All In (18 page)

He had everything now, and no way in Hell was Marissa going to ruin that.

But he knew Marissa. He didn’t know why she wanted so badly to deny him his happiness, why after almost a decade she couldn’t seem to get over whatever hurt he’d inflicted on her, but she would pounce on Cass. It didn’t matter what Cass said about fighting or being his. Marissa would prey on every insecurity Cass had, and she wouldn’t care if Cass was collateral damage on her way to destroying him.

This time it would destroy him. He loved Cass. He always had, but once he’d opened himself up to being with her, really seeing what he had in front of him, the emotion consumed him. He’d been with more women than he’d like to admit, even had long-term relationships, and none of them damaged him in the least bit when they were over. This one would. This was it for him.

No, Marissa wouldn’t win this one. He wouldn’t let her take this away from him, even if it meant destroying her in the process. He just hoped that, in the heat of battle, he didn’t lose the reason for fighting the war.

“
C
assidy Moore
,” she said, reaching out her hand to the stunning brunette in front of her. She’d seen pictures of Mad’s ex-wife, but they didn’t come close to seeing her in person. The woman was not only beautiful, but she oozed charisma and confidence. Yeah, she could see how Maddox would’ve chosen her to be the perfect COO’s wife.

It made Cass hate her just that little bit more.

This woman had it all. Cass glanced around the office, not missing the family pictures hung interspersed with the diplomas and awards. Her husband was good looking. He wasn’t Maddox gorgeous, but he was handsome with his soft brown eyes and light brown hair dusted with grey. Her kids were adorable. With all this goodness, why was she so hell-bent on destroying her ex-husband?

“Marissa Paul,” the bitch smiled and motioned for Cass to sit. Cass pulled out her computer, ready to take notes. She’d be perfectly professional. Nothing out of the ordinary. This would just be about the website.

“Thank you for taking the time to meet with me, Dr. Paul. I-“

“Marissa, please.”

“Marissa. I know you met with Phil to go over some preliminary ideas, but I wanted to spend some time discussing in a little more detail what you’re thinking for the website,” Cass began, uncomfortable with how Marissa just seemed to peruse her, as if she was a predator looking for Cass’ weakness. Mad had warned her that Marissa was good. He’d explained how she’d worm her way into Cass’ psyche without Cass even realizing it. Cass came armed, though, with a history of being manipulated by her mother and being judged by everyone around her for not fitting into how society thought a woman should look—stick thin, pretty, and supported by a man. Would manipulation hurt? Yep. Would it cause her to doubt? Sure. But Maddox promised he’d be there waiting to soothe whatever psychological injuries Marissa inflicted on her.

“So, I’m thinking we start with what you don’t like with your current website,” Cass suggested, and the conversation started off perfectly professional, with Marissa rattling off how the site felt slow and old. It didn’t reflect Casita’s new direction, which was holistic healing. It was cold and technical, and they wanted to bring it into a new age. They wanted to offer online discussions with their patients, health and wellness information, and make their practice seem warm and friendly.

“You didn’t ask me about my last name,” Marissa flipped the conversation just as Cass was about to end the meeting.

“I didn’t have to,” Cass responded, trying not to look surprised. They’d just met for over an hour with no sign that Marissa would be anything but professional. Why now? Cass focused on keeping her voice light and hands steady as she packed up her computer.

The woman pursed her lips and her gaze turned colder.

“How long have you been sleeping with him?”

“What?!”

“Sleeping with him. You have that-“

“I appreciate your insight for the web design, Dr. Paul,” Cass stopped her, emphasizing Marissa’s last name. Sure, questions about Marissa floated around Cass’ head: Why had she kept that last name? Was it really because she had established her success well before she remarried? Or was there something else? But Cass had years of working with an ass like Phil who used shock to try and get a reaction out of his employees, so she’d had plenty of practice in not taking the bait. “I’ll be in contact when I have some renderings for you to review.”

Cass wasn’t going to give this woman what she wanted. With trepidation and a plethora of assurances that him talking about his past exploits wouldn’t make her doubt his feelings for her, Maddox had warned her about all the other women Marissa had run off. He couldn’t tell her how Marissa had done it, because he wasn’t the type to hang onto even a friendship with his exes. If it had anything to do with Marissa giving off the crazy ex-wife vibe like she was in that moment, that could have been a start.

Marissa stood and walked Cass to the door of the office, the psychiatrist’s eyes narrowed as if assessing whether her prey was worth her effort. “You’re different than the rest,” she said, softening, before reaching out her hand to shake Cass’. “Don’t let him break you.”

And with that statement, the good doctor returned to her desk, dismissing Cass.

What the fuck?

* * *

“
S
hit
, honey, that is some crazy right there,” Lo shook her head as she ran the box cutter through another insane layer of tape. Lo would take no chances with her stuff, allowing nothing short of superhuman strength or the sharpest samurai blade to get through all of the tape she’d heaped on the moving boxes.

“Right?”

“You sure you really want to take on this crazy bitch?” Lo pulled out some books, plopping them willy nilly on the shelf behind her. Lo finally made the plunge, deciding Dan was really worth closing the book on the Hoochie Mama era.

Cass was really happy for Lo. It was about time she’d settled down. A person really shouldn’t go through life jumping the bones of one guy after another, and she knew it had started becoming something empty for Lo. Cass was just glad a good man like Dan came into her life when he did. The man thought Lo hung the stars, and considering her friend’s penchant for fluorescent everything and her undying love of reality dating shows, nothing short of worship would justify it.

“I can handle some crazy,” Cass replied, adding more books to the shelves.

“I did some digging,” Lo said, setting aside her empty box before cutting through the tape on the next one.

“On what?” Cass asked, afraid she already knew Lo’s answer.

“Crazy bitch.”

“Lo, we talked about this. I don’t want you to do digging. This is for me to handle.”

“Girl, I take care of my friends, and this psycho has a reputation. You’ve been so good and haven’t totally run off screaming. It’s been what? A month?”

Cass nodded trying not to let her humiliation show on her face.

“Yeah, a whole month, and you braved your way through the tough part. I know that wasn’t easy. I don’t know who planted that damn doubt monster in your pretty little head, but that’s a topic for another day, because my whole goal was to find out her M.O. and cut the bitch off at the ankles before she could feed that beast.”

Lo had stopped digging the knife through the thick layers of tape and gave Cass a look that said, “Yeah, try to refute what I just said.”

Cass sighed. She’d argue and lose. It didn’t matter how many nights she’d spent wondering when the other shoe would drop. She’d managed, for the first time in a long time, to fight her doubts and anxieties. It wasn’t that they were there, but that she pushed them away. It was hard, and some days it felt like a losing battle, especially when she and Mad would have little arguments about the most random things. In those moments, her self-doubt would flare, and she’d have to lock herself in the bathroom and talk herself off the ledge. She wouldn’t allow Mad to be the crutch. She refused to allow herself to rely on him telling her she was worth it, no matter how it felt when he wrapped his arms around her. This time she wanted it to be about her feeling worth it.

Maybe that was the difference this time around. Maybe this time she focused on why she’d be the best for Maddox. She was worth it. When her doubts said she wasn’t smart enough, she reminded herself that she graduated top of her class. When she didn’t feel strong enough, she reminded herself that she was the one who moved up from a lowly design assistant to managing a team of designers. Sure, she wasn’t at Marissa-level genius or success, but look how that turned out. Marissa couldn’t hold onto Maddox, and she was at the top of her game. No, she reminded herself that she was not only great at giving Maddox what he needed, but she also deserved for him to give her what she needed. Sure, it was a fight to push out the doubt and let the good, powerful thoughts in, but she was too old and too experienced to lose sight of how important this fight was, and losing wasn’t an option this time around.

She wasn’t a young thing anymore, and Cass thought it was time to grow up. That was why Lo’s frank outing of Cass’ inner anxieties bothered her. It embarrassed her that her friend seemed so proud of her for finally growing up and dealing with her self-esteem issues like an adult.

However, a small part of her, that little immature 17 year old itching for gossip, wanted to know what Lo had dug up.

“Fine. What did Sherlock Lo find out?” What could she say, she was a little contradictory…

Lo laughed. “Honey, that woman might be my bitch hero.”

“What?!” Cass stopped rearranging Lo’s books on the shelves. Lo had no sense of order, and Cass liked to organize when she was stressed.

“She is all kinds of worshiped in her field. She’s been published in almost every medical journal there is. She’s revered. She developed this new form of psychotherapy that is being hailed as the second coming in the world of drug addiction.”

“I know all this, Lo. Along with that she’s happily married with her two kids. They have a cabin in Tahoe and a condo in Hawaii. What’s your point?”

“She has all this, and yet she makes it her mission to destroy Maddox at every turn. Well, at least his love life. You know she never took an ounce of money from him?”

“Yeah, well, she kind of cheated on him…”

“But we don’t live in that kind of state. She should have been able to take half. She didn’t. She walked away clean.”

“Okay, but-“

“Right. So, she didn’t take from him financially, but she’s never let him have a normal relationship, like, ever.”

“Lo, I told you that.”

“From Maddox. But I heard this from a couple of his exes. They were pretty reverent when I mentioned her name, and they said they don’t envy anyone else who gets involved with him.”

“Seriously? What, did she boil their bunnies on the stove? What the fuck, Lo?” Cass was getting worried. Was this woman some sort of stalker? Serial killer?

“No! Way worse. They said she’d gotten into their heads. Made them see things about Maddox that they hadn’t seen before. It was like they were so grateful that she involved herself, keeping them from making a huge mistake by being with someone as crazy as Maddox. When I pressed them on it, they said Maddox was just high maintenance and they’d never felt like they met his expectations. Like they weren’t good enough for him, and somehow she made them think they were dodging a bullet. I don’t get it. She made herself out to be the hero.”

“Damn.”

“Be careful with her, Cass. These women, they are awesome, fun, and not stupid. They’re confident, and-“

“I’m not.” Cass took a deep breath and sat on the floor of the living room, her back against the couch. She didn’t want to be manipulated, but she knew it wasn’t that easy. Cass was strong, and she wanted Maddox more than anything. She loved him more than she’d ever loved anyone. But this woman was a pro at getting into people’s heads, and Cass’ strong self-talk might not be enough to overcome her own doubt monster if a professional manipulator like Marissa started to feed it.

“Honey, you are gorgeous. You are strong, and smart, and all the things those women aren’t. You love Maddox, and I’m not sure they did.”

“She said I was different than the others,” Cass sighed. “It’s already started.”

“Sweets, you
are
different than the others.” Lo pulled Cass up and started pushing her into the kitchen where she poured them another round of margaritas. “I mean, those girls wouldn’t help me unpack and drink these very sugary, high calorie margaritas with me, now would they? Nope. They’d sip their skinny shit wine and eat a piece of lettuce that they’d vomit back up later.”

Cass smirked and took a big gulp of the sugary goodness mixed with tequila.

“Just keep your guard up, and don’t let the bitch mess around in your head.”

“So easy to say…”

“Aw, fuck. Just be careful with the psych-out bitch. You have Maddox, and he adores you. I’d say he loves you, but you’ll argue with me and then freaking over analyze every single word he says. So, right now, he adores you. And he wants you. He’s not taking this lightly, and you guys are kinda hot! So don’t let her in your head. Period.”

She hugged Lo. “You’re the only person I’ll let psych me out. I promise. And what kind of hot?” Cass asked just as the boys came up with another set of boxes.

“We’re back with the last load!” Dan yelled as he carted two boxes up the stairs, Maddox on his heels with a few more.

Damn, Maddox looked practically edible when he lifted heavy things. He was wearing a black t-shirt with dark jeans and a baseball hat. The muscles in his arms pulled taut as he carried the boxes into the bedroom. Cass couldn’t help but admire the little part of his six pack peeking out from where his tee had risen up from his waistband. A small glimpse of his happy trail made her blush.

“That kind of hot,” Lo whispered in Cass’ ear. “The kind where you’re ready to eat him up right here in the living room, and the kind where he couldn’t keep his eyes off of you as soon as he hit the top of the stairs. Stop smoldering. You’re making me uncomfortable.”