Chapter 7
Drea watched Cassie during the Monday morning meeting, still worried about whatever was bothering her.
She had hoped it was just something temporary, but after a couple of weeks it was only getting worse.
Everyone else noticed it too but was trying to respect personal boundaries and not pry.
Drea, on the other hand, was ready to pry.
She battled a need to know that threatened to consume her.
Cassie still kept up with everything at work; she was Cassie after all. But the energy and cheer that usually radiated from her was gone. Even Drea’s jokes elicited only a weak smile.
Sam said the best course of action was to soldier on, give space to Cassie to come out of it on her own. She treated Cassie the same as ever, only expressing her concern to Drea. Cassie was still showing up and getting her job done, so there wasn’t much she could say beyond being concerned.
But Drea wasn’t Sam. She had seen this vibrant, joyful woman wither away, and it was too much to watch. She was going to get to the bottom of it. Today.
After the meeting, Drea walked over and sat on the edge of Cassie’s desk, demanding her full attention. Cassie sat back in her chair and looked up.
“I wanted to show you the new brewery concept.”
Cassie’s normally beautiful brown eyes looked tired, and most of the glimmer had vanished. It tugged at something deep in Drea to see such a change up close. She knew she couldn’t ignore whatever was causing Cassie to shut down.
Drea went over the design and strategy for the brewery on her tablet. Instead of interjecting with a plethora of ideas and suggestions, which Drea had to admit, she kind of missed because they usually did improve the design, Cassie merely agreed with everything Drea said.
Flustered by Cassie’s refusal to respond, Drea finally said, “And I’ve decided to add a scantily clad woman with fireworks shooting out of her bra to the cocktail party design.”
“Sounds great,” Cassie muttered, already turning back to her computer.
Drea couldn’t take it anymore. Where was the spunky girl from a few weeks ago? It was like talking to a caricature of a human. Drea had to go in for the big guns.
“I’ll be at Rosie’s tonight, if you feel like getting your ass handed to you in pool.” Drea smiled her sly grin that worked on pretty much everyone.
Cassie’s lips barely moved as she looked down at her desk. “I can’t tonight.”
No snarky retort. No challenge in her words. No Cassie. What the fuck?
Cassie changed the subject, pointing at the screen. “I think the design is great. Run with it. I need to finish scheduling meetings for next week.” She turned back to her computer, effectively cutting Drea off.
Drea stared at Cassie for a moment, anger rising in her chest at the sudden dismissal.
Fine, then. She didn’t have to do this now.
“All right. I’ll leave you to it then.” She got up and stalked back to her desk.
Cassie wasn’t going to give in, but Drea was more determined than ever to know what was going on.
If Cassie wouldn’t talk to her in front of the others, she’d get her alone.
It was nearing the end of the day when Cassie finally went to the bathroom and Drea wasn’t busy with Erin needing anything. Drea waited a few moments so it wasn’t obvious she was following Cassie.
When she walked into the dark blue bathroom, the moodiness of the color scheme was fitting for whatever seemed to be going on with Cassie.
She saw Cassie holding onto the edges of the pedestal sink, motionless.
Cassie’s pale face and hunched posture tugged at Drea’s heart and she wanted nothing more than to do something, anything to help.
Cassie looked into the mirror to see who had entered and quickly turned on the water to wash her hands.
Drea walked up beside her. “What’s going on, Cassie? Please talk to me.”
She saw Cassie’s jaw clench, but Cassie wouldn’t look at her. “What do you mean?”
“I mean I don’t even recognize you anymore. The energetic and cheery Cassie, the workhorse, the one-woman show seems to have left the building—for weeks now.”
“I’m still here.” Cassie’s voice faltered, and she took a moment before continuing. “I work all of my hours each day.” Her tone was flat and she avoided Drea’s eyes.
Drea turned off the water and saw Cassie’s body slump at the loss of a distraction.
“You might be here physically, but nothing else. What happened? You’re like a ghost right now. Everyone sees it, but they are too afraid to say anything.”
Cassie looked at her then. There was so much pain in her eyes that Drea almost regretted asking.
“It’s my sister.” She barely got the words out before her voice broke and she started to cry.
Drea put her hand on Cassie’s shoulder, gripping it to steady her. “Breathe.”
Cassie gripped her own wrist and took a few breaths.
“Molly and her partner broke up, and she’s falling apart.
They’ve been together nearly twenty years.
Eva is like another sister to me. And Molly?
I’ve never seen her like this. I’m trying to help with her business, but it’s too much and I don’t know how to make it better.
” Cassie’s words came quicker as she started to cry again.
Drea kept her voice calm, hoping it would somehow permeate Cassie. “What business?”
Cassie wiped the tears from her cheeks. “She’s an event planner, but right now the weddings are killing her.
So I’m trying to help. I go there after work, but there’s always more that needs to be done and she is getting worse.
” Cassie shook her head. “I’m barely sleeping after working all day, then doing the wedding planning all night.
And then I come home to try to keep Molly sane and I just . . .”
Drea interrupted. “What do you need?”
“What?” Cassie looked up at her with wet eyes.
“What do you need?”
“I need help with the weddings. Molly’s trying, but she’s not at full force, and there’s too much for me to keep up with. I feel like I’m failing her. And I can’t fail my sister.” Cassie’s voice faltered on the last word.
“All right. I can help,” Drea said, willing to do almost anything to stop the misery pouring from Cassie. “I’ll go with you after work.”
Cassie squinted at her words. “You? You want to help me plan weddings?”
Drea crossed her arms and shrugged though the irony wasn’t lost on her.
It must be some cosmic joke for her of all people to help plan a wedding.
“You need help and I want the old Cassie back. There’s no one to give me shit anymore.
Who am I supposed to beat at pool if you’re not around? ” She grinned at Cassie.
Cassie stared at her for a moment. “You’re serious?”
“Yes.” Drea dragged out the word for emphasis. “Not that I agree with the idea of weddings. Those poor saps are delusional.”
Cassie frowned and gave a slow nod. “Right.”
Drea walked to the door before turning back.
“See you at five.” She flashed a sly grin and noted the faint glimmer of light creeping back into Cassie’s eyes.
Relief flooded through Drea. She felt bad for Cassie’s sister, but part of her was glad to find out Cassie’s sadness hadn’t stemmed from anything Drea had done.
She’d ponder why that was so important to her another time.
As Cassie packed up her stuff at five, Drea walked by and out the main door of the office.
Cassie wasn’t sure if Drea had forgotten her offer to help or maybe she had changed her mind, but she felt too defeated to ask for help again.
She took a deep breath and headed for the door.
When she descended the stairs and pushed through the exterior door into the calm light before sunset, she saw Drea leaning against Cassie’s car with her arms crossed.
Under different circumstances, seeing a woman as beautiful as Drea leaning against her car would have led to butterflies in her stomach or at least a brief happy dance.
But these weren’t different circumstances, and Cassie could only acknowledge the fact of the situation.
For some reason, Drea was being kind to her during a tough time. Nothing more.
“All right, where are we headed?” Drea asked as Cassie approached her.
Maybe it was the stress of her life or the doubt that Drea would actually follow through with her offer to help, but Cassie hadn’t fully acknowledged that Drea would be heading out with her after work. And it definitely hadn’t occurred to her that Drea would be riding with her.
Cassie’s eyes dropped from Drea’s mesmerizing blue eyes to her clunky old sedan.
It was mostly champagne in color, despite some chipping paint, and it wasn’t much to look at, but it ran well, and that’s what mattered most to Cassie.
But standing there, feeling Drea’s eyes on her, she felt a tinge of embarrassment that she didn’t drive something nicer.
She didn’t know much about Drea’s background, but she figured anyone who drove a convertible Mercedes probably wasn’t a poster child for financial struggle.
She winced. That was judgmental. She had no idea about Drea’s upbringing. She shouldn’t assume anything.
Cassie realized Drea was still watching her. “Um, hang on one sec.” She walked over to the driver’s side to unlock the car and quickly grabbed copies of NOLA Magazine, a spare brush, and matte purple lip gloss off the passenger seat. She popped the trunk and tossed everything in.
Drea raised a brow. “Doing some extra reading?”
“I like to keep up with local happenings.” She nodded down at the magazine. “That’s how I learned about The Well, and Beau and Lorna’s story.”
Drea nodded faintly.
Cassie got into the driver’s seat and leaned over to open the passenger door for Drea.
When Drea got in and buckled up, the close proximity made Cassie’s heart beat a little faster. She wasn’t sure why this felt so much more intimate than being the same distance from Drea in the office. It just did.
She looked at Drea, trying to hide any hint of the effect she was having. “We are headed to the wedding venue. The florist should be on her way, and I have to make the place settings and table runners.” She bit her lip. “How crafty are you?”
Drea held her gaze for a moment and Cassie tried to ignore the heat that crept up her neck, hoping that the shade of her skin wasn’t undercutting her air of confidence. If it was possible for Drea’s eyes to get any sexier in that moment, they did. Cassie swallowed. Hard.
“I’m pretty good with my hands.” The grin Drea unleashed could have inspired a nation to follow her wherever she led them. Half tempted to laugh, Cassie rolled her eyes and started the car. Drea’s cockiness was sometimes irritating and always amusing.
A small smile formed on her lips as she gripped the steering wheel. Bantering with Drea felt like a little piece of her had come back. She checked over her shoulder and shifted easily through the gears as they maneuvered toward downtown.
“Stick, huh?” Drea raised a brow at Cassie. “Guess I’m not the only one who’s good with my hands.”
Cassie shot Drea a look and sped on.
When they arrived at the venue, Drea followed Cassie up a high-rise to a fancy ballroom, complete with a wooden dance floor with fleur de lis inlay and floor-to-ceiling windows.
She watched as Cassie conversed with the people buzzing around the room.
It was like watching a conductor of an orchestra, each element moving seamlessly to make an intricate whole.
The confidence Cassie emanated stirred something in Drea.
A woman carrying flower arrangements walked in and headed over to Cassie. Drea decided to take a look at the view while Cassie was busy, welcoming the moment to shake off whatever the feeling was deep in her belly.
She walked over to the windows overlooking the river. It was similar to her apartment’s view, except a lot more expansive. She watched the barges gliding slowly along the water in the distance and took a breath, for the first time all day it seemed.
“Hey.”
The sound of Cassie’s voice made Drea turn. “Hey yourself.” Cassie’s eyes looked harried, but she seemed to be doing her best to press on.
“You ready for some place settings?” A small grin appeared on Cassie’s lips, and the sight sent a shot of calm through Drea.
“Let’s do it.”
Cassie picked up a gray napkin. “Okay, each of these need to have the couple’s initials painted on them. Since you’re the artist among us, that’s your job.”
Drea nodded. “I think I can handle that. And what will you be doing?”
Cassie grabbed some dried leaves from the table. “The skill for a non-artist. Folding the napkins you paint and adding these fun decorations.” She twirled a leaf by its stem.
“Lucky me,” Drea said.
They worked silently at the table together for over an hour. When the setting sun cast an orange glow across the white tablecloth, Drea paused and looked up, noting the autumnal feel around the room.
She glanced at Cassie who was still working diligently across the table from her.
As if feeling Drea’s eyes on her, Cassie raised her head and held Drea’s gaze.
The orange light ignited flecks of fire in her brown eyes.
Time seemed to stop for a moment as Drea felt her heart pounding in her chest, but then Cassie’s eyes darted away.
Cassie stood up quickly. “I need some water. Do you need anything?”
Drea shook her head and watched as Cassie rushed out of the ballroom, hoping that her helping wasn’t causing more harm than good.
She looked down at the stencils of the happy couple’s initials and, for the first time in a very long time, wondered if she might be missing something important in her life.