Page 190 of Beyond the Temptation: Vol 2

“What do you do for a living?” Amelia found herself asking out of curiosity. Clearly, she was a librarian. That didn’t need to be discussed. It was how they got here to begin with. But she was curious about him. It was hard to tell what he might be if she were to base it on appearance alone. Doctor? Lawyer? Prince?

Cassius smiled as he took another sip and turned back to face her.

“I’m actually a collector,” he said.

This intrigued Amelia. She wanted to know more. What did he collect? The souls of unsuspecting librarians who got swept up by his charm and appearance?

“Of?” Amelia pushed.

“Rarities. From literature to art. I then resell to my contacts in the upper echelons of society.”

“So, in layman’s terms?” Amelia asked even though she was smart enough to put two and two together herself. She just wanted to hear him say it himself. Hear how he would describe what he did and see how he viewed what he did in his own eyes.

Cassius took another sip of coffee and let out a chuckle in the process. “In basic terms, I go to auctions, bid on rare items in the art and literature worlds, then resell to the wealthy elite.”

“How do you make a living if you have to spend money to make money? Do they buy these rarities off you for that much more?”

Cassius laughed and nodded his head. “Believe it or not I’m good at undercutting at auctions. Get things at the right price, find the right customer, and you can absolutely turn a profit. In the beginning, you must spend money in order to make it, but once you’ve established the right kinds of connections and relationships, the kinds of people I work for, and with, they’re consistent. Generous tippers too.”

Amelia was blown away. It seemed like such a niche job. An art and literature collector who resold to the rich elite. She couldn’t even imagine the kinds of work and pieces he’d seen. Or the mansions he must have traipsed through.

“I also have a collection of my own,” Cassius revealed.

Amelia wondered what kind of collection he had. “Art? Literature?” she asked.

“Both. Art, I have works from Caravaggio and Dali. Literature I have works from Virgil, Dante, Shakespeare, and more.”

Amelia took such a big sip of her coffee that it was almost too much. She coughed and put her coffee down, covering her mouth with her hand in embarrassment as she tried to compose herself.

“Are you okay?” Cassius asked worriedly.

Amelia nodded her head as she coughed a few more times. Then just as quickly as she nearly unalived herself with a coffee, she was back to being able to breathe full breaths of oxygen again. “I’m okay,” she said, her voice slightly cracked.

Cassius couldn’t help but chuckle at her, and Amelia joined in. She felt so ridiculous. She continued to embarrass herself over and over again. How she continued to do this, but Cassius hadn’t gotten up and ran from her in a full-on sprint yet she had no idea. Did he find her endearing? Did he feel bad for her and was just sticking around to show some mercy? Amelia had no idea, but she was willing to stick with it for as long as it would last. Whatever it was, and for however long it would.

“I’d love to see your collection if I could,” Amelia blurted out in an attempt to divert attention away from her near self-induced dry drowning by way of caffeinated beverage.

Cassius paused mid-slip and lowered his drink, an intrigued look on his face. “Really?” he asked as if caught off guard by Amelia’s request.

Amelia didn’t know if it was because she had shown interest in something he took pride in, or if it was a request that Cassius was fishing for which was why he even mentioned it and brought it up at all. She was curious to see it though. She loved literature, and she liked art too. While it wasn’t her forte, the literature alone would be interesting enough to see. She wondered what books or works Cassius had of those authors, and if he had any others that he didn’t think she’d be familiar with. Others that he found interesting but wasn’t sure if she’d be into them. Well, she wanted to find out. She was intrigued, and now she needed to know what he had. She needed to see his collection. It was all she could think about, and being a librarian, and such a lover of literature on top of it all, she did wonder if she knew Cassius would be driving her excitement levels off the charts by mentioning a private collection.

“When can I see it?” Amelia asked.

“Don’t you have to go back to work?” Cassius replied.

“I get off in a few hours if you’re willing to wait or meet up again.”

Cassius nodded with zero hesitation. “I can wait. I’ll deep dive into this book,” he said, tapping on the cover of the Dubliners collection he had sat on the counter. “You tell me when you’re ready. I’ve got nothing else planned today.”

Amelia smirked. Was this really happening? Was she really stepping so far outside of her comfort zone and pushing her boundaries so much with someone who was totally unbelievable, and it was actually working? Was this actual reality and not some prank that someone was pulling? It seemed too good to be true, and you know what they say about things that seem too good to be true. They often are. But what if it wasn’t? How would one ever know unless they tried?

She was so torn on what to do, but in the end, she decided that she was going to ride the line until it reached its end. She had already thought she would, but now she felt more committed than not. What did she have to lose? Besides her life, if Cassius did in fact end up being some sort of high-end serial killer, all she really could lose was an evening. A few glorious hours out of one day amongst three hundred and sixty-four more that made up her year. Well worth it.

“Shall we?” Amelia asked, referring to walking back to the library so she could finish off her shift.

Cassius nodded and rose to his feet, pushing his stool in before waiting for Amelia. He then followed her and rushed ahead to open the door for her, doing it once again once they returned to the library. Once back, Amelia returned to work while Cassius went and sat over on the couch over by the main lobby. He opened his copy of the Dubliners and began to read through it.

Throughout the remaining hours of Amelia’s shift, she glanced over to Cassius a few times. Once because he let out a laugh while reading something and then looked around to see if anyone had noticed. She did, and they shared a smile with each other. Another time he was on the phone, but talking softly, and another time she just wanted to look at him because she could. Even one of her coworkers looked back and forth between him and her, winking at her which raised suspicion of it being some sort of a setup, but Amelia didn’t care. She knew this other employee well, and that she was just teasing her because it was clearly obvious that she was giving this man more attention than anyone had ever seen her do before. More than she herself had ever seen before. She was surprising herself with every passing moment. It was as if she was under some sort of a spell she couldn’t shake, and she was enjoying it. Actually enjoying it.

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