Page 10 of The Billion Dollar Bet

That was perhaps a distance away as there were no prospects in view. Even if there were, she wasn’t ready for a relationship. Her work took priority for the time being. Cassie pushed back the covers and stood, a sneer escaping her lips upon recalling last night when Devin dropped her off. He was confident if nothing else.

“I’ll pick you up on Sunday for our first date,” he’d declared as soon as he pulled up at the gate. “Be ready at eleven.”

She unlatched her seatbelt and opened the door. “Are you seriously assuming we’re going on a date?”

“Just be ready,” he said. “We’re going on a picnic.”

“No.” she alit the car and slammed the door.

It was a wonder he didn’t ask for a goodnight kiss. As she walked up her driveway, he honked. She ignored him, but that did not deter him.

“Eleven!” he shouted from his car. “Don’t be late.”

Cassie shook her head at the presumptuousness of it all. Most men would ask nicely. Can I take you out sometime? And her response would probably be yes, if she was so inclined. She wasn’t sure if she should be annoyed or impressed with his approach. But she was somewhere in the middle.

It didn’t appear there would be any kind of picnic in the cards for the weekend according to the weather forecast. Therefore Cassie took Devin’s impromptu date proposal off her mind and concentrated on her Saturday errands. First, she would need to have her mechanic retrieve her car. Afterward, she would need to pick up some groceries and then head over to the University lab for two hours. Once there, she could get a feel as to who had recommended her to the VitaLove Foundation, unless Professor Mattock did so before leaving.

After taking a shower and pulling on a pair of jeans, sweater and a beanie over her natural curls, she headed downstairs to make ginger tea. The early morning rain came with a chill. Cassie loved this kind of weather, but she was prone, like most people to allergies. The ginger helped fight off the cold and her allergy meds made sure she wasn’t sniffing all the time.

Before she could finish brewing her tea, her doorbell chimed. It was raining much lighter than when she awoke, but it was only around eight – early for visitors. As she made it to the door, a gnawing suspicion that Devin and come to harass her flittered across her mind. She quickly dispelled of the thought and pulled the door open.

“May I help you?”

A man dressed in a chauffeur’s outfit stood under a wide red umbrella. His dark brown skin contrasted with the white of his shirt. He beamed at her as they regarded each other. He was holding a rectangular package under his arm.

“Miss Melody, I presume?” he asked.

Cassie nodded. “That’s me.”

He stretched his free hand out with a set of keys. “I brought your car, per the instructions of Mr. Reynard.” He then pulled the brown paper wrapped package and handed it to her. “He also asked me to deliver this.”

“Thank you. What is it?”

“I don’t know ma’am. I was just asked to deliver it.”

Cassie took the keys and set the package by the door, while peering around the man to see if a wrecker had brought the car. They must have been embarrassed to have such inferior vehicle parked indefinitely on their property. Cassie flushed with embarrassment even as a crease entered her forehead.

The car was parked in the driveway, no wrecker. There was another vehicle at the gate with someone behind the wheel, a white sedan. Now confused, she looked questioningly at the driver and back at her car.

“How did it get here?”

“I took the liberty of driving it, Miss Melody. The mechanic could have taken it, but Mr. Reynard thought it was better to have it delivered by his personal chauffer.”

“That is awfully nice of Mr. Reynard,” she replied, still shocked that her car was in her driveway. “Did he send the mechanic’s bill?”

“No ma’am.”

“Thank you,” she responded. “Would you like to come in for some tea or coffee?”

“Thank you Miss Melody, but we must be going.”

After their farewell, Cassie watched as the car pulled away from her gate. She was still confused as to why they fixed her car. Why would Mr. Reynard do such a nice thing for a complete stranger? Something was off and she needed to get to the bottom of it. Things were not adding up. First, out of the blue she was offered funding for her lab and now her car.

Picking up her package, she closed the door and went into the living room where retrieved her phone. The number for the foundation was listed in the Yellow Pages and she dialed and waited. The receptionist came on the line and when asked for Mr. Reynard, was advised that he was not in office. It was the day after the event, therefore he was perhaps resting. The following day was Sunday. That meant Monday was the earliest she could speak with him.

After hanging up she took the package which was thin and about two feet on the long side. Carefully, she removed the brown wrapping to reveal the paining of the woman from last evening. Shocked, Cassie blinked several times, unable to believe that Mr. Reynard sent this as a gift. It was then she recalled the announcement that the painting had been reserved by someone at the function.

It then dawned on her that her sponsor was there last night. Who could it be? There were many people there and she was certain she might have missed someone she knew because she hadn’t mingled much. The art was indeed exquisite and she appreciated the gesture. She would have to call Mr. Reynard on Monday to get to the bottom of this. In the meantime, she hung it beside her grandmother’s portrait over the mantle.

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