around her.

“Whatever it is you’re trying to sell, I’m not interested.”
I waved at her and her lack of an outfit, dismissing her as I continued to
scrutinize her with my eyes.

Her jaw dropped and I noticed her hand twitch. “Are you
calling me a whore?”

My car arrived at that exact moment and I rushed forward
with a tip in hand for the valet saying, “Thank you.”

She shrieked over the hood of my car, “I asked you a
question!”

“You said it, not me.” I flippantly waved at her again
before jumping in my car and driving off. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for
her and her desperate attempts to get James’s attention. As I drove away I saw
her yelling into her cell phone and wondered who she could possibly be calling.

*****

I decided to take advantage of the free time and did some
shopping before heading home. When I got home I was putting my purchases away
when I got a text message.

Have to work late.

I’ll be in touch tomorrow.

Miss me.

XO ~James

Don’t work too hard.

Miss you already.

XO ~Cass

I spent the rest of the day cleaning and enjoying my new
movie streaming abilities thanks to James. I actually got to bed at a decent
time feeling totally prepared for work the next morning. The next couple days
passed and each day I got similar text messages from James, he was busy with
work and would be in touch the next day. I was growing paranoid, wondering if
something had changed and decided that if I hadn’t heard from him by the end of
the week I would call him out.

I got home from work late on Thursday. Work had kept me busy
all week and I had been busy completing wedding arrangements for Dad and Lisa
and preparing other holiday parties. The press hadn’t been hounding me and I
was grateful for that. Making a salad for dinner, I curled up on the couch with
Chessa.

A bottle of wine later, I was wiping my eyes and missing
Holly. One of her favorite movies was Love Actually and I couldn’t resist the
temptation to watch it while I got comfortable under a blanket.

*****

I woke to the sound of metal clicking and a hinge creaking.
Cowering down on the couch while my eyes adjusted, Chessa jumped off to hide.
Traitor
.
The TV was casting a blue hue throughout the living room, but did nothing to
give me away. I saw a tall shadow fall over the entryway between the living
room and the foyer and my heart started hammering uncontrollably in my chest; I
was having trouble maintaining steady breaths.

Looking for my cell phone, I felt around in my pockets and
realized it was on the charger in the kitchen. Cal would never stop by this
late and let himself in like this. Panicked, I started looking around the room
trying to find something to protect myself with. Cal kept insisting that I get
a gun and now I was wishing I would’ve listened. The shadow headed up the
stairs and I made my move for my cell.

Reaching the counter as I heard the footsteps above my head,
I ripped my phone off the charger, noticing missed calls and texts, but ignored
them to call Cal. As the phone started ringing I prayed he answered, knowing he
was working tonight.

“Cassidy, why are you calling so late?”

“Cal, someone’s in the house. I don’t know what to do.” I
was trying to whisper, looking for something to grab. I spotted my vase full of
dying peonies, from a second bouquet James had sent, and dumped them in the
sink and readied the vase in my hand.

“What?! Cassidy, are you sure?” I heard him mumbling
something to his partner and then heard the distinct sound of sirens pierce my
ear.

“Cal, yes, please hurry.”

“Cassidy, where are you in the house and where’s the
intruder?”

“I’m in the kitchen, he’s upstairs.”

“Get out of the house.”

I started to head for the front door when I heard the
footsteps head down the stairs. I was stuck between the entryway and the living
room and right on the other side was the bottom of the staircase. Cal was
screaming on the end of the phone so I decided to throw my phone back toward
the kitchen in hopes of creating a diversion.

The phone landed on the tiled floor with a crash and the
shadowy figure circled around the wall just barely missing me. I held my
breath, and when I thought there was enough space, I ran for the front door. I
turned the knob but it didn’t budge. I was searching for the deadbolt when I
heard thundering steps approaching me and I started sobbing. Realizing I was
still armed with the vase, I increased my grip on it.

“Where are you going?”

Turning my head briefly, I shrieked as I threw the vase at
my attacker. “The cops are on their way. Stay back.”

~ JAMES ~

Missing her more than I thought possible, I realized that I
hadn’t seen her since Monday morning. When I wasn’t dealing with business I had
been working with Annie and Smith trying to protect Cassidy. We did everything
we could, legally, to keep her mom’s story under wraps and to keep the
reporters off her property. The details of the story were worse than I
remembered and I couldn’t imagine how she had dealt with this at such a
vulnerable age.

Security had informed me that Melissa made an appearance on
Monday, but not hearing anything else from Melissa, I let it go. Mom was doing
well this week and Dad assured me she was getting enough rest. I had postponed
the architects again regarding the country house because it was simply too much
to deal with at the time. Looking at the clock, I realized it was almost
midnight. I had tried calling and texting Cassidy earlier that night but got no
response. She was probably ignoring me and I couldn’t blame her, having
neglected her for three days.

I packed up my belongings and headed to the parking garage,
hopping in the Rover instead of making the walk across the street to the hotel.
I hadn’t slept for crap the previous three nights and I was beginning to
believe that I slept better with Cassidy next to me. Having a key, being her
landlord and all, I might as well use it, though I knew I was overstepping my
bounds.

Pulling in behind her car, I noticed the place was dark, as
it should be. I made my way up the steps, slipped my key into the lock and
gently opened the door. The TV was casting a slight blue hue across the room.
She must have gone to bed forgetting to turn the TV off. Quietly, I closed the
door, turned the deadbolt and made my way up the stairs, spotting Chessa run up
before me.

Entering her room, I made my way straight to the bathroom.
Turning on the light after closing the door, I removed my jacket, shirt and
shoes. I decided to peek on her sleeping image in bed, opened the bathroom door
and realized her bed was empty. It dawned on me that with the TV still being on
she was probably asleep on the couch.

When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I heard a loud
clatter in the kitchen so I turned the corner to investigate. Everything seemed
in place and at that moment I heard footsteps racing toward the door and
someone yanking on the knob. Cassidy.

“Where are you going?”

As her image came into focus, I could see her desperately
trying to open the front door. It dawned on me that she thought I was an
intruder and before I could say anything more she turned and threw a vase at
me. I raised my arm in defense just in time to stop the vase from slamming
against my face.

“The cops are on their way. Stay back.”

The vase hit the floor, broken to pieces against my arm.
“Dammit, Cassidy, it’s me.”

“James?” Slipping to the floor, she hugged her knees to her
chest. Her face came into view and I noticed tears slipping down her cheeks;
she was shaking like a leaf.

“Cassidy, you’re safe.” Crouching down in front of her, I
placed my hands on her knees. Her eyes were searching my face and when
recognition reached them she threw her arms around my neck, apologizing. I sat
down with her and scooped her into my lap, “I’m sorry, love. I didn’t mean to
scare you.” We sat there for a few minutes, or maybe it was just seconds.

“I’m so sorry. The vase, are you hurt?” She pulled back to
look at me and we heard sirens begin to pierce the air. “Oh, God.”

The sound registered with us at the same time, “You called
the cops? I thought it was a scare tactic.”

“Of course I called them. I called Cal.” Cassidy scrambled
to her feet and turned on a few lights before opening the front door.

We stepped out onto the porch as the cop car pulled up in
front. Cal jumped out of the passenger seat with his hand on his pistol.

“Jesus Christ, Cassidy. Are you okay? What’s going on?”

Making her way down the steps she said, “Everything is fine.
I’m so sorry. James came over and I was asleep on the couch.”

“It’s my fault. She didn’t know it was me.” Standing behind
Cassidy, I placed my hands on her shoulders and saw the relief wash over Cal’s
face as he examined her with his eyes to assure himself she was alright.

“You’re lucky she figured it out before I got here. I
could’ve shot you.” Clipping his gun back in its holster, his partner got back
in the car and on the radio, calling off the other squad cars.

“It didn’t help that his hair was pulled back. I didn’t
recognize his shadow.” Cassidy chuckled lightly, leaning her head back against
my chest as I circled my arms around her shoulders.

“Dude, your arm is bleeding.”

Cassidy bolted out of my arms, turning to examine my arm.

“Your sister has quite the arm. The vase she threw to fend
me off must’ve cut my arm.”

Examining my arm she said, “We need to clean this up. Hold
it upright.”

“It’s just a scratch, I didn’t even notice it.” I went ahead
and held my arm upright while trying to scope out the damage. “You’re more
dangerous than I would’ve thought.” I winked at her as she swatted my shoulder.

“Alright, if you’re both good here I should to get going.”

We assured Cal that all was well and Cassidy and I headed
back inside as he pulled away.

“I’m so sorry, James. I should’ve known it was you.”

“It’s alright. I tried calling and just assumed you’d be in
bed. I just wanted to feel you next to me.”

Tiptoeing around the broken vase, she headed to the kitchen
and returned with a broom and dust pan.

“I fell asleep on the couch watching movies. I wasn’t
expecting to see you since I haven’t seen you since Monday.”

Her tone was dismal and I was immediately reminded of my
error. She was busy sweeping up the glass as Chessa made her way over and I
snatched her up to ensure she didn’t step on any shards of glass.

“Work has been really hectic this week. I’m sorry if you
thought I was avoiding you.” She looked to me with a smile that didn’t reach
her eyes. “I wasn’t.”

“Hang onto her for another second, I think I got all the
glass but I want to vacuum it real quick.” Pulling out a vacuum from the
closet, she quickly ran it over the floor and after a few swipes she put it
away. “Let’s go clean up that arm.”

Carrying Chessa, I followed her up the stairs, into the
bedroom and dropped Chessa on the bed before heading to the bathroom where
Cassidy was pulling out some first aid supplies. She turned on the water, wet a
rag and turned to me. She was staring at my chest and licked her lips, though I
don’t think she was aware she did it.

“Cassidy...” I said her name softly as my cock twitched.

Her eyes jumped to mine and she blushed, “Sorry. I don’t
think I’ll ever tire of staring at you.”

I smiled down at her as she took my forearm in her hand and
began to wipe the blood away. After all the blood was gone and we were sure
there was no glass in the cut, she placed some ointment and a bandage over it.
It was a little worse than I thought but I assured her I didn’t need stitches.
A massive yawn took over her face.