Authors: Nikki Rittenberry
“Cassandra…?
What are you doing here
?” Landon asked.
Cassie smiled nervously as the door slowly shut behind her. Landon moved toward her, taking both of her hands in his, and gave her a quick peck on the lips. Jacob’s smile steadily faded as well at the realization that both Cassie and Landon were undeniably involved. She opened her mouth to speak, but seemed unable to enunciate her words. Landon led her to the foot of Jacob’s bed.
“I’m so sorry—how rude of me. Jacob, I’d like you to meet my girlfriend. This is Cassandra.”
Jacob attentively observed Cassie. Her eyes appeared to dance around the room, landing on varying objects, until finally connecting in astonishment with his as he began to speak. “Actually you’re too late—we’ve already met”, he announced.
“Really…?” asked Landon.
“I um… I was one of the first on the scene after his accident. I dropped by this morning on my way to see my patients to see how he was doing”, she explained.
“Yeah, I’m sure she was pretty surprised to see me slumped over in my car like that. We haven’t seen each other in like—what—
five years
?” Landon’s eye’s narrowed with confusion. He turned his head and looked at Cassie. “We both went to college back in New Orleans”, Jacob added.
“
Is that so?” Landon asked
curiously. Cassie smiled apprehensively and shook her head, confirming Jacob’s statement. “Well, that’s great! Cassandra, I can’t believe you didn’t mention anything about this at dinner last night!”
“It must have just slipped my mind, I guess. It was really not
that
big of a deal”, she replied.
“
Not that big of a deal?
You very well may have saved this man’s life—and he’s a former college friend of yours! That’s one of the things I love about you, honey… you’re unbelievably modest”, Landon exclaimed. “Jacob and I are going to be working on a new project together. He was in town to present me the plans... and well… the rest is history.” Landon turned his head and began speaking to Jacob. “I have to admit, I’ve never heard a proposal strictly by memory in a hospital room before, but I’m incredibly impressed! I would like to see the blueprints and take a look at the numbers before I would be able to fully commit, though.”
“
Not a problem, Landon. I can
contact the firm back in New York and have them overnight those documents to you right away.”
“That would be great—oh, that reminds me… Cassandra—Jacob lives in New York City. Maybe he can show you around a bit while you’re there in a few weeks for your therapy convention.”
“You’re coming to New York?” Jacob asked Cassie.
“Uh-huh”, she replied.
“Jacob, I hope I wasn’t being too
forward. It’s just… Cassandra’s never
been to New York City before and since I won’t be able to travel with her, I sure would feel better knowing that there was someone there she knew that was familiar with the city. You know…
watching out for her
. There are a lot of crazies out there.”
Jacob looked at Cassie, utterly bewildered by Landon’s recent statement.
That was interesting—
had she forgotten about the weekend they’d spent in New York together five years ago?
“So… you’ve never been to New York, huh?”
Cassie made eye contact with Jacob and replied. “Nope—this will be my very first visit.” Cassie sharpened her focus on Jacob, as if telepathically preventing him from revealing more of their past.
“Business or
pleasure
?” Jacob
inquired.
“Strictly business”, she replied.
“Oh, lighten up Cassandra. This is going to be your first time in the big apple. Don’t be so uptight! You can’t show up in New York and refuse to venture out into the city—especially when Jacob here is more than willing to escort you around.”
“I understand that—but this is a business trip. I have a lot of material to look over and I just don’t think—”
“Honey, it’s settled. Jacob’s already
agreed, right?” Jacob nodded. “See?
Besides, no one’s suggesting that you pull an all-nighter.”
Cassie felt defeated; her objections were completely disregarded. Landon was compassionate and genuine, but he was terrible at compromising. When he had his mind made up about something, there was usually no reason to expend any
amount of energy trying to alter it. He preferred dominance and admittedly had difficulty relinquishing control of situations, even those events that he had no authority to command.
CHAPTER FIVE
There was nothing quite as scenic as traveling through New York City on a brisk, fall evening, Cassie thought. It had an almost therapeutic effect and allowed
her to reflect on the events that
transpired just four, short weeks ago. She
felt guilty about misleading Landon
regarding her past with Jacob, but she
saw no reason to expose all of the
memories that she’d struggled so relentlessly to suppress. She acknowledged that if Landon had been aware of the truth from the beginning, he probably would have never suggested she and Jacob re-unite
in New York. As much as she
wanted to criticize Landon for coming up
with the demented idea and Jacob for
encouraging it, she knew she was
probably more to blame than either of them. After all, she was the one that
rejected the opportunity to confess that
she and Jacob were once romantically involved.
The taxi came to a halt in front of the lavish Times Square Hotel, and to Cassie’s surprise, Jacob was standing underneath the awning, just outside of the main entrance. Once she was out of the taxi, he moved toward her and offered to take her luggage. As they walked into the elegant lobby, they engaged in small talk; as if both of them were strangers,
meeting for the very first time. Jacob
settled next to the elevator while Cassie checked-in at the front desk. Once she received her key and directions regarding
which conference room her upcoming
convention was located, she leisurely walked toward him.
“So, are you all set?” Jacob asked.
“
I think so. Thanks again for
bringing in my luggage. That was really kind of you to do that.”
Jacob leaned his good shoulder
against the wall. “No problem—I’m glad I could help”, he replied. They gazed into one another’s eyes and for a moment said nothing.
“
Well… I should probably go.”
Cassie motioned her hand toward the elevator and picked up her luggage.
“Wait, Cassie… do you want to grab a bite to eat?”
“I don’t think so… It’s been a really long day and I still have some paperwork to get through for the convention tomorrow.”
“Oh c’mon, you’ve got to eat, right?”
“Look, Jake… I understand that Landon put you in an awkward position
by asking you to keep an eye out for me,
and I really appreciate what you’re trying to do… but
, I really don’t think
that’s
such a good idea.”
Jacob looked down, in an attempt to thoroughly process her statement and then locked eyes with her before responding. “Cassie, I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to be.”
Something was different about him. The sincerity in his voice and his intense gaze resonated with her and she thought
perhaps she had been acting somewhat
infantile. She wanted to believe that deep down Jacob was a good person and though their relationship had ended
imperfectly, she was certain his in
tentions tonight overall appeared genuine.
“What about tomorrow night? I know a great place a few blocks from here with the most amazing seafood.” She
tucked her hair behind one of her ears
and he couldn’t help but smile. He recognized the gesture—
she was nervous.
“Um… Okay. I should be finished tomorrow around six.”
“How about I swing by around seven? We can meet in the lobby.”
“I’ll see you then”, she said.
Jacob watched her until the
elevator doors closed. He was delighted that
she’d finally accepted his dinner
invitation and felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the opportunity to obtain a fresh start.
* * *
Business at the firm was somewhat chaotic these days. After Jacob successfully persuaded Landon’s commercial development company to employ the plans he and his team devised for one of the largest shopping malls in the country, he found himself almost drowning in corporate formalities. He had worked nonstop for months crafting his latest masterpiece and believed he had done everything he could to lay the foundation for his future with the firm. He spent most of the following afternoon in the main conference room, alongside Mr. Anderson
and Mr. James
, discussing details of the design with the engineers
and contractor; his focus involuntarily
divided between his duties as lead designer in the current project and Cassie.
After the meeting, Jacob hustled back to his office. He was sifting through a pile of documents when his secretary and most recent one night stand, Ava, approached his desk. She stood quietly for a few moments and when her presence still went unnoticed, she placed both of her hands on the front edge of his desk and leaned forward toward him.
“So… I couldn’t help but notice that you didn’t order out for lunch today… You must be
starving
”, she said seductively.
Jacob continued shuffling his paperwork, oblivious to her flirtatious
undertone.
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to a great meal, that’s for sure”, he replied.
Ava removed her hands from his desk and walked around it, sitting on top of it in order to gain his attention. She swept her fingers along his shoulder as she spoke. “I was thinking… maybe
we
could grab a bite on our way out? Maybe even have a few drinks?”
Jacob placed his paperwork down on his desk and then leaned back in his chair. He studied her for a few, long beats and finally understood what she had been insinuating. “Actually Ava, I already have plans this evening… maybe some other time, alright?”
“Okay, I’ll let you get back to work then.” Ava stood up from his desk and left the room.
* * *
Jacob was eager to spend the evening with Cassie. During his ride from Lower Manhattan to the hotel in Times Square, he thought about how excited he was to spend time with her again. He didn’t want to read too much into her acceptance to his dinner invitation. She was, in spite of everything, presently in a relationship with another man. Cassie was uniquely refined and her ability to conduct herself in a courteous manner was one of her many attributes. Whatever her reasons were, he was determined to show her he wasn’t the insensitive and egotistical monster that she most likely thought he was. He thought about the way their relationship had ended and he couldn’t help but wonder what might have been if he had only boarded his flight to New Orleans five years earlier.
The taxi arrived several minutes before seven o’ clock and he kindly asked the driver to wait for him while he briefly went inside. He entered the majestic lobby and stood several yards in front of the elevator. He loosened his tie slightly and rolled the sleeves of his light blue, long sleeve shirt to make himself more comfortable. The heavy thud in his chest accelerated like a car traveling on the Autobahn and his anticipation grew with each passing minute. He unfastened his collar and placed his clammy hands in his pockets.