“No.”

“No what?” he asks.

“No, I won’t be your date.”

“Well, why not? I thought we had a connection?”

“You just called me poor, Drew.That’s rude. I might not be able to afford a fancy dress, but at least I have something money will never buy, and that’s class.” “Cassey, wait, I - ”

Before he has a chance to finish his sentence I finish the call. I glare at my phone as if it’s Drew’s face and resist the urge to throw it against the wall. Or even better, out the window and int the sprawling streets far down below. “Are you okay?”

I spin around, and stumble into Kyler’s chest. He must’ve come and stood closer to me at some point during my conversation with Drew. The anger on his face and in his eyes has me wondering how much of that conversation he’s heard.

“Yes,” I reply meekly. “I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine,” he remarks. “What did Blake say to you?” It takes me a minute to recognize Drew’s surname. “How do know Drew?” “We went to college together. He’s a complete dog. Now tell me what he said to upset you?”

With a slow, relaxing exhalation, I reply, “Nothing, it’s not important. Let’s get back to work, okay?”

I brush past him and sit back down in front of my desk. Kyler sits back down next to me, and I startle when I feel him squeeze my hand. I stare down at where his hand engulfs mine, feeling that familiar, intense pull between us. It wasn’t Drew who I had this crazy, ridiculous attraction to. It’s Kyler. I don’t understand it, and it scares me.

∞

The apartment is quiet when I walk in. I’m beyond exhausted after my first late night working late with Kyler and in desperate need of a big glass of red wine. A delicious smell catches my attention and I drop my purse and laptop bag in the small entryway on the way to the kitchen. Quinn has her back to me, and she’s wearing her black sweats and a navy blue tank top.

Not a good sign.The source of the mouthwatering smell is a batch of red velvet cupcakes sitting on the counter.

“Quinn?”

She spins around, pulling earphones out of her ears. Her eyes are red and puffy, and her lips are swollen from nibbling on them. I know these signs too well. They only surface when Quinn and Jarred fight.

“Are you okay?” I ask her, walking to where she stands on the other side of our kitchen island.

“No,” she sniffs.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

She shakes her head, mumbling a “no” and decide to drop it. But I don’t quite like the alarm bell it raises in my mind. Quinn tells me everything. We have no secrets.

“But I should apologize to you,” she adds.

I frown. “For what?”

“Drew.”

Ah. Yes. The asshole who called me poor, and then expected me to accompany him to his parents anniversary party.

Expelling a heavy breathe from my lungs, I sit down on one of the bar chairs surrounding the kitchen island. Quinn’s heads finally comes up and she looks at me. Her expression is one of both apology and guilt.

“Giving him my number was a shitty thing to do,” I admit. “But I’m more pissed that he called me poor. And the only way he could know that is if you told him where I come from.”

“I didn’t tell him,” she replies, hiccuping. “Jarred did. I would have never told him you don’t come from money, and I told him he shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry for giving Drew your number,especially without asking,but I thought I was doing you a favor.”

“Why? Because I don’t get laid as often you do?” My voice is angrier than I intend and Quinn flinches.

“I just… I just…” she stutters. “I’m just tired of seeing you alone, Cass. You don’t think I see the way you look at couples when we pass them on the street, but I do. You want that, and you’ve been so caught up with work that you never take the time to meet people. I thought it would be good idea to see if you and Drew have a connection. But I see now that he’s not worth it. You deserve so much more.”

Looking at Quinn, and how this has clearly upset her, I can’t be angry.

It doesn’t mean I’m happy about what she did, but it means that she gets away with more than anyone in my life because she’s my best friend, and pretty much the only real family I have. I smile inside, knowing that she really does want the best for me and her heart was in the right place. Her observations aren’t far off though, and I’m beginning to see what it is she’s talking about. “You can’t play matchmaker, Quinny.”

“I know,”she sniffles again.“And I’m sorry. I just want you to be happy, and find someone who will love you, and treat you the way you deserve to be treated.” I stand up and walk over to her, pulling her into a hug. “It’s fine, I get it. But promise me you won’t do it again, please?”

With a weak smile she nods. “Promise.”

~ Kyler

After the first night Cassey and I work on her presentation, we settle into a routine and work late most nights of the week. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but after the firs night I understood why my father feels she has a bright future here at Knight Media. She’s intelligent, and while I shouldn’t be thinking of her in any other way other than professionally, I can’t help being attracted to her and her smarts. It’s rare to find the full package, but she’s it. Gorgeous and smart with a spitfire attitude.Three very dangerously sexy qualities in a woman. Before I know it, a week passes, and it’s the night before her presentation. She’s sitting in my office, looking sexy as fuck in a tight black skirt and dark blue top that makes her tits look bigger. It’s a little difficult to concentrate on anything else with her looking like that. My phone vibrates in my pocket an I force myself to drag my gaze away from Cassey, and check who’s contacting me. It’s a text from Jessa. I’ve been avoiding her, or rather ditching her, for the last few nights so that I can work with Cassey. And now she’s pissed.

Am I going to see you tonight baby? I miss you…

Even her text message is whiney. Sighing, I type out my response.

Working late. Will call you tomorrow.

My phone vibrates again before I can slip it back into my pocket.

Are you being serious? I haven’t seen you in over a week Kyler.

I ignore it and slip my phone into my pocket. I’m not in the mood to talk to her, especially not about this. I haven’t seen her since the first night Cassey and I worked late, and my right hand is starting to cramp from all the times I’ve had to jack off this week. Usually I’m happy to have Jessa on speed dial to help relieve some sexual frustrations, but something about it seems unappealing now. And I have no doubt it’s because every sexual fantasy I’ve had lately has involved me, my desk and Cassey.

I lean against my desk and watch Cassey on the other side of the room. She’s staring at her laptop, her nose is scrunched and she’s biting her pencil. I can almost hear her thinking from here. She looks fucking sexy when she does that. It’s almost eleven p.m and as much as I hate having to send her home, she needs to sleep and be rested for tomorrow. It’s a big day for her, but I know she’ll nail it.The Board would be idiots not to accept her proposal. It’s the next logical step in bringing Knight Media into the future.