Free Destined To Fall by Tamsyn Bester

inadequate simply because I lack wealth or social standing. Well, her and Kyler too. He hasn’t made me feel inferior in any way.
“Hello, darling!” Quinn’s mother, Bree, chimes. Quinn lets go of my arm and
hugs her mother, who could easily pass for Quinn’s older sister. Bree Avery
is a stunning woman, with her waist-length platinum blonde hair, green eyes
and genuine smile. Her build is very much like Quinn’s, except she’s a few
inches shorter. She smiles warmly at me, her eyes sparkling with genuine
kindness and sincerity. For a brief second, I wish my own mother could’ve
looked at me that way. But she never did.
“Cassey, sweetheart, how are you?” she asks, wrapping her slender arms
around my shoulders.
“Very well, thank you Bree. It’s so lovely to see you,” I reply. Quinn hugs her
father, kissing him on the cheek, and steps back. He hugs me hello, his big
arms engulfing me in a fatherly embrace. David Avery is a burly man and
those who don’t know him would be intimidated. But he’s a teddy bear, and a
man who’s unafraid of showering both his wife and his daughter with affection. Their family dynamic is strange to me, unfamiliar.
I’ve only ever known a father who hits his wife and drinks alcohol to deal
with the emptiness of his life. I don’t know what a fathers’ love feels like, because I’ve never had it.
But when David Avery looks at his wife and his daughter, I see it.
    “I didn’t think we’d be seeing you here, Dad,” Quinn says.
Her father smiles warmly at both of us. “Clive Blake and I went to college
together, we go way back,” he says.
Quinn’s manicured brows dip into a frown. “Jarred didn’t mention it,” she
says.
“I didn’t mention what?”
We turn around and see Jarred and Drew step up to us. They greet Quinn’s
parents and resume the conversation with ease. A sight in my peripheral
catches my attention and the chatter around me falls away as I turn my gaze.
Kyler strolls into the room and it feels like the air is sucked out of my lungs.
I’m not prepared to see him. I don’t know how to handle what happened in
his office yesterday and I was hoping some time away from him would help
erase the image of him and Jessa from my mind. The traitorous butterflies in
my belly take flight, flapping around wildly trying to find an escape. Where
Drew looks handsome, Kyler looks very – I search for the right word – debonair. Sauvé. I watch the way his suit moves with each step he takes, clinging to his long, lean muscles. My heart drops when I see a certain redhead
wrapped around his body and I can’t help but notice the way she looks up at
him, adoringly, laughing at something he’s said. When he smiles down at her
my jealousy claws its way up my throat and I swallow to stop it from boiling
over. I have no reason to be jealous.
He’s my Boss, and I’m foolish to think he’d want more.
“Hello? Earth to Cassey?”
Drew’s voice breaks my trance and when I look at him, he’s frowning. Again.
I can’t seem to please him tonight. Not that I want to anyway. I didn’t even
want to attend this stupid thing.
“I’m sorry. What did you say?” I ask, not in the least sorry for not hearing
him. Coming here with him was a mistake. Too bad I can’t just hail a cab and
leave. My manners are getting the better of me, and convincing me to stay.
“I said I’d like to introduce you to my parents,” he half snaps.
His sudden pissy attitude fuels my irritation. I bite my tongue, afraid I’ll
say something that will be far from lady-like, and simply nod. He takes my
elbow and I keep my head down as he leads me to the center of the room
where his parents stand. Drew clears his throat and I straighten, smiling politely.
“Mom, Dad, this is Cassey Emerson. My date.”
Drew’s parents eye me from head to toe.
“Cassey,” he says, looking at me. “These are my parents. Joanne and Clive
Blake.”
The plastic smiles stays fixed on my face