WANT (completed)

ch. 12 | New Partner

CASSANDRA'S POV

If there's one thing that I've learned from the countless number of books that I have read over the years, it's that love is romanticized. All aspects of it are romanticized. It's unrealistic. And to me, it is non-existent. I don't believe in love.

I do enjoy reading about it. All kinds of love. Heart-wrenching, wild, unimaginable love. I can read a book in a few hours, cry about it, and move on to the next, simply because I know it's fiction. It's not real.

"We're here, Miss Rhodes," I'm suddenly interrupted, and I slam the book that I'm currently reading shut, shoving it into my bag. Before the driver can come out and open the door for me, I grab the handle and swing it open, stepping out into the crisp morning air.

"Thanks Al! You can head home, I'll call if I need you," I smile at our family driver, waving at him as I turn around and look up at the skyscraper in front of me. Rhodes Enterprises. I've been here so many times over the years that I could probably make it around the place with my eyes closed, but today, for some reason, I felt nervous.

With a sigh, I hurriedly walk inside, the doors sliding open before I even fully approach them. The elevator doors open as soon as I push the button, and I find myself worriedly tapping my heeled foot as I wait for it to reach the top floor.

Today was the day. I've been waiting for this moment for the nearly five and a half years. Well, technically, I waited two years for this specific moment.

When my mother fell sick, she left her board seat to her children. Hence, either myself or Zac would get her seat. Zac was supposed to get it, because I was supposed to follow my father's footsteps and take over as CEO.

It's complicated, I know. But let me explain. Growing up, my father wanted Zac to become CEO, whereas my mother wanted either of her children to take the role. She would always say, "Blake, the children can make their own decisions. Whoever wants it, can have it, but let them have the opportunity to decide if that's what they want. If neither want it, who cares? The company will still remain in the family regardless of who's the CEO."

Makes sense, right? That parents would want what's best for their kids? Wrong. My father ignored my mother's wishes, and as soon as she passed away. He forced me to study and become the perfect candidate for the position, just like he had Zac do years before. But that was fine with me. I was all for it. Zac only agreed because it got father off his back.

But suddenly, days after my graduation, Zac decided he changed his mind. He wanted to be CEO, and my father was ecstatic. His son would follow in his footsteps and carry the family name, company, and so forth.

He took it from right under me. After years of saying he didn't want it, he just took it. But today, thankfully, I get to finally show the world what I'm about. Well, technically, I get to show the board that I'm cut out to replace the temp who was just filling my mother's board seat these last few years. But I was happy. At least I got something, right?

Plus, I loved this stuff. Making decisions. Big decisions that affected Rhodes Enterprises. I feel like it would make my mother proud, and possibly my grandparents.

I feel like the biggest reason that my father agreed to let Zac follow in his footsteps over me was to give a big 'HAHA in your face' to my mother. You see, this was technically all my mother's until my parents got married. When they married, my mother got so into becoming a wife and having kids that she wanted to raise, she agreed that my father would be better fit to follow in my grandfather's (my mother's father) footsteps rather than herself. Big mistake, in my opinion. Because the first thing he did was change the company name to reflect his own, rather than honor my dead grandfather.