WANT (completed)

ch. 55 | Unexpected Visitor

CASSANDRA'S POV

Eleven days and I was back at work. The first seven flew by with the funeral and other things, but the last six were rough. Asa wanted me to take a few days for myself, and after a bit of back and forth, I agreed. He stayed at home with me at first, but two days ago he was needed back at his own office, followed by here at Rhodes.

Today was my first day back, and while all of my real work was already handed off to others, it felt good to be back in my office. I was able to get some basic things done — mostly related to the foundation — but that was fine because I liked that stuff. My mom handled it before, and it was all the charity work and stuff we did to give back to the community, so it didn't really feel like work.

Asa brought me lunch earlier, and it was now almost two pm. He had a few meetings lined up, and I decided to hang around and check over some of the property accounting paperwork that had been filed in today rather than head home alone.

Keeping myself occupied helped me keep my mind off of the questions that were still left unanswered. It also helped to not think about how the one person that I was actually related to was the one person that I felt like I couldn't trust. How could Zac work so well with Asa, but not want me to be with him? That too made no sense to me.

I'm hidden behind my dual screens on my desk, so when the door to my office opens, I can't see who it is, but assume it's Asa. I don't see who else would walk in without knocking, and certainly he's the only person who can get by my receptionist without a call in.

"Asa, seriously? I thought you have that meeting starting in a few minutes? I told you, I'm fine," I groan playfully, although I'm being honest. Him checking up on me was cute, but I could handle myself for a few hours.

The person clears their throat, and I jump up, sitting up straight as I realize that it's not definitely not Asa. My cheeks redden at the comment I made, and I finally lean to the side to peak over the edge of the computer screen.

I freeze when I see the blonde hair and blue eyes on the man staring at me. His hands are stuffed in his pockets, standing straight up. He's got dark slate dress pants, a light blue shirt, and a small smile planted on that face of his.

"Ethan," I choke out, standing up from my seat slowly. I smooth out the material of my navy dress, avoiding grazing my bump. I've made a habit of keeping my hands off while I'm at work, because we still have yet to tell anyone about the baby. We were planning on telling Asa's mom soon, because that's really the only person we really cared to tell. "What are you doing here?"

I hate that I feel so uncomfortable around him. But then again, why the hell is he here? I haven't seen him since that stupid wedding almost a year ago, and although I knew he had settled back in down, he knew he wasn't welcome anywhere near me.

"Ah, I just wanted to stop by and give you my condolences. I had a meeting earlier and thought of you. I couldn't just leave without stopping by to see how you were coping," his tone is perfectly in line, as if he had rehearsed the words before coming here. I wouldn't put that past Ethan. He was good at acting and playing mind games, especially with me.

"Thank you. I'm doing fine," I say curtly, as I give him a cautious but gentle fake-smile, not moving any closer to him nor inviting him further into my office. But that doesn't stop him from taking three long strides right up to me, his blue eyes gazing into my darker ones. I jerk my head to the side, breaking the eye contact. "I'm kind of busy, actually. So now isn't the best time."

I go to side step him, hoping to guide him straight out the door and out of my office. But just as I do, he moves forward, bumping me to the side so my lower back hits the edge of my desk. A tiny yelp escapes my lips from my body suddenly hitting the wood, and I rear my head back, frowning at I look up to him.