Page 96 of Dangerous Contract: Part 1

Monique chanced a glance at Cas. The man looked sick to his stomach.

The woman stomped her foot like a spoiled child, then yelled, “Caspari Cattaneo, is this the woman you left me for?”

This chick was Cas’s ex.Smart move, Orazio. This should help Meka snap out of whatever trance she was in. Or at least distract Cas long enough for them to get Meka out of there. Movement beside her had Monique looking in Meka’s direction.

Her friend was glaring at the woman. Wait a minute! Was Meka jealous? Monique understood exactly what Raz was trying to do in bringing Cas’s ex here. What she couldn’t understand was Meka’s reaction to the woman.

This entire plot was to get Cas riled up, not Meka. However, the glare in Meka’s eyes wasn’t fake. She’d seen her friend mad enough times to know that. Meka couldn’t be jealous, could she?

“She’s your ex?” Meka asked Cas, voice dripping anger.

Cas nodded, looking ready to throw up. The man was refusing to make eye contact with his ex. The way he was now staring down at the table while tapping his finger against his napkin bothered Monique. Something wasn’t right here.

“So, she’s the one who...” Meka started, then paused, gaze moving around the table to each of them as if what she’d been about to say couldn’t be said in front of them.

Seriously, what was going on here?

“Yeah,” Cas said. “She’s the one who lied and told her friends that I assaulted her,” he said, gaze returning to the woman. Hatred blazed in his eyes. “She also tried to have me arrested for it. Eventually, the police caught her in her lie when the dates she gave them coincided with the dates I was in Italy.”

Oh, shit.Monique glared at the woman. How dare she make light of such a serious accusation! It was women like her who made it hard for women who were really assaulted to be believed when they came forward. Now the bitch had the nerve to look embarrassed. It was too late for that.

“That... That was in the past,” the brunette stammered, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “I’ve apologized numerous times, but you won’t accept my apology.”

“An apology can’t change the fact that if my dad hadn’t intervened, my face would’ve been all over the news before I had a chance to prove I was innocent,” Cas stated, still tapping his fingers against his napkin.

“I was going through a bad time,” the woman defended herself. “And you weren’t answering my calls. You weren’t there for me when I needed you. I didn’t know you were out of the country.”

“So,” Meka said, standing up. “That gave you the right to lie about him to your friends. And then, when they insisted you go to the police, you continued that lie and had Cas arrested. Luckily, you’re not good at lying because if you were, he’d still be in jail. And luckily, his father was able to step in before word got out about his arrest. Because if word had gotten out, guilty or not, he would’ve been ruined in the public eye. And for what? Because he didn’t answer your phone calls? Bitch, are you crazy?”

“Who the hell are you to talk to me like that?” the brunette gasped. “You don’t know anything about my relationship with Cas.”

“We never had a relationship,” Cas said. “We fucked a few times, and I brought you a few gifts. That’s all. You and your parents wanted it to be more. Not me.”

“Not true. We were more than that. You were even planning to invest in my father’s new venture.”

“That was strictly business,” Cas told her.

“But, if we weren’t more than that, why did Raz call me here to have dinner with you all? I canceled a date, I mean, a meeting. I canceled a meeting with the senator’s son to be here because Raz said you missed me and wanted to see me.”

Damn it, Raz.

Cas glared at his brother. “I don’t know why my brother would call the woman who nearly ruined me up here.”

Remorse was etched into the lines of Raz’s face.

“I didn’t know about that,” Raz told his brother. “You never told me she did that. You only said she was irritating. You nevermentioned that she lied and had you arrested. If you had, I never would’ve called her.”

“I didn’t want you to know. I didn’t want anyone to know.”

“Why? I’m your brother, Cas.”

“I was embarrassed. I was fucked up in the head because I couldn’t believe someone would accuse me of something like that. That’s something I’d never do, yet the police and her friends were treating me like I was the type of man who would hurt a woman that way.” Cas paused to clear his throat.

But Monique didn’t miss the way he’d gotten choked up. Her heart went out to him. He hadn’t deserved that.

“When did this happen?” Raz asked.

“After we returned home from Bari, Italy. The police came to my house because they had a warrant for my arrest. Dad was there. He couldn’t stop them from cuffing me and taking me to the station. The police were happy because they thought they finally had some dirt on the Cattaneo family. Though he couldn’t stop me from being cuffed, he was at least able to keep the media from finding out.”

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