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Of course there were.
Cassidy had told the constable the truth. She’d aired their dirty laundry and told her everything that happened from the moment she’d woken up to calling them. She’d seen the judgement in her eyes. But Cassidy had naively thought she could rely on the officer to help them. Admitting they didn’t know Phoenix’s last name was humiliating, but there was a good enough reason for that. The officer assured them it wouldn’t be hard to find out if they knew where he worked. That had been all Cassidy cared about. They didn’t have his number, didn’t have any way of contacting him except at work—and he wasn’t there.
Jake had backed her up, confirming everything. Surely the police believed them. They were the victims, after all, and they were there to protect the victims. Weren’t they?
But Cassidy was coming to understand just how powerful his father’s influence was. There were four other people in the room. Clearly three of them had lied, but what about Phoenix? What had that awful man done to him to change his story and make Jake and her the villains?
Cassidy looked at the man still sitting on the couch, and her heart clenched tight in her chest. She liked him. He was sexy and fun, and his smart mouth had broken down all her walls. She hadn’t been looking for someone special to come into her life. In fact, she’d sworn off relationships because of the drama that undoubtedly followed and its impact on her career. But he’d crashed in, and no matter how much she tried to resist him, it was no use. She could tell herself that she despised him, but Jake would be his charming, annoying self and Cassidy caved. Except that it wasn’t just that she’d given in to his charms. She’d discovered that he could be her perfect match. Cassidy wielded being poly as a weapon—it threatened most guys knowing that Cassidy wanted multiple relationships—but Jake hadn’t flinched. He’d accepted her immediately and then encouraged her to explore a triad relationship with him.
Then they met Phoenix.
She wanted it to work. She really had, but what was she getting herself into? Phoenix was already backing away with his arms up in surrender. Was she going to stick around and let Jake’s father detonate her carefully crafted life plan? Meeting Jake’s father once had been enough. How much chaos would he create if she dated Jake long term? Or if they broke up? He’d already wreaked havoc once, and Cassidy had too much to lose. She’d worked too hard to get where she was only to have the police think she was a criminal and her favourite client take his business elsewhere.
She moved over to the windows and stared unseeingly out of them. She had to put a stop to whatever was growing between them. Self-preservation was key at this point. She heard the clunk of something dropping against the timber coffee table, and a moment later, Jake’s bare shoulder brushed against hers.
“I should go,” she murmured. “I think we should take a break. Let things settle down a bit.” Her stomach churned, nausea sweeping over her. Cassidy didn’t want this, but she had to do it.
“What are you saying, Cassidy? Be straight with me.”
She turned to him, and the look of devastation in his eyes nearly bought her to her knees. “I like you, I really do, but…” She sucked in a breath and gathered up the courage to lay it on him. “I won’t let myself become collateral damage to your father’s twisted games.” Before she could chicken out or rethink what she needed to say, Cassidy confessed her fears. “I have a professional reputation to uphold, clients I don’t want to lose, and a career that I’ve spent a hell of a lot of time building up. I didn’t want a relationship because of the impact it would have on my work. When I found you, I thought things might be different, but it’s so much worse than I expected.” Cassidy saw the impact her words had with the draining of colour from Jake’s face. He looked like she felt—as if she’d gutted him, cutting his heart straight out of his chest. He closed his eyes, and the sunlight streaming in through the window caught on the tear wetting his eyelash, refracting the light like there were a million tiny diamonds forming.
She knew that the next words out of her mouth would be the end of their relationship—there was no coming back for them, but Cassidy had to think about what she needed, and her highest priority was getting away from the toxic father of the man she could have fallen in love with. “I never believed for a moment that dating you would have this kind of impact. The police think we hurt Phoenix. People go to jail for things like this, and….” She shook her head, unable to continue. Tears sprung to her eyes, and she covered her mouth as a sob tore free.
Jake nodded and reached for her, pulling her into his embrace. When he wrapped his arms around her, Cassidy burrowed deeper into his hug. She didn’t want to walk away, but what else was she supposed to do? “Yeah,” he murmured, his voice quiet, but even though it was barely a whisper, she could hear the pain infused in that single syllable.
She eased away and gathered her jacket and shoes, slipping into the stilettos and collecting her phone. “Guess I’ll see you round.” He nodded, and Cassidy forced herself to walk out the door, closing it softly behind her.
*****
Cassidy sat on her lounge room floor, cross-legged and eating the pizza that had been delivered. Her laptop was propped on her coffee table, paperwork spread out on either side of her. She was trying to catch up on the research she’d been neglecting for a few weeks.
Her phone vibrated, and Cassidy flinched, laughing self-consciously at her ridiculousness. She saw her boss’s name flash up on the screen, and an anvil dropped in her stomach, the weight of fear pressing down on her. Not once had he ever called her on a Sunday afternoon. Why now? It couldn’t be a coincidence. “Hello, Michael, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Cassidy,” he started, his voice careful, like he was choosing his words. “I’ve had three telephone calls this afternoon from clients of yours.”
“Oh, God. No,” she gasped.
He continued on as if she hadn’t said a word. “They were all seeking to terminate their agency contracts with us. When I pressed for information, they weren’t forthcoming other than to say that they cannot work with you or anyone on your team. I tried to assure them that we can simply transfer their properties to a different agent, but all have now sent through written notices of termination.”
“I can explain—”
“Don’t bother. Whatever the reason, it’s irrelevant. Your actions have cost the agency hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost clientele. Some of these organizations have worked with us for a decade.”
Cassidy sat stunned, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to form a response. But what could she say? That it wasn’t her fault? That every one of those clients was being blackmailed by a man who collected secrets and called on favours when it suited him? The police hadn’t believed her, and they had no reason to doubt the veracity of her claims. Why would her boss, when he had already witnessed the fallout of her stupidity in getting involved with the wrong man? “I can help win them back. We can get new clients—”
“No, sorry, Cassidy, but you’ve left me with no choice here. HR has advised me that I am within rights to terminate your employment, effective immediately. We will have your personal belongings from your office packed up and delivered to you. HR also requested that I remind you of the non-compete clause in your contract.”
Fire burned in her belly. That bastard had just destroyed years of work, and why? Because she was sleeping with his son? Because she condoned Jake’s sexuality? Or because she had stood up to him? Cassidy was surprised by the level tone in her voice. “I’m being fired? Without allowing me to explain my side of the story?”
“Whatever your explanation is, it doesn’t change the reality that the agency has lost a not insignificant proportion of its long-term clients in the space of a single day, all of whom have noted you as the reason. Cassidy, I understand having a bad day, or a week, or even a shitty month, but being a professional requires you to put aside your own problems and put the clients first.”
“This has nothing to do with me PMSing or whatever it is you think was going on, and you know it. You’ll be hearing from my lawyer.” She pressed her finger on the End button and ground her teeth together, rage and impotency flowing through her veins like lava. She threw her phone across the room, and it bounced with a sickening crack off her TV, the screen shattering in a spiderweb pattern as her phone thudded to the floor. She stood and dragged her fingers through her hair, tugging on the ends until the sting penetrated the all-consuming need to punch something. No, she didn’t need to punch something. She needed to punch someone.
Maxwell Fucking Denyer.
Cassidy paced, seething as the full weight of what had happened pressed down on her shoulders. She could only afford the rent on the apartment she was leasing if she had a job. Same with the payments for the furniture she’d bought. Her car too. She had enough saved for a few weeks at the most. Even if she had a rock-solid case against CIR for unfair dismissal, it would take months to be resolved and cost a fortune that she didn’t have.
The walls were closing in, and she was kicking herself for every one of the stupid choices she’d made. She had to get out of there. She needed air. She needed… to go home. Cassidy grabbed her phone and keys and was out the door to her apartment before she could rethink things. She looked like a mess—leggings, socks, and a ratty old T-shirt with her hair pulled up in a messy bun on top of her head—but she didn’t care. Neither would her parents.
