Cassandra can’t believe how she just melted in Emilio’s arms. She can’t even look at him. Her dress is hiked up over her hips, and her belt is missing. She didn’t even feel him take it off.
She notices a few loose strands of hair framing her face. Darn, her chignon has come undone. ~Perfect.~ She tugs her dress back down. She can’t believe she acted like a hormone-crazed teenager. How mortifying.
She lightly touches her swollen lips, and when she finally looks at Emilio, she sees a smug grin on his face. She’s tempted to slap it off, but he disappears through a door before she can. He comes back a few minutes later, looking all put together with his hair neatly combed.
“Do you still think you can work here after what just happened?” he asks, standing right in front of her.
Butterflies go wild in Cassandra’s stomach. His thumb brushes her bottom lip, and she shivers. “Look, don’t leave; we need to talk. I’ll be back in fifteen minutes. Go and clean up—the restroom is through there.”
He points to his left, and as Cassandra follows his gesture, he kisses her again, gently biting her lip before pulling away. “From now on, only I get to bite that lip.”
He walks out, leaving her wanting him even more. Cassandra collapses onto the couch, her knees weak with desire. She’s afraid she might fall over.
Once she’s calmed down, she heads to the bathroom and splashes cold water on her flushed face. She looks like a mess—all hot and bothered. She sighs and lets her hair down; she’ll have to redo it.
Cassandra goes back into the office to put her dirty thong in her bag. She’ll have to go commando—all thanks to Emiliano Rodriguez. She can’t believe her body betrayed her like this.
And now she can’t even find a hair tie to put her hair back up.
***
“Are you ready?” Emilio asks thirty minutes later as he erupts into his office, where she’s been waiting for him.
“Ready for what?” Cassandra replies. “I’m not going anywhere with you except back to my apartment.”
“You can’t,” he says. “Your lease there is suspended.”
“I know,” she snaps back. “Bastard! Why would you ~do~ that? Where am I supposed to live after the DNA results?”
“I already got the results, and it’s confirmed that Alex is my son. I’ve been thinking, and I’ve made a decision.”
Cassandra doesn’t like where this is going. “What do you mean?”
“I need a wife, and you need a place to live. If you marry me, I’ll take care of you and Alex. You won’t have to work. It’s a win-win.”
“A win—” She can’t believe her ears. “For who, exactly? I don’t want to marry you, and I don’t want to live with you. You’re crazy. I barely know you.”
“That didn’t stop you fifteen months ago—or a few minutes ago. My son needs his father, and I plan to be there for him in every way. I can’t do that if you keep him away from me.”
Cassandra runs a hand through her hair. “You don’t want to marry me, Emilio; I’m not your type. I’m a nobody. What will people say? They’ll laugh at me. Your friends and family will laugh at me.”
“No one will laugh at you while I’m around,” he says firmly. “I’ll be a good father and do my best to be a good husband…”
“I’ll embarrass you. And you’ll drive me nuts with your control-freak ways. We’re worlds apart,” Cassandra says firmly. “You don’t love me, Emilio. You don’t even ~like~ me. I mean nothing to you. Just let me back into my apartment and let’s talk about custody.”
He gives her a scornful look. “Who said marriage is about love? Lust is about all anyone can hope for, and I can assure you, I won’t disappoint you there.”
Cassandra’s cheeks turn red. ~Damn it!~ She scolds herself, ~This isn’t the time for that.~
“You don’t have to marry me to be a good father to Alexander,” she says. “I’m not going to fight you on joint custody. You don’t have to pretend with me, Emilio. I understand you’re shocked to find out you have a six-month-old, but that doesn’t mean we have to take such a drastic step. We barely know each other.”
“That can be easily fixed,” he says nonchalantly.
“Why are you doing this to me?” Cassandra glares at him. “What did I do to deserve this? Tell me.”
“I don’t owe you or anyone else an explanation for my actions.”
“This is my life we’re talking about. Marriage is a ~lifetime~ commitment. You’re trying to take away my life without even discussing it with me.”
“Okay. If you don’t marry me, I’ll have my legal team sue you for sole custody of Alex.”
“How do you sleep at night, you despicable bastard?”
His eyes flicker, almost like a flinch. “Do we have a deal or not?”
“Just try to take him away from me—I’ll kill you with my bare hands.” She squeezes her eyes shut and shakes her head. She must be in a nightmare. But when she opens her eyes again, she nearly jumps out of her skin. He’s right there in front of her, inches away.
“I admire your spirit.” His eyes are fixed on her lips, and she feels weak at the knees. “You’re like a lioness protecting her cubs. Look, I wouldn’t actually take him away from you. But do you really want to deprive him of a father? His heritage? Either we do this ~my~ way, or I’m out.”
She swallows. In her heart, she knows it isn’t right to deny Alex a relationship with his father. “Fucking blackmailer. All right, for the sake of my son, we have a deal.”
Emilio’s body goes slack, almost as if he’s relieved. He goes over to his desk and picks up the phone. “Is it done?” he says to the person on the other end.
He hangs up, walks over to Cassandra, and takes her hand. He pulls a small box out of his pocket and opens it. A stunning, princess-cut ring with a diamond platinum band stares back at her.
Cassandra’s throat tightens with unshed tears. If she turns down this gorgeous ring, offered to her with such coldness, she will be closing the door on any chance of a father’s love for her son. She can’t do that. She knows too well what it means to grow up without the support of family.
She’s speechless as he slips the ring on her finger.
“This is wrong on so many levels,” she says. “What if I fall in love with someone else?”
“That won’t happen. I’ll keep you so busy, you won’t have time to think about another man.”
Emilio leads her out of the office before she can respond. As they step into the elevator together, Cassandra sees herself in the mirror. Her hand flies to her hair.
“I need to put my hair up before anyone sees me.”
“Leave it be,” he instructs. “You’re more beautiful like this.”
“And where exactly are we headed?” she inquires.
“I’m not a fan of being questioned.”
“Well, I didn’t plan on getting hitched, but here I am—~engaged~.” She spits the words out, but he seems amused by her fury.
The elevator ~dings~ open, and they step out into the bustling lobby. Emilio guides Cassandra down a corridor before halting in front of a door and holding it open. After a brief hesitation, she steps inside. She is surprised to find most of the bank’s staff already gathered in the conference room.
Cassandra shoots a glance at Emilio, who wraps his arm securely around her waist and pulls her close.
“This will be quick,” he starts. “Ms. Miller and I are engaged, which is why she’s no longer an employee here. I’d appreciate it if you all kept her previous involvement here under wraps.
“I’m sure you all recall the confidentiality agreement you signed when you joined the company. If any of you violate that agreement, there will be legal consequences. I trust I’ve made myself clear.”
Cassandra is taken aback by Emilio’s sudden announcement. Some of the employees look shocked, while others exchange skeptical glances. Mr. Smith looks as if things finally make sense to him. Jake just stares down at the floor.
Once they’re back in the lobby and out of earshot of the employees, Cassandra says, “You’re worried about the company’s image if it gets out that the big boss is involved with his employees—that’s why you took away my job. That’s why you made the announcement.”
“What I said in there applies to you as well. And the boss, as you so crudely put it, is ~not~ involved with any of his employees—do you understand?”
As they exit the office building, both of them silent, it becomes apparent that the men who had approached Cassandra that morning are Emilio’s bodyguards. They’re here to keep the press at bay.
Because somebody has tipped the press off that the great Emiliano Rodriguez just got engaged.
~I wonder who~, Cassandra thinks bitterly.
Outside, the camera flashes are so intense that Cassandra has to shield her eyes. Questions are hurled from every direction, and people are yelling at Cassandra to show them her ring. Emilio simply states that he’ll be issuing a press release later that evening.
As they navigate their way to his car, he keeps his arm around Cassandra, and his bodyguards do an excellent job of forming a protective barrier around them.
It would have been much, much easier to take the helicopter, Cassandra thinks. But Emilio decided not to. That must mean he wanted the press to take these pictures…
The sight of Cassandra and Emilio together will undoubtedly be headline news by tomorrow morning. Once the world knows of their engagement, it will be even harder for her to back out.
Trapped. He has her trapped like a bird in a cage.
Once they’re safely in the car, Cassandra lets out the breath she’s been holding. She turns to Emilio just as he asks, “Where’s my son?”
“At daycare,” she says. ~He’s my son too, you absolute bastard~.
“Good, that gives us time to pick out something for you to wear tonight.”
“I don’t feel like going out tonight.”
“Well, it’s going to be a long night for you then. I wasn’t asking.”