There it is, his calculating stare. He’s been giving me that stare for years now. I’m certain he knows how I feel about his daughter, but he also knows I would never do anything to ruin my family, so she’s safe from me.
“Cason, you remember the promise our forefathers made, don’t you?
How could I forget?
Michail continues, “Our great grandfathers, when they banded together to create the empires we have now, they swore to each other Bancroft and Kotov blood would never mix to keep things pure between our families. We’ve held that promise for the last hundred years. Not to say some haven’t been tempted over the decades, but those people were taken care of.”
I keep my face stoic, not letting him know at all how that stupid promise affects my life now. I don’t think I could ever love someone else. I rather die a bachelor than pick another woman to be my wife. Josie is the only woman I want now, but she can never be mine. I have no choice but to subject myself to the hell that will be watching her fall in love and marry some other bastard. Whoever it is, it will take everything in me not to want to rip his balls off and feed them to him.
“I remember, sir. You have nothing to worry about. Josie is like a little sister to me.” A blatant lie, at least, now it is. I can’t tell if he’s bought it or not.
Placing the tumbler on my desk, he stands and buttons his suit’s jacket. “Good. And, Cason, make sure you have him dead before the end of the week.”
I stand as well and stride over to the door. “Of course, sir. I’ll have him done as soon as possible.” Opening it, I watch him stride through and leave.
Closing the door, I pinch the bridge of my nose. I wish I could get her out of my system.
Chapter Two
Josie
I crackmy back as I enter my apartment and toss my keys in the bowl next to the door. It was a good day at the bakery; lots of customers and lots of money. I do this job mostly to make people smile and perhaps make their day a little brighter by getting to eat something nice and comforting before going on about their errands. However, I’m there from before the store opens at four in the morning to start on the first batch of bagels, muffins, and other things that customers like in the morning. Then I’m there until after we close at 7:30.
The work is rewarding, but also taxing on the body. I may be twenty-two, but this job can make me feel like I’m fifty-some days. “Ensley, you home?” The lights are on, but that doesn’t mean anything. That woman, though I love her like the sister I never got, will go around the house, turning on every light, and then leave. She forgets them all the time, and it’s our electricity bill that’s paying the price.
“In my room!”
I pass by the small kitchen, turn off the light, and head down the hall. Her room is across from mine, we each have our own bathrooms, which is nice. Opening her door, I find her in a bra and panties holding different dresses in front of her skinny form. God, I envy her body; she’s tall, slender, blonde. She would’ve been a knockout for Sports Illustrated back when it was popular, a bit before either of our times, but my brother used to keep old copies in his room before I understood why. I just thought that he liked the swimsuits like I did. Instead, he was looking at them for the models and their killer bodies.
Sighing, I lean against her door frame. “It’s unfair that you’re so hot. You could wear a trash bag and it would be sexy.”
Ensley glances over at me with her bright green eyes, I swear they look like seafoam green. I’ve never met anyone else with the same shade of green she has. When she’s upset they turn a dark blue. She grins. “Come off it, Jo, you have a smoking hot bod as well. All the guys are panting after you. I’m sure you have to beat them off with a stick while at the bakery.”
I snort. “Hardly. Besides, there’s only one guy I want to notice me and I don’t think he’ll ever see me as more than a little sister.”
She shakes her head as she tosses a red dress on her bed and picks up a black one. “Girl, you’ve been pining after that man since we were twelve. You were too young for him then, and though you’re an adult now, if he hasn’t made a move he’s never going to make a move. You need to go out and get laid, realize he’s not the second coming, and have fun. Come out with me tonight. We’ll get lit and find you someone to get cozy with.
My nose scrunches. The thought of anyone else touching my body disgusts me. Ever since I can remember I’ve had a crush on Cason. He used to take care of me when the normal babysitter was busy. We’d have so much fun together. He would play all sorts of games. Have tea parties and he would let me paint his nails. I have nothing but happy memories with him. Then he went and moved to the other side of the country for a while and I would only get to see him during holidays when our families would get together. The year he brought home a girlfriend with him was the worst. He did nothing but make out or hold her the entire time. I tried everything to get him to notice me, but he gave me the typical kid brush off. I cried myself to sleep. I knew he would only ever see me as a kid since he was so much older, but I tried hard for years to get him to notice me.
“Even if he did like me, we can’t be together. My father has made sure to drill that into my head since I turned eighteen. There’s the promise?”
“Your great-great-grandfathers or whatever they were, made to each other, I know. You’ve told me, and you know what I think about it. It’s archaic and bullshit.” She hums and picks up the red dress again. “The way I see it is you have three options. One, you go after him yourself, screw the promise, it’s the twenty-first century. Two, you wait for him to realize your hotness and die a spinster, or three you give up on your fantasy of you two ever getting to be in love and go find yourself a man. I still can’t believe you made it through college and didn’t go out once with any of the men that asked you. You’re like a nun without being all religious and shit.”
My cheeks burn, she always likes to remind me I’ve never gotten laid, hell, I’ve barely kissed anyone. I don’t feel the fumbling I did with Jordan Pierce in the fifth-grade counts. We had no idea what we were doing, and I didn’t like it much. I wanted to be kissed by someone who knew what they were doing and the entire time I pictured him to be Cason. Well, I tried. “I know what I want, and I don’t want anyone else. Even if we can never be together I don’t want anyone else.” I would rather die a spinster cat lady, than having forced myself into a marriage or relationship I didn’t want. “There were plenty of guys in college who asked me out, I didn’t want them. Going out with you tonight isn’t going to change that.”
She goes back to the blue and finally puts it on, shimming it up her long body until it conforms to her. “You never know, your soulmate could be there at the club.”
I shake my head. “You go have fun with your other girlfriends. I’m too tired to go out. I just want to order some Chinese before they close and sink into a hot bath.”
Flipping her long honey-blonde hair behind her shoulder, she smiles at me. “You’re going to love me then. I already got some Chinese. Your Sweet and sour beef is waiting in the microwave for you.”
I rush forward and hug her. “You’re a godsend. The best of best friends ever.”
She laughs and hugs me back. “Yeah, well we’ve known each other since we were in the first grade, I would hope I’m still your best friend. I wouldn’t be able to live with just anyone. But you help make this city apartment affordable.”
Letting her go, I watch as she grabs flats to put into her purse and puts on Jimmy Choo heels that are so high, I would probably kill myself trying to walk in them, or at least break both my ankles. I’ve never been one for those kinds of things. I’m happy with shoes that keep me upright but not walking around like a baby deer. Checking her phone, her eyes widen. “Shit, my ride’s here. Don’t wait up for me, I’ll probably be spending the night with whoever I catch.” She turns and gives me a kiss on the cheek. “I still think you need to try dating someone. Love you!”
She runs out of her room and down the hall, her heels clicking on the fake hardwood. I’m sure our downstairs neighbor loves her.
