Chapter 215
Cassie glanced at her dad’s winter retreat’s pristine lawn. His wife, Victoria, hired the best landscapers in town and had them design the ultimate garden. It was so colorful and well put together Cassie couldn’t deny its beauty.
Unlike where their main home was in the snow and freezing temperatures, this part of the country was warm. The heat levels were high, and her tank top had already started to attach to her back on her walk from the driveway to the house.
“Are you here for dinner, Ms. Cassandra?” Julio, the driver, greeted her with a warm smile.
She pasted a smile over her frown and nodded.
“Hi, Julio. I am. It’s Friday night. That means dinner. Are Ivan and Ivy here yet?”
Though her father and his wife lived in the same town as Cassie, up north, this week’s dinner was at their beach house, a short three-hour flight south. With her dad’s money came a private jet. One he had sent to bring her and any other family members to whatever house he was currently staying at with Victoria.
“They have already arrived. They went down to the beach but should be back by dinnertime.”
He frowned as if reading the strain on her face.
“Do you need me to carry your bag inside?”
She glanced down at her Louis Vuitton overnight bag and scrunched her nose.
“We go through this every week, Julio. I can carry an overnight bag, and if it has wheels, I can drag anything.”
She laughed.
“I’m not Victoria. I don’t need everyone to carry a single sheet of paper for me.”
Julio nodded, a twinkle of humor in his gaze.
“I understand.”
He chuckled.
“You will always be like your mother. So independent.”
She loved hearing others say she reminded them of her mom. Her mother had been such a strong woman. One Cassie would have loved to remember.
“Thank you. How’s things been down here?”
Julio shifted his gaze away from her face to the house.
“Things are interesting.”
Uh. Oh. She had a feeling something was going on.
“Tell me now if I have to figure out some hotel accommodations for the night.”
Not that her father would let her go. Hell, with Ivan and Ivy at the house, there was a snowball’s chance in hell she’d get a chance to go anywhere.
Julio shook his head, the silver in his hair catching in the sunlight. He was just as old as her dad, in his early sixties, and had been working for her family most of his life. Unlike her dad, Julio had been with his wife Estrella for over forty years.
Since Cassie’s mother, Lucy, had passed, her father had dated and been single for a long time until a few years ago when he met and married Victoria. A woman younger than Cassie’s thirty-seven years by nearly a decade.
Victoria was incredibly high maintenance, and her father did something with his new wife he’d never done with Cassie—he indulged her in anything and everything. From never lifting a finger to carry her own handbag, to ensuring her shopping trips were funded no matter the cost.
It was weird to see him that way with Victoria when he’d been the opposite with Cassie. He’d taught Cassie to be independent. To never need or ask anyone for anything, which is why when her asshole of an ex took off with her money, she had to figure it out on her own.
She wasn’t going to tell her dad, and she wasn’t asking him for money. He’d always warned her against having anyone but a professional touch her money. She allowed the belief that there was shared trust between her and her ex lead her to make stupid mistakes.
“Come on,” Julio said and opened the front door for her. “I can have Estrella make you a drink if you’d like?”
She shook her head. She’d already had vodka and cranberry on the flight down.
Inside what most would call a mansion, but Cassie considered one of her family homes, the holiday decorations had been taken down and replaced with fresh colorful flowers. The décor and multiple vases with family photos gave the big house a homey feel.
“Cassandra!” Victoria called from the top of the spiral stair landing.
Cassie glanced up and watched Victoria glide a few steps down the stairs in a perfectly pressed yellow linen dress and matching yellow gold jewelry. Though the bangles, earrings, and necklace were not gaudy by any means, they were worth more than Cassie’s car.
She shook her head at the fact she’d never figure out why people paid exorbitant amounts of money to wear someone else’s name or initials on their body. Shouldn’t they be the ones getting paid to promote the designer?
“Hi, Victoria.”
“Querida, how many times do I have to ask you to call me Vicki? I feel so old when you call me by my full name when no one else does.”
Old? Cassie gritted her teeth. Was she serious? Victoria’s perfect, long, highlighted hair and big gray eyes made her look exotic. Her darker skin, like Cassie’s, showed off her Latin heritage.
Unlike Cassie, who had big curves and a large body, Victoria had multiple trainers and personal chefs that kept her little body looking tighter than a straining rubber band.
Cassie had tried the trainers and restricted eating since childhood. Nothing worked. She guessed Victoria’s body wasn’t set into being too curvy to handle.
Victoria’s combination of expensive and well-maintained beauty made Cassie feel old, tired, and wrinkled.
Cassie glanced down at her stretchy pajama pants and her favorite tank top that read Don’t Let Monday In. Since she traveled alone on her dad’s jet, she never worried about dressing up. Aw hell, she never really worried about dressing up unless there was a reason for it.
“How are you?” Cassie asked, taking the first few steps up the marble staircase and gliding her hand over the hand-carved wood of the railing.
She loved the stairs. It was one of the showcase items that made this home not just grand, but memorable. She continued up towards Victoria, watching the other woman.
Victoria made a dramatic display of sighing and leaning into the railing at the top of the stairs.
“Exhausted. The past few weeks have been draining.”
Cassie frowned. Though Victoria might be dramatic 24/7, she never complained of exhaustion.
“The holidays too much for you?”
Victoria’s gray eyes went wide, and a slow smile curled over her pouty red lips.
“It was lovely, but we missed you. Why didn’t you come down?”
Cassie hadn’t been up to it. She loved the holidays, but she hadn’t been in the mood to explain to her father why she hadn’t gotten anyone gifts and plaster a fake smile on her face for the sake of his and Victoria’s friends.
“I wasn’t feeling too good.”
Victoria took steps back up to the landing.
“Are you okay? Is it contagious?”
Cassie cleared her throat and pushed the laughter bubbling up back down.
“Not that kind. I was just not feeling very festive and didn’t want to mess up your parties and gatherings.”
She continued up the stairs until she reached the landing and took a few steps to the left wing where her rooms were located.
“I’m going to go shower and change for dinner.”
“Good idea,” Victoria said, glancing up at her. “Oh, I’ve been meaning to tell you that one of my trainers will be going up your way to teach a new class at a brand new high-tech facility for people looking to get fit. I wasn’t sure if you were interested since Ricardo told me that you used to work out a little when you were younger.”
A little? Figured her father would dismiss her exercise routine because the results hadn’t been what he’d expected. Cassie still worked out. She was in pretty good shape and could probably outrun a ton of people if it came down to it, but you couldn’t tell from her size.
“Thanks, but I’m okay.”
She turned away from Victoria and headed down the pastel purple hallway to her rooms.
Gerri’s words came back to haunt her. Visit another planet.
She snorted as she opened her bedroom door and tossed her bag on one of the antique purple and gold sofas in her room. The room had been decorated multiple times throughout Cassie’s life.
When she’d been a kid, there had been a princess theme complete with a throne chair to play queen with Ivan and Ivy. In her teen years, the room had transformed into one of the least favorites for her dad. Gothic and dark, the walls had been painted black and white with sugar skulls covering every surface. He’d gotten angry when she’d wanted to get a sugar skull tattoo and made her promise not to.
Once she’d moved out, the room had been professionally decorated in her favorite colors—gold and purple—and turned into a room fit for royalty.
With a giant crystal chandelier glimmering soft light into the room, it made the space so inviting. An antique Persian carpet had been placed underneath her bed. She still shook her head at the price tag on it, and most of it sat unseen.
Strategic sitting areas had been set around the room and went into her second room where her closet and bathroom were located. Large vases filled with purple roses welcomed her into her room. Estrella always went above and beyond to make Cassie feel welcomed.
She stripped out of her clothes and turned the rad
io on in her bathroom. She’d shower and change and hopefully spend some time with her cousins without wanting to kill Victoria for once.