Page 13 of The Billion Dollar Bet

Her smile broadened. “You did your research. I am impressed.”

“My intention was exactly that, Dr. Cassandra Melody.”

“Just Cassie, please.”

Though a reluctant participant, Cassie was gracious enough to clear the coffee table and set out the items from the basket. It took Devin some brain power to come up with foods he thought she could appreciate. Cassie wasn’t just any girl, she was intellectual and classy. He brought a food salad, wine cooler, crispy fried fish fillets and a small jar of caviar. He’d put that in at the last minute just in case she might have a more sophisticated taste than she made out.

There was also garlic bread and a green salad, some cheese and a bottle of mineral water. He watched while she eyed the mineral water, cock a brow and gave him the side eye. After setting everything out, she directed him to the nearest bathroom and to wash his hands.

Once he returned he struck up a conversation about her research. He’d never seen anyone’s eyes light up while talking about viruses and other disease causing agents. That one conversation taught him things he didn’t know that he had to wonder if maybe he was wasting his life away. Here was a woman who studied for years and was now doing research that could save millions of lives. What was he doing with his life? Devin could not come up with one thing that he’d ever done that solely benefited someone else. He felt insignificant in the presence of someone like Cassie. But instead of resenting those feelings, he embraced them and admired her more.

“So Devin, tell me what do you do?”

The sudden change of subject drew his attention. Her eyes were now directly on him as she waited for an answer. He could tell her that he was an investor, but that would be leading her on. Should he tell her that he is the sole heir to his family fortune? That would seem as though he was showing off his money. He decided to be candid about himself.

“I dabble in the stock market,” he answered, expecting a reaction. There was none.

“So you don’t have a job,” she replied. “Maybe you think you don’t need one because you inherited a fortune from your parents.”

“Grandfather,” he corrected.

Cassie shrugged. “Whatever. So basically you do nothing but live off your inheritance.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“Not necessarily,” she replied. “I received an inheritance from my grandmother which I used to steer me in the direction of achieving my goals. I suppose if you do something constructive with your money, then your grandfather would be proud of you.”

No one ever told him to do something constructive with his money. His mother who was now in charge of the company, didn’t care whether he squandered it on women of gambled it away. His friends were content to follow his lead and do whatever he wanted. The only person who ever gave a shit what he did was his grandfather. He’d never had to think about money in the way that Cassie did, so the conversation was like a wake-up call.

“I’m not here to tell you how to live your life,” she was saying. “But you want to know that when you are old and unable to do much of anything that you can look back and say you accomplished something. You get my drift? I know we don’t know each other, so if I have offended you, let me know.”

“No offense taken,” he replied. “You sound like my grandfather.”

“You miss him?”

He nodded as a lump rose to his throat. Memories of his childhood came flooding back. His father died when he was young and his mother didn’t seem to care about anyone but herself. She was forced to take charge of the company or be omitted from the will. She would continue to be CEO – until Devin was ready to take the reins.

He didn’t bother explaining to Cassie that he had no experience in anything but gambling and that he’d be terrible at anything else. He had no interest in becoming CEO or doing anything other than what he’d been doing. However, talking about responsibility and doing something constructive nipped at him.

The conversation morphed into talking about family now that they had mentioned grandparents.

“You and your grandma were close?” he asked.

“She raised me when my mother passed away. I never knew my father, him leaving my mom when she was pregnant. After she died, I only had my Nana.”

She’d brought two glasses and Devin poured the wine cooler and handed one to her. The way her lips kissed the glass as she sipped made him jealous. He should be that darn glass. It took some amount of effort for him to stay in the conversation and not think about how those lips would feel close to his. Blinking, he came back to what she was saying and realized that they did have something in common.

“So we were both raised by grandparents,” he said. “Something in common.”

They both smiled at his statement. An hour passed without them realizing it while the rain came harder on the outside. They spent the next few hours chatting about many things as one topic easily flowed into the other. At one point, Cassie left to go make lemon and ginger tea to ward off the chill. When she returned with the cups of steaming hot beverage, they relaxed again on the sofa and resumed their conversation.

By the time evening came around, the rain was falling in torrents and Devin was convinced that Cassie was the only woman who could keep him grounded. By the time he was ready to leave, he knew he needed to do something with his life other than playing poker and the stock market. Saying goodbye wasn’t easy. He could not remember talking almost all day to a woman without getting bored.

“How about I take you to dinner next time?” he asked at the door.

“Maybe,” she replied. “We’ll see.”

His heart fluttered. At least she didn’t say no. He picked up his umbrella from the rack and stepped over the threshold while opening it. Devin then turned, leaned over and kissed her cheek. He’d been toying with the idea of a proper kiss all day, but he didn’t want to spoil their moment by going for a full kiss. With Cassie it was different, he wanted to take his time.

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