Three

CHAPTER 3

"You asked for seafood?!"

Cassandra threw herself onto the bed, she covered her face with her pillow in embarrassment.

"You could have taken him to a motel to sleep together, but instead you asked for seafood, Casey?! Are you crazy? You missed your chance?!"

Cassandra threw the pillow covering her face, then sat up and looked at Jessica regretfully. "Aaargh! I couldn't ask him out like that."

"But you planned it!"

"I know, I know. But I've never slept with any man! I'm a virgin, it's too hard to pretend about that."

"So why did you set a trap that you couldn't handle?"

Cassandra whined like a child. She closed her eyes and began to sulk. "This sucks, Jessica!"

Jessica took a cigarette from her jacket pocket, then began to light a match and burn the cigarette in her hand. Smoke began to fill Jessica's room as she smoked the cigarette. Jessica pointed at Cassandra on the bed and said, "So, you didn't ask for Antonio's number?"

"I left my number on his cell phone."

"You were hoping... Antonio would call you first?" Jessica looked in disbelief, she shook her head and took another drag on her cigarette. "You're really stupid. He's a playboy! He's a cassanova, he sleeps with a different woman every week. What do you expect from him?"

"Um, what do I do now?"

Cassandra laid herself down on the bed and stared at the white ceiling of Jessica's room, while Jessica could only stare at her naive friend as she finished her cigarette.

----

Cassandra had just finished making pancakes and brought the cake made of flour, bread, and sugar to the living room. Aunt Claire was staying in the village, accompanying her husband who was busy taking care of the farm. Uncle Alan loved his fat cows so much, he even preferred to stay at their house in the village rather than accompany his wife in the city. So, Cassandra had the job of looking after their house while they were busy at the ranch.

The television turned on and broadcast a news program from one of Cassandra's favorite channels, and... a news item caught Cassandra's attention in one second.

"The opening ceremony of the mall will be attended by the mayor, the CEO of the mall and the CEO of Alpha Company who is the biggest investor in the construction of this mall."

Cassandra's mouth stopped chewing. She even left a piece of pancake in her mouth in order to listen to the news information more clearly.

"The opening ceremony of the Mall will be held later tonight. And everyone, will get a chance to take a 70% discount from this opening event. Don't miss it!"

Cassandra chewed the remaining food in her mouth, she took a sip of the vanilla milk on the table. The other news delivered by the host no longer sounded important, as Cassandra was now only thinking about one main point.

"The CEO of Alpha Company... that means... Antonio Franches will be at the Mall's opening ceremony! I have to get there, I have to get Antonio's attention. He must call me immediately!"

In less than five minutes, Cassandra had finished her meal. She took her cell phone from the room and immediately called Alex, one of her colleagues at the police station.

"Hello, Alex? Will you be patrolling the opening of the new mall in town?"

"..."

"Um... can I join you?"

----

Alexander Cameron, is a senior detective who is five years older than Cassandra. He is Cassandra's senior at the police station, as well as in real life. Although in truth, Alexander didn't want to be seen in that way.

"Wow, people are already lining up to get a discount over there!"

Cassandra took off her seat belt and got out of Alexander's car, following the car owner. Alexander looked around, then pointed to several policemen in the front row, blocking the main entrance.

"My people are there! Are you going to join us?"

But Cassandra looked at Alexander and shook her head.

"No, I have other plans. I need to go inside and... it's a private matter," Cassandra replied, her eyes scanning the bustling crowd for a glimpse of Antonio.

Alexander raised his eyebrows, there was a hint of concern in his voice. "Cass, if you're planning something risky, I need to know. We can't let you get into trouble, especially when I'm watching."

Cassandra forced a smile, her nerves tightening. "Nothing illegal, I promise. I just... need to talk to someone. Can you cover for me if Chief Armer asks about me?"

Alexander sighed, his protective instincts surfacing. "Fine, but you owe me a favor. And Cass, meet me after this event is over, okay?"

With a nod, Cassandra mingled with the crowd, her heart racing. She navigated through the crowd of eager shoppers, her eyes darting around in search of Antonio. Finally, she found him. Antonio Franches, CEO of Alpha Company, was surrounded by a group of people near the main stage, his charismatic presence drawing attention.

 Cassandra took a deep breath and approached, her mind racing with what to say.

Just as she was about to approach him, a commotion broke out near the entrance. Cassandra turned her head and saw a group of protesters entering the mall, with large banners and loud voices, demanding justice for the environmental issues that had recently arisen regarding the mall's construction. Security rushed to contain the situation, drawing the attention of the crowd, including Antonio.

Cassandra used the moment to approach Antonio, but her body was pushed by another person and it threw her off balance. Cassandra's black blazer got caught on Antonio's watch and it pulled Antonio forward, both hands moving to hold Cassandra's body in one second. Antonio and Cassandra were now staring at each other in the crowd of busy people behind them.

Antonio's eyebrows knitted together deeply as he finally realized that those beautiful blue eyes belonged to someone familiar. "You? Aren't you the woman who won our bet yesterday?"

Cassandra gulped. The scent of Antonio's perfume created from mahogany woods, mixed with mint and vanilla entered Cassandra's nose at this close range. Her eyes rounded. She was at a loss for words at that very moment.

Who knew... if Antonio's charm was really this charismatic, Cassandra couldn't even help herself right now.