The Corner Booth (13 page)

CHAPTER 21

“Cassie, can you read us another bedtime story?” David’s tiny voice asked sleepily. Kissing him on the forehead, she tucked the blankets around him tighter.

“Sorry, kiddo, but Cassie is very tired tonight. But I will sit with you for a few minutes if you like?”

Watching the blonde head nod, she sat down on the edge of his bed. Chloe was already sound asleep after a busy day at the park with some of her little friends and an early dinner. Cassie hoped that David would fall asleep as fast. Hearing movement downstairs, she frowned. It had been a tough week for sure, but she made a lot of progress on the new job front and she was grateful that this one would be ending. When she arrived back on Sunday night after her eventful birthday weekend, she had hoped to make it upstairs without running into her employers, but as Cassie suspected that they would, they both hung around downstairs, just to catch her when she came in. Both seemed shocked at her injury, but as curious as they were, she was not going to give them the satisfaction of telling them what happened. As far as she was concerned, it was none of their business.

Mason had asked for a moment of her time, and reluctantly she knew she had to give it to him. She was surprised when he told her that she would be working only five days a week, with weekends off, and they were going to up her pay to one hundred fifty dollars a week until she left. Biting her tongue, she thanked them; she knew it had been pressure from Sakis that spurred the new hours. Why Mason would make the change was something she would ask Sakis at a later date, not that she believed he would share. Jennifer never said a word to her, but the glare spoke volumes.

Cassie couldn’t get the incident at the zoo out of her mind. Watching the aftereffects of the people around her at the mansion told her more than asking any questions ever could. She had her own theories, and what she had learned during her late-night research had her unsettled. Even she had a hard time believing that Sakis was part of a Greek Mafia, yet entering his name in the search engine, there were enough society pictures of him everywhere to let her peek into his personal life. Printing out article after article, to read later, she refused to believe what she was reading. Even though he had a business that could be tied to the mafia, it didn’t make him one himself.

It wasn’t until she entered Derek Chandler’s information into the search engine that her heart skipped several beats. At first, she thought it had to be a different Derek Chandler—that was, until she was able to match a picture with his name and it was confirmation that he worked for the ATF. There had been several in-depth stories written by the
Boston Globe
on him. Starting with several commendations that he had received fighting the war on illegal weapons. How he knew Sakis was what she really wanted to know.

Cassandra had spoken to Sakis every day, several times in the day. Each conversation was small talk, and even though she tried to get him to open up, she couldn’t seem to get him to budge on giving details on his day. A glance at the clock on David’s nightstand told her she was running late. Stephanous would be showing up in less than thirty minutes and she hadn’t even started to pack yet.

She rushed upstairs to throw her cosmetic items into her overnight bag, but she didn’t bother to pack clothes. Sakis had literally bought her a whole new wardrobe, which she had asked to leave at his house. He had seemed pleased with her request, not realizing that she had asked because she didn’t want to have to explain to Jennifer where she got them from.

This time Cassie didn’t wait for Stephan to arrive and ring the doorbell. There was no way she was going to go through that again, but instead, she left the house and waited at the end of the driveway. It wasn’t more than five minutes before she recognized the Range Rover. She frowned at the unfamiliar driver and heaved a sigh of relief as Stephanous stepped out of the rear of the car angrily.

“What the hell are you doing outside?”

“Waiting for you!” Cassie responded, shocked by his tone.

“Don’t you ever do that again, do you hear me?”

He pushed her none too gently towards the open door; she quickly slid inside, and he immediately followed her in.

“I am not sure what I did wrong.” She was surprised: she hadn’t seen him all week, but he looked exhausted and was obviously very short-tempered.

“If you are looking for an apology, Cassandra, you are not going to get it,” Stephan snapped back.

Cassie stared out the window. Stephan didn’t like using her full name, yet he just had. Obviously something had crawled under his skin. “I didn’t ask for one, Stephan.”

The driver took the usual route to Sakis’s and the whole time, Stephan was focused on his phone. The air was thick with tension. When they pulled up to the front of the house, Stephanous stayed seated as the driver got out of the vehicle to open her door.

“You’re not coming in?” She kept her tone light in an attempt to soften his mood.

“No. Sorry. I have some business to take care of, and in fact I will not be returning until sometime tomorrow. Sakis will be home soon. Make yourself comfortable.”

Cassie couldn’t take it anymore. “Stephanous, why are you angry with me?”

Inhaling deeply, Stephan took his eyes away from the telephone screen for a moment. “I am not angry with you, Cassie. Sorry. I just have a lot on my mind.”

Not completely reassured and knowing the driver was patiently waiting, she slid out of the car and went into the home.
It was going to be a long night, if Sakis’s mood was the same as Stephanous’s
.

CHAPTER 22

Maria swung the door open wide, before the doorbell chime finished ringing. Her full smile eased Cassie’s nerves tremendously. If the staff was happy, then the boss was bound to be happy.

“Hola, Maria,” Cassie greeted the maid.

“Hola, chica. It is good to see you. Mr. Carras told me to say that he would be home soon and be comfortable.”

Nodding, Cassie withheld the heavy sigh that she felt was coming. “No worries. I can keep myself occupied.” As she followed Maria into the kitchen, her stomach growled at the many scents that wafted in the air. Maria laughed.

“You are hungry. Come, sit and I will fix you something to eat.”

Settling in the seat next to the long counter, she watched the older woman work her way around the kitchen. Spanish music played in the background, and Cassie found herself beginning to really relax.

“Maria, have you worked for Sakis long?”

Nodding as she stirred what was on the stove, Maria did not look at Cassie.

“Si, for a long time,” Maria responded.

“He works a lot, huh?”

Maria poured some soup in a large bowl and set it down carefully in front of Cassie, along with crusty bread and a glass of wine.

Cassie thought for a moment that the housekeeper was not going to answer.

Wiping her hands on a towel, Maria stood in front of Cassie and stared for a moment, as if deciding what to say. “Yes. Mr. Carras works much. Many days go by and I do not see him. I know he comes—he eats the food, he cleans up after himself and then he goes. He is a good man.” Shaking a finger at Cassie, she frowned. “It is not good to ask too many questions.”

She frowned back at Maria, feeling as if she had overstepped her bounds. This may have been one of those protocol moments that she should have heeded. “I am sorry, Maria. I didn’t mean anything with my questions. Just trying to get to know him better. Figure out what makes him tick.”

A look of understanding crossed Maria’s face. Patting Cassie’s hand gently, she turned back to her cooking. “Si. I understand. You are young. I will tell you this. Mr. Carras has never brought one of his women home before. You are different, I think.”

A grin spread across Cassie’s face. Brightening, she started to eat again. “Thank you for sharing that piece of information. You have made my night.”

“You are a good girl, I think, Miss Cassandra. I hope—” Both women jumped when the front door slammed. Glancing at each other, a silent agreement was made in that second. Cassie felt she had made a giant step in her relationship with the housekeeper.

Cassie mouthed “thank you” before she focused on her soup as Sakis walked into the kitchen.

“Ah, my two favorite people.” Taking a seat next to Cassie at the counter, he leaned forward on his arms, leaning closer to her but not touching while he stared at her face.

Cassie turned and inhaled sharply at making such close eye contact. He smelled delicious. A flutter began in her stomach, and worked its way through her whole body at the look.

“Hi, beautiful,” he whispered to her.

Pink tinged her face as she stared back at him. “Hi, Sakis.”

“Have you been here long?”

Cassie suspected he knew exactly when she had arrived, but shrugged anyway. “Not too long. Hope you don’t mind my eating without you, but I was starving.”

“No worries. I had a quick bite to eat a little while ago.”

He slid a hand behind her head and moved her closer to him so that he could kiss her softly on her lips. When he pulled away, Cassie realized that Maria was no longer in sight.

“So, I hope you don’t mind, but for this weekend, I figured that we would have a quiet evening, dinner and then back home. I am tired. You can choose what we will do tomorrow night. Sound good?”

“Can we go dancing?”

Sakis nodded as he pointed to her soup. “Eat, before your soup gets cold and yes, we can. I would like that. I have a new club that opened up recently that I would like to take you to. Stephanous should also be back by then.”

Taking several spoonfuls, Cassie waited before she asked the question. “So, it matters if he comes back before we go out?”

Taking a deep drag of his cigarette, Sakis’s eyes narrowed. “No. It does not.”

“But you prefer he is the one with us when we go out.” Knowing she was pushing the boundaries, Cassie didn’t care. There was too much she wanted to know about him and this seemed as good a time as any to get the answers.

Pulling back, Sakis put out his cigarette. “Yes, I prefer him to be with us. What is with all of the questions, Cassandra?”

“After last weekend, I have been doing a lot of thinking. I decided that I could either keep it all inside me or ask you. That is all.” Cassie’s nerves tightened.

“Is that so? And what questions are you looking to get answered?” Sakis responded coolly.

“It is no big deal, Sakis.”

“Well, it kind of is at the moment, it seems. I would love to know what thoughts have been in that beautiful head of yours this past week. You never mentioned anything over the phone when we spoke.”

Pushing the soup away, she slid off the stool and stepped closer, hoping to change the subject. She lost every ounce of courage she had and she wanted to move on. She winced as Sakis gripped her tightly on her arms.

He pushed her away from him before he rose to his feet. Grabbing her wrist tightly, he led her upstairs to his bedroom, and shoved her in before he slammed the door.

“Okay. Here we can talk openly. Spit it out, Cassandra. What is bothering you?”

Running her fingers through her hair, Cassie realized that this had gotten completely out of control and she saw no way back.

“I Googled you.”

“You what?” Sakis replied, incredulous.

“I ran your name through a search engine to try to get more information about you.”

Sakis couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He wanted to laugh out loud but was afraid he would insult her. “And what did you find?”

“That you own a lot of nightclubs and real estate.”

“Not new news to you. I told you that the first night we met.”

“And that you are suspected of working with the mafia.”

He took a seat near the window and crossed his legs. He motioned for her to take the other seat, which she did quickly, relieved that he hadn’t yelled at her.

“I am assuming you are referring to the Greek Mafia.”

“Yes. But…”

“Great, there is a but…can’t wait to hear the but,” Sakis said.

“Some say that you are actually one of the Godfathers of the night.”

Sakis couldn’t hold it back any longer. His laughter rang loudly throughout the room. She was adorable.

“What is so funny? Sakis, I am being serious.” Cassandra rose to her feet, but Sakis grabbed her wrist tightly and pulled her in close until she stood between his spread legs.

“No. Don’t run. You brought this up. First, I am flattered that you care enough about me that you felt the need to check me out. I have done the same with you, Cassandra.” Sakis watched the color leave her face. “Tit for tat, sweet Cassandra. In my line of business, I cannot afford to not check out the ones I keep close company with. Especially when I bring them into my home.” Rubbing his thumb against the pulse that was racing in her body, he felt as if he held a tiny bird in his hand. He looked up into her eyes; he marveled at her courage. “You are either incredibly smart or stupid to do the same with me.” Cassie’s back stiffened at his comment. “Tell me, what does the search engine tell you about who I am?”

A look of confusion crossed Cassandra’s face, as she mentally went through the many notes she had taken in her mind. Everything she had read was supposition. He had never been arrested, tried, or convicted of a crime. Everything she had read literally was hearsay.

“That you were suspected of many things and that your wealth came from illegal ventures.”

“Like drugs?” Sakis pressed.

Hesitating now, Cassandra locked eyes with him. “No. Not drugs.”

“Then what?”

“I am so sorry I brought his up.”

“Ah, but you did, Cassandra, my little Trojan princess. We are going to settle this here and now and at the end of our discussion, your choice will be to stay or leave. That choice will always be yours.”

Shifting nervously, Cassandra felt trapped.
Why did she have to bring this up now?

“I don’t know, Sakis,” Cassie stated honestly. “I am just trying to understand.” Her eyes scanned the room before she made contact with his eyes again. “It is obvious that you are extremely wealthy. It comes from somewhere. I am trying to separate fact from fiction. That is all.”

Releasing her, Sakis rose to his feet. “I am not going to get into my business ventures with you, Cassandra. Suffice to say, I made some pretty important ones down the road that were very lucrative and afforded me a level of success and comfort that few have had. Have people fallen on my rise to success? I will not lie to you: of course they have. Have those who have fallen brought me many enemies? There again, I have to say of course. That is the price of business.”

Cassie listened to everything he was saying, very aware that he admitted to nothing illegal and certainly did not offer any apologies for who he was or what he did.

“So, the person who tried to run over Stephanous and me, that was one of your enemies?”

Sakis’s face darkened. “You were in the wrong place at the wrong time, Cassandra. Neither Stephanous nor I believe that you were the intended target.”

He stroked her cheek gently. “You still haven’t answered my question as to what the search engines say as to who I am. It speaks of what I do for business, but what does it say as to who I am as the man? Does it speak of a beautiful woman who is capturing my heart? No? Then it is not important. So many questions from one so young. Any more in that beautiful mind of yours?”

He was giving her the opportunity to drop the subject and she was grateful. “Can you tell me of the Trojan princess now?” she asked quietly.

Sakis nodded, as he slowly unbuttoned her top. “Yes, tonight over dinner. Right now, I am done talking and there is only one thing I want right now from you.”