Chapter 10: The Birthday Party
Cassandra’s POV
I laid out the suit one last time on the desk. Then I inspected it with a scrupulous eye. I wanted to ensure that every single detail was perfect, right down to the last stitch.
It was a gift for Stanley Smith, Jordyn’s grandfather. I had been working on it for months. I hoped it would show him just how much I respected him, and how much I’d enjoyed our time together.
I carefully placed it in a garment bag, realizing that it was probably the last gift I would ever give the old man.
Once Stanley heard that Jordyn and I were getting divorced, he’d want nothing to do with me. At least, that’s what I assumed. So this birthday tonight was going to be bittersweet. I still had no idea how I was going to tell Mr. Smith that we were divorcing. But I had to face the music some time. And tonight seemed as good a time as any.
Just then, there was a light knock on my office door.
“Come in,” I said, and Stella entered.
“Cass, we have a bit of a problem,” Stella confessed, holding out a clipboard.
“What’s this?” I asked, scanning the piece of paper.
“It’s an order. For a special dress. It’s for an engagement party.’
“Well what’s the problem?”
“Take a closer look,” Stella sighed.
I did, and I instantly saw why Stella was concerned.
”
The order was anonymous. It was to respect the client’s privacy. But my god…this order!?
It was…it was…
Impossible!
Well, nearly.
“This is quite the order,” I told Stella. Stella chuckled.
“Tell me about it. Look at the fabric she wants. And her requirements? Everything is hand-stitched. And did you get to the part about the lace?”
I took it all in, every single request. This was a beast of a dress.
“No other designer wants it,” Stella said dryly.
“I can see why. The order went on for three pages! Lists and lists of instructions and specifications.”
“What should we do?” Stella asked.
“I’ll take it,” I said bluntly.
Stella’s eyes grew wide. “YOU’LL take it? Cass, are you sure? It’s..”
“I love a challenge,” I smiled brightly. It was the truth. It was a very difficult request, but I could do it.
“All right,” Stella said. “I’ll let the client’s representative know.”
1/3
“Thanks.” I went back to the top of the request, to read it in better detail. But Stella tapped on her watch.
“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” she asked.
I looked at the clock.
Shit. Yes. The party. I was cutting it really close. I planned to go straight from the office but I still had to get ready!
Two hours later, and my car pulled up to Stanley Smith’s mansion. The place was already a buzz with festivities as I walked through the door. I wasn’t surprised. The Smith family was very large, larger than most, with a slew of cousins, nieces, nephews, in-laws, and the likes. Of course, everyone was here. Stanley was, after all, the patriarch of the family.
I stepped into the formal living room, and was spotted immediately by Jordyn’s mother, Velma.
She made a beeline for me.
“Didn’t you receive the dress code, dear?” she asked, feigning politeness. “This is a formal affair.” She made a show of eyeing my dress. My dress was perfectly fine and she knew it. It was a floor-length scarlett gown. She was just being a bitch, as usual. ” Well, too late, now I suppose. It will have to do. Do me a favor? Run along and fetch me a drink? Gin and tonic. No tonic.”
“I believe the bar is just over there,” I smiled politely.
She blinked, wide-eyed.
“Excuse me?” she asked.
“I’m not a servant, Velma,” I told her firmly. Not anymore, anyway. I was used to Velma bossing me around like a housemaid. She’d always done that. ‘Cassandra, be a dear and get me my drink. Be a doll and check in with the kitchen. Be a sweetheart and hang up my dresses.’
I’d always obliged. She was my husband’s father! It had annoyed me to no end, of course. But Jordyn adored his mother and I didn’t want to rock the boat. I figured if I could win her over, then Jordyn would see me in a new, more favorable light. 4
What I didn’t know, though, was that there was NO winning over Velma Smith. She was out to get me. Always had been. Always
would be.
“I’m not asking,” Velma threatened, cocking her head to the side.
“I’m not going,” I snapped back.
It felt good, denying her like this. A definite upside of the divorce. I no longer had to do a damned thing Velma Smith said!
I smiled and politely excused myself, leaving a bewildered Mrs. Smith behind me.
“Cassandra? Is that you, my dear?”
I turned to see Stanley waving me over. He was dapper, in a pin-striped suit and deep red leather shoes. He had a fedora perched on his head. He was sitting in an over-sized chair, puffing away on a cigar. The thick smoke circled around his head.
I went to him. He took my hands in his.
“Cassandra,” he smiled. “I’m glad you came.” He was in good spirits, as he often was at family events. His family was his pride and joy. He was also a few scotches in, judging by his rosy cheeks, so that helped lighten his demeanor as well.
“Now where’s that grandson of mine?” he asked, looking over my shoulder.
Here it was. The moment of truth. “Well, Mr. Smith,”
“Stanley,” he corrected.
2/3
“Stanley. I’m afraid that Jordyn and I didn’t come together. We…”
But I was interrupted by the arrival of Jordyn.
With Ellie on his arm!
Immediately, Stanley stood up and frowned at Ellie.
“This is a family affair,” he said under his breath, but purposefully loud enough for everyone to hear. “What’s SHE doing here?”
“I invited her, father,” Velma said quickly. “I’m friends with her mother. I didn’t see any harm in including her. Her parents are currently abroad, as you know.”
Stanley pressed his lips together. All eyes were on him. After a long pause, he sighed.
“Fine,” was all he said as he sat back down.
“Is that for me?” he asked, looking at the garment back in my hands. 1
“Yes,” I said. “Here.” I passed it to him.
Apparently, Ellie thought this would be a good opportunity to also give Stanley her gift.
“I’m delighted to be here,” Ellie gushed, passing over her present.
But he didn’t accept her gift. Instead, he turned his attention to mine and mine alone.
A deep, wide smile spread over his face when he saw the suit. He touched it gingerly.
“It’s divine, Cassandra. You shouldn’t have,” he said. He looked at the label. “It’s a Hot House Flower design?”
“An original, yes. I had it specially commissioned by a designer there.”
“Let me see,” Ellie said, snatching the pants of the suit. We gawked as she glanced at the label.
“Hm,” she said curtly. Then she passed the pants back roughly to Stanley. “She’s lying. This suit is a fake.”
3/3
