It was ten past ten and unfortunately it was in the morning and not the evening hour. Bounding to her feet in a panic, Cassandra quickly reminded herself of where she was and who she was supposed to be. Charles lay there sleeping soundly as he should. He was after all a billionaire who didn’t need to be in the office by eight am- Cassandra on the other hand had to be at Shelly’s, the little diner on time.
Employers didn’t care if your mother died or if your house burned down, they just wanted you to turn up, smile and make them some money. Recovering her clothes from the floor and dressing in a hurry, Cassandra cussed herself for sleeping late knowing full well she had received warning letters for her tardiness before.
The last one had said one more strike would send her to the unemployment line. Sadly, after her night of passion, today may not end well. Shaking Charles gently, Cassandra tried to rouse him from his sleep and it took several minutes for him to wake up.
“Charles… Charles…” she whispered as she shook him, “I have an important meeting… I have to go.”
Sleepily, Charles opened his eyes and smiled at her concerned face. It was too early to get out of bed and why was she fully dressed? It took several minutes for him to gather his bearings, but when he did, he took his clothes from her outstretched hand and agreed to take her home. Truthfully, he wanted to spend the day making love to her, but she wouldn’t budge. Cassandra’s meeting was a matter of importance and she couldn’t skip today she insisted.
As the engine of his hummer revved he glanced at her nervous smile and knew something was wrong. Despite his questions of concern Cassandra maintained that all was well and she just needed to get the pending meeting out of the way. It took a few minutes to get to her ‘home’ and before he wished her goodbye properly, she kissed him on the forehead and dashed up the steps where Stanley opened the door.
Bursting through the penthouse doors, Cassandra found Danica sitting in her luxurious kitchen sipping a cup of coffee.
“It’s almost eleven Cassandra where have you been? I tried to call only to realize you left your cell here.”
Cassandra didn’t realize she had left her phone until Danica mentioned it. Before she could respond Danica added, “Your boss called… she said you don’t need to come in and you can collect your paycheck on Friday. It seems your services are no longer required.”
Cuss words left Cassandra’s lips because she knew she had messed up. What would she do without a job? How would she pay her rent? This was not the kind of morning she liked to wake up to.
Danica interrupted her thoughts. “You know that things are difficult with you and you throw away your job Cassandra? You also know you can’t tell Charles the truth, even though he is loaded. What do you plan to do?”
Of course Danica relished in delivering bad news and watching the poor girl squirm. It would be easy enough to give her money to help her out or better yet, call one of her many contacts and get her a job but that would cut her demented fun short.
Cassandra was at the point of tears by the time Danica approached her. The hug was meant to be comforting, but because of Danica’s accompanying words Cassandra cried harder. “You know I would help you out, but the companies are being audited and with my dad being ill. It would be hard for you to live here… ”
The tears were coming hotter and harder now as Cassandra thought desperately about what to do. Her bank account had all of three hundred dollars and she knew Danica would help if she could. This was a disaster. Excusing herself for the bathroom, Cassandra walked away from her best friend to take a shower. Being clean would give her a chance to think. Danica smiled as she watched Cassandra walk away, broken and sad. She was having the best day ever.
The cell phone Cassandra left vibrated on the counter and because Danica was the type of person she was, she grabbed it and opened the message flashing on the screen.
“Last night was the best time I’ve had in a long time and I can’t wait to be inside you again. I want to touch your smooth skin and taste those delicious juices. I hope your meeting goes well.”
She screwed him- Cassandra had screwed Charles before Danica got the opportunity to play out her act and the feeling of jealousy invaded her more aggressively than before. It was time to kick the action into high gear.