Chasing Destiny (9 page)

Why are you so nervous? It’s just dinner
, he reminded himself. But it was so much more than that. She wasn’t just
any
woman; she was
Cassie.

Just then, the heavy elevator door slid open and revealed the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. His mouth instinctively dropped as Cassie walked toward him. She was holding her coat and wearing a slim, dark green shift dress with taupe-colored heels. Her long, shiny golden
hair was down and had
been swept to one side; revealing one of her bare shoulders.
She smiled as
she approached.

“Wow! You look… you look absolutely beautiful”, he managed.

“Thank you”, she replied.

Jacob stared for a moment longer before emerging from his brief reverie.

“So, where are you taking me?”

“It’s called Oceanaire… They have great
oysters and the most
amazing salmon
in the city
. You’re going to love it!”

“I can’t wait. It sounds delicious!” Jacob placed his hand on the small of her back, guiding her toward the main lobby doors. Once inside the taxi, he began pointing
out landmarks
and
shared compelling facts he thought she might find interesting. He joked about taking his newest position as her personal New York City tour guide seriously and she gave him a playful scowl in return.

The two arrived at Oceanaire and tunneled
through the overcrowded lobby
toward t
he
podium. Cassie
was astounded over their reception; the nice gentleman who greeted them knew Jacob by his first name and rushed them to their awaiting table. The waiter recognized him as well and brought him a dry Manhattan on the rocks without having to be asked. Cassie ordered a glass of white wine and Jacob took the liberty of ordering some oysters and other delicious appetizers to munch on before their entrees arrived.

“I hate to admit it, Jake, but—I’m impressed! They certainly have rolled out the red carpet for you.”

“Yeah, as you’ve probably already guessed… I come here quite often.”

“I can see that. I’m sure I am just one of many girls you’ve brought to dine here”, she said teasingly.

Jacob reached for his chest with one of his hands. “Ouch! Alright, I may have brought one or two”, he responded sarcastically. “But truthfully, I was one of the architects that designed their remodel a couple of years ago. I came in after it was completed at the request of the owner and just fell in love with the place. I’ve been coming back about once a week ever since.”

Cassie’s eyes coasted around the room. “It’s really beautiful.”

“You should’ve seen it before—it was like stepping back in time twenty years!”

“That bad, huh?”

Jacob shook his head.
The appetizers arrived and as soon as the
waiter was no longer in their vicinity, he
began to inquire further about her life. “So, I’m curious… of all the places you could have opened your own physical therapy clinic, why Chicago?”

Cassie took a sip of her wine and gently placed it back on the table in front of her. “Well, I worked with new incoming interns for about two years after my own internship ended back in Denver and I really liked it at first, but after a while I began to miss having more interaction with the patients. A colleague of mine told me he was thinking of moving back home to Chicago to start a therapy clinic and asked if I wanted to join him. The rest is history…”

They continued talking about their careers, where they’d been and where they aspired to be in the future. They stayed on neutral subjects: no mention of politics, religion, or
their past together.

In fact, they both unexpectedly found that conversation came quite easily. After dinner, they ordered another round of drinks before finally heading outside to hail a taxi.

The cab pulled along the curb of Cassie’s hotel and Jacob got out and accompanied her underneath the awning, stopping just before the main lobby doors.

“And this, my lady, is where the tour ends.”

Cassie laughed and turned to face him. “Thanks so
much for dinner. I had
a really great time.”

“Me too…” He placed his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “So, you have another seminar tomorrow?”

“Uh-huh.”

He studied her for a moment before proceeding.

“I predict all of that physical therapy talk is going to make you very hungry again.”

“Is that right? Okay… So, you are an architect, a tour guide and you make predictions, too?” she asked.

Jacob smiled and then looked at Cassie. “Will you have dinner with me again tomorrow?”

She
inhaled a deep breath
and slowly released it. “Oh… I don’t know, Jake. We had a great time tonight and maybe we
should just leave it
at that.”

Jacob shrugged his shoulders. “So, what are you going to do? Are you going to spend the night in your hotel room, eating room service
in New York City
?” he asked.

“
Actually I don’t know. I honestly
haven’t really given it much thought.”

 “Listen, why don’t you come to my place tomorrow
? I just moved-in to a
newly renovated loft in SoHo a couple of months ago
. I’ll make us dinner
.”

Cassie crossed her arms and tilted her head in disbelief. “You cook?” she asked.

“I make a mean pot roast… C’mon, what do you say?”

She hesitated for a moment. Having dinner at a restaurant was entirely different than dining with him alone in his apartment—it was...
intimate.

In her mind, she
reviewed all of the reasons
why she should say no, but when she opened her mouth she couldn’t say it aloud. “Well, I guess a home cooked meal is better than room service… Ok, what time?”

“I don’t know. How does seven-thirty sound? I’ll call in the morning and leave my address at the front desk.”

Jacob took a step toward her and firmly wrapped his arms around her tiny waist. His nose brushed against her hair and he inhaled her scent…
jasmine
. He didn’t want the embrace to end, but she
pulled away and headed inside
.

He stood under the
awning for a moment, not
the least
bit surprised that touching her
still made
his heart skip a beat.
He combed his fingers through
his hair
and sighed.
Snap out of it, Jacob
. You had your chance once and you blew it…

CHAPTER SIX

The physical therapy conference attracted hundreds of therapists from all across the country. It was, after all, an opportunity to enhance knowledge and techniques on a variety of subjects. The scheduled topic for the day encompassed recent advancements in the treatment of the knee and shoulder. Cassie had been looking forward to this particular lecture for quite some time; the vast majority of her
patients back in Chicago were post
-operative total knee replacements. New developments were emerging which meant patients
could expect a safe,
yet more rapid recovery.

Returning to her seat after a quick intermission, Cassie turned on her voice recorder and
placed it on her lap
. She spent the bulk of the day listening to the instructor lecture the group on the latest guidelines and protocols for knee rehabilitation; her focus intermittently interrupted by recollections of her dinner the night before with Jacob.

She’d surprisingly enjoyed herself. Their conversations were effortless and Cassie couldn’t remember the last time she had laughed so much in one evening. Her
opinion of Jacob was
rapidly changing. Maybe he wasn’t the selfish, egotistical
womanizer she thought
he was. Maybe he really was a kind and compassionate person who’d simply made a bad judgment
call five years
earlier.

The seminar adjourned just before sundown. Cassie stopped by the lobby to retrieve Jacob’s address he’d left for her earlier in the day and went back to her room to get ready. Overall, her demeanor was calm, unlike her preparations for dinner the night before. Her relationship with him had reached a new milestone and she was optimistic about their blossoming friendship.

* * *

Jacob spent the day in his office attempting to catch up on mounds of paperwork, his mind drifting back to his dinner with Cassie. He’d had an incredible time with her the night before and he sensed she did as well. The tone during dinner felt natural and unforced, like it had when they were dating. He was beginning to unearth emotions he hadn’t felt in years and he repeatedly reminded himself that she was currently involved with another man; a man he was currently engaged in business with. He could hardly wait to see her and hoped that the evening would bring much needed clarity.

He’d left the firm early and traveled home to his loft to begin dinner preparations
. He opened a bottle
of champagne and placed it in an ice bath to remain chilled. Blues music played softly in the background, reminiscent of their time spent together back in New Orleans. He changed out of his work clothes and put on a pair of blue jeans and a black polo. The pot roast was braising away in the oven and now he was anxiously waiting for Cassie to arrive.

* * *

While in route to Jacob’s loft, Cassie identified the benefits of public transportation. Sure it was better for the environment, but it was also good for the soul. Her mind was at ease for the first time in weeks and she suddenly felt ashamed about the anxiety she’d endured prior to her trip.

Darkness had fallen on the city and she acknowledged how picturesque the scenery looked. At that moment, she wondered what it would have been like to work here, to live here, and to have loved here.

She arrived at Jacob’s building thirty minutes late, clearly unaware of the magnitude of New York City traffic. She took the elevator to the second floor and approached his door. She primped her hair for a moment, rang the door bell and waited for Jacob to answer.

“There she is.”

“Hey, Jake—I’m so sorry I’m late”.

Jacob moved closer and wrapped his arms around her. “It’s fine—I’m just glad you came!” he exclaimed. “I was beginning to wonder if you were going to stand me up.” He pulled away and held the door open for her. “Come on in. Here… Let me take your jacket.” He assisted her in removing her coat and then hung it on a small hook on the back of the door. He led her into the great room and handed her a dozen red tulips.

“These are for you. I wanted to thank you for tonight”, he stated.

“Jake, you really didn’t need to go and
do that…
Thank you,
they’re
beautiful.”
Cassie sat the flowers down on the
kitchen counter, along
with her clutch. She glanced around the room,
noting how massive it was compared with
his first apartment.

“Wow! This is a really nice place you have here!”

“Oh, thanks! I really like it here—”