The Billionaire's Bride

Chapter 11

The entire drive to work, Jack thought about Cassie and what a lovely picture she made, sitting on his back porch in the morning sun. Every time the image of her popped into his mind, he scolded himself and reminded himself that he wasn't going to fall for another woman any time soon, even if she was his wife.

When he reached his destination, there was so much going on he was easily able to put Cassie out of his mind and focus on the tasks at hand. His vacation to the Caribbean had put him behind in a few areas, and those who were supposed to be picking up the slack for him while he as gone, weren't able to do what he had hoped and expected of them, so he had several things on his plate that should have already been done, which he dove into gladly, as it helped him to redirect his focus from other things.

"So, when do we get to meet the Mrs?" Asked one of the established partners, Harold. "We were all very excited when we heard the news."

"Soon, I'm sure" Jack said with a smile. He'd been expecting several conversations like this, and so had planned for it. "When's the next HIghwater gathering?"

"You're in luck, there's one Friday night" Harold responded. "You're going to make us wait until then to get to meet her?"

"Yes, she's getting settled, I don't want to overwhelm her too much right away. Friday should be good though, I'm sure she'll be eager to meet everyone" Jack responded, although he was very nervous about introducing Cassie to everyone. She seemed perfectly pleasant and capable, but she had been Lady Dubois' attendant, and he was a little nervous that she would be completely out of her element among the rich and elite. "Where are we meeting up?"

"We've got the VIP room at Carlton's Club reserved for 8pm" Harold replied. "Once every one hears you're bringing your new bride, they may have to reserve two rooms. They'll all want to meet her."

"I can't imagine why everyone is so interested" Jack replied half to himself, always frustrated with how interested this group of people always was in his personal life, that he would have much preferred to have kept private.

"What's her name, by the way?" Harold asked. "Ella asked me to find out."

"Her name is Cassie" Jack replied, enjoying how the name sounded when he said it, and realizing how few times he actually had spoken to her or called her by name.

"Alright, well I'll let you get back to it, I know you've got your hands full after being gone. I swear those 3rd floor kids are useless at covering when any of us are gone for more than a day" Harold said shaking his head as he left Jack's office and went on his way.

Knowing that he would be throwing Cassie to the wolves on Friday night, Jack found it much harder to focus. He was afraid for her. He knew they would all be looking for anything to criticize, and would take any opportunity to demoralize him, even if that meant doing so through his wife. It wasn't something he had considered previously, as the women he'd dated in the past were all so self-assured and flippant. They had all been around money their entire lives, and knew how to handle themselves around the wealthy. Like they were used to the prying eyes and focused attention. But Cassie was different. He was afraid that she wouldn't be able to hold up to their comments and he didn't want to deal with the drama if she wasn't able to maintain composure in front of his peers.

Even Leslie, who he couldn't think of without getting angry, would have stood up well to this crowd's inspection, but he didn't know how Cassie would fare, and it concerned him. He was afraid of what they would say and if they would find out that they barely knew each other, but he was even more concerned about how Cassie would take their nitpicking and if any of it would hurt her feelings. He was surprised at his feelings of wanting to protect her from them, but knew he had to take her with him. After all, reasoned with himself. She agreed to this, so she had better hold up her end of the bargain and take whatever they dished out. It was her obligation to their contract, he told himself.

Jack spent the next several hours focused on his work, losing all track of time. When his phone rang with a number he didn't recognize, he thought nothing of it and just sent it to voicemail, and continued on with his work. It was after 9 before he looked at a clock and realized how late it had become. He found a good place to stop his work for the evening and prepared to leave.

On his way to the car, he realized he had a voicemail and listened to the message that Cassie had left. He was immediately annoyed with himself for not having her number in his phone already and for not making sure she had a good way to get a hold of him. Only one day into this arrangement and he was already overlooking so many details, he felt more and more convinced that by the end of Friday night, everyone would be able to recognize that his marriage was simply an arrangement to promote himself, and now a day after he had agreed to the contract, he was thinking it was actually a really terrible idea after all.

When he got home, the house was dark and he correctly assumed that everyone had gone to bed. He came in quietly and got himself something to eat out of the refrigerator and then headed to his room. On his way past the entry hall, he noticed that the money he had left for Cassie was still there, and he wondered what she had done to occupy herself all day, and again felt a twinge of guilt at having roped her into his personal ambitions.

Cassie was awake when Jack got home, but she didn't come out of her bedroom. She was a little annoyed that he had never even bothered to call since he didn't come home when he had indicated, and he never called back or even texted in response to her call. She also didn't see any reason she should instigate interaction at that point, so she just went to bed when she was ready, and wondered if she would see him at all the following day.

Cassie didn't end up seeing Jack until Friday, the only communication they had being via text message. On Wednesday he had let her know that her presence would be required at a work function, and that she would need to be ready at 7:00pm on Friday evening. He gave her the location details and a brief description of the type of party it was, and to let him know if she needed anything.

She had responded that if she needed anything beyond what she had or was able to get with the ever-growing pile of cash he'd been leaving on the hall table for her, that she would let him know, but she was sure she would be fine.