Glide With The Breeze

Cassie all but pushed Vanessa back into her office. Her face felt hot and the door wasn't even closed all the way before she started in on her boss.

"What are you doing? Why him, of all people?" she demanded.

Vanessa feigned innocence. "I'm sorry?" she said. "I thought you would be happy about this. I hired someone you already know and get along with, and on top of that, we both know he has an incredible work ethic."

Cassie shook her head. "No. You hired someone you said only a few weeks ago that I needed to be underneath. And you know he's an on-again, off-again sore subject in my relationship with Alex. And now we're going to be working long hours together, which is only going to give my boyfriend more fuel for the ridiculous fire he's burning," she yelled.

"Oh, please," Vanessa said, waving her hand in the air. "The whole point of hiring an assistant for you is so you won't be working long hours. Remember? This is to help relieve some of your stress."

"I can't even believe you, Vanessa," Cassie bellowed. "You're not trying to help me. You're screwing with my personal relationships and honestly, you are no better than Justin was." Before she could continue, a sharp pain shot through her abdomen. Her hand immediately flew to her stomach and she doubled over momentarily. "Ahh-ow, Jesusfuckingchrist," she yelled.

"Cassie, oh my God," Vanessa said worriedly and quickly moved toward her friend.

"Don't," Cassie said. "Do not even think about touching me right now," she said as she straightened herself into a upright position once again.

Without another word, the enraged redhead pulled open the door to the office and stormed back to her desk. Several pairs of eyes were on her as she threw things around her desk and gathered up a few items. Her hands shook with anger, hindering her ability to do anything quickly.

Cautiously, Matt approached her desk. "Cassie, listen," he said, but she cut him off.

"I need you to drive me home. Now," she said to him. And without argument or question, he followed her out of the office.

The car was quiet for the first few minutes of the drive back to Cassie's house. Besides her obvious anger, something else was looming the air. Matt couldn't help but notice the way her hand was pressed against her stomach. It took a awhile for him to get up the courage to possibly be on the receiving end of her wrath.

"Are you alright?" he asked finally.

"I'm fine. Really great, Matt. How are you?" she responded and then winced, pressing her hand harder against her stomach.

Matt shook his head a little, trying to keep his eyes on the road, but growing increasingly worried about the woman in the passenger seat. "I'm fine. Look," he said, "I had no idea I was going to be working with you. Vanessa didn't say anything about that when she called me last night or this morning when I went in to see her. And the offer she made me, only a complete fucking moron would have passed it up. But, I mean, I know Alex is a little sensitive about our friendship sometimes, so I can tell Vanessa I changed my mind, if that's what you want. Just say the word and I'll do it."

Cassie waved her hand in the air to silence him. "Don't. Just let me talk to Alex first," she said, slowly drawing in a deep breath.

He nodded. "What I actually meant when I asked if you were okay was that breathing thing you keep doing. And I heard you scream back at the office," he explained.

"Oh, that. Yeah. It's just a little bit of pain. But I'm fine. Just pregnant," she said.

"Pain?" Matt questioned.

"I'm fine," she repeated.

"No," Matt said, shaking his head. "Cassie, you're pregnant. Pain isn't normal."

Cassie rolled her eyes. "How would you know? You've been pregnant before?" she asked and Matt shook his head at her, rolling his own eyes. "Oh, I know. You've gotten someone pregnant. You're a dad and didn't tell anyone. Aren't you, Matty?" she teased. "But really, it's not a big deal. At all. It's just a little bit of discomfort and then it passes."

Still shaking his head at her, Matt sighed. "You're so damn stubborn. You should at least call your doctor. Something could be wr-," he started but she didn't let him go any further.

"Matt," she said warningly. "You are neither my boyfriend nor the father of this child," she reminded him. "I've been pregnant before, in case you forgot. I said that it's not a big deal. And I said that I'm fine. Back off."

The rest of the drive was silent. When Matt pulled up in front of her house, Cassie told him to stay there and she got out of the car. She was barely two steps in the door when Alex came from the living room to see who was there.

"Hi," he said to her, confusion blanketing his face. "You just left?"

"Yeah," she said. "I need to talk to you about something."

He nodded and the two walked back into the living room. She didn't give either of them a chance to sit down before she spoke.

"Vanessa hired Matt as my assistant," she told him.

"Matt who?" he asked.

Cassie rolled her eyes upward for a moment and then looked back at him. "Flyzik. Matt Flyzik. Vanessa apparently thought it was a good idea to hire someone I already know," she said.

Alex was silent. His face gave away nothing. "I don't know if I like that," he said, pausing momentarily. "I understand the thought process behind it. I just don't know if I like it," he said.

"I know," Cassie replied, taking a step toward him and reaching for his hand. "I'm not sure I like it, either, considering the fights we've had regarding him. I think it makes sense though. She pointed out that we already know he as a good work ethic, and you know how important that is to me," she said.

He nodded. "I know. It just, something's bothering me about it," he said honestly.

"That she specifically called Matt, of all the people in the city of Los Angeles? I know. It bothers me too. But I can assure you that he had no idea he was being hired to be my assistant. She never told him. Knowing Vanessa, she probably made it sound like Angie or I recommended him for the job," she said.

"You can assure me he had no idea?"

"Yeah. He told me he would quit if it was going to be a problem," she said.

Alex grew quiet again and Cassie let go of his hand, waiting for him to say something. She took a few steps backward and lowered herself onto the love seat, receiving relief she didn't even know she needed.

Finally, he spoke. "This isn't going to be like in the movies where you guys end up working long hours and having hot sex on top of a desk, is it?" he asked.

Cassie look up at him, her face a combination of amusement and confusion. "What kind of movies have you been watching?" she asked and he shrugged while lifting his eyebrows at her. "And besides, I don't think I could have hot sex with anyone at this point, even if I wanted to," she said, referring to the ever growing bump at her midsection. "Can sex with a six-or-more month pregnant woman even be considered hot?"

Alex grinned and began to move toward her. "Oh yeah. There is a universal agreement among all men that there is something incredibly hot about having sex with a woman you don't have to worry about impregnating, and that includes already pregnant women," he said, now standing directly in front of her.

"Easy there, Tiger," she said as he sat next to her and moved in to kiss her neck. "Keep it in your pants."

But he ignored her, his lips making contact with her skin. He worked his way up her neck to her jaw and then down to her lips. His hand found its way to her body and up to her chest, closing around her swollen breast.

Cassie put her own hand on his chest and pushed him away. "Dude, Matt's out in the car right now," she said.

"He can wait," Alex said, leaning in toward her once more and she pushed him away again.

"No," she said. "He'll get impatient, wondering why it's taking so long for me to talk to you and he'll come inside. And besides, I have a lot of work to get done today." She stood up, causing Alex to frown. "I have to get back to the office and train my new assistant," she told him.

Alex stood as well. "You're evil," he said, leaning in to kiss her. She allowed it and responded appropriately. "How about a quickie?" he asked when she pulled back.

"Again, huge stomach. It just doesn't work that way," she said.

"You're evil," he repeated.

Cassie smiled and turned to walk away and Alex followed. When they reached the front door, he leaned in and kissed her again, trying to get her to stay. But she wasn't having it.

"Go rub it out in the shower," she suggested as she pulled the door open and then flashed a grin at him.

"Pure. Evil."