Page 13 of His Aries Heiress (BLP Signs of Love #21)

You can’t teach an Aries to play shit safe. You can, however, teach the world to get out of her way.

Nerves bounced around Cassydie as she sat in the back seat of the fancy truck she’d gotten used to over the past couple of weeks.

Everything had been a whirlwind. Not only did they lay Gregory to rest, but she also got to see her biological father’s home, and she and Marcellus went to the headquarters for Renee Imports.

Addison was Grim’s late wife’s name, and Marcellus figured she might be Cassydie’s mother.

Addison.

It was a beautiful name. So many questions swirled around her mind on a daily basis.

She and Marcellus had gotten quite comfortable with one another, so she’d gotten used to asking them, but more always came.

Her life felt like a big ass mystery she was desperately trying to piece together.

One thing she didn’t do well with was mysteries.

She was the type of person to watch the show Unsolved Mysteries and then be pissed at the end of each episode that she had no answers.

Cassydie looked over at Marcellus. He was focused on his phone, something she noticed he did a lot when Tato wasn’t around.

“You sure Tato is okay with your friend?” Cassydie asked. She was able to spend time with Tato the past few weeks, too, and to say she was wrapped around that little boy’s finger was an understatement.

Every day, just from spending time with Tato, Marcellus put a large chunk of money into her account.

More money than she had ever seen. It made her wonder how much money the man had.

It made her wonder how much money she was about to have.

In the next few weeks, Marcellus let her know they would be meeting with Gregory’s lawyer and sorting out his estate, which felt intimidating to her, but not as intimidating as what she was about to do.

Marcellus glanced at her and smirked. “Ronny’s good people. He been knowing Tato since he was a baby. Let me know you’re getting protective of the lil nigga.”

She shrugged. She supposed she was. “I just wanted to make sure.”

She fidgeted in her seat, and Marcellus must have noticed because he reached out and placed a hand on her thigh.

He’d never done that before. They hadn’t even kissed again, even though she secretly wanted to.

Her attraction to him was insane. He went from being a rude and demanding nigga when they first met to a pretty cool man who had no idea how badly she wanted to get to know him on a much deeper level.

Without looking up, he said, “You gon’ be aight, ma. I got you.”

I got you. Those words nearly melted her insides, and she couldn’t help but flirt. “Oh, you got me?”

Marcellus looked at her, and when he caught on to her meaning, he chuckled. “Careful, baby. I bite.”

She bit her bottom lip and distracted herself with what he might have meant by those words. Daydreaming always helped to calm her. She’d been doing it a lot lately to distract herself from grief and all the big changes.

She didn’t snap out of it until the car stopped, and Marcellus unbuckled his seat belt.

She glanced at Goldie, who drove the car, and noticed he stayed put.

Marcellus warned her that these meetings were top secret and that they often changed the locations as to not fall into a habit that could eventually become a trap or a setup.

The council, apparently, was always one hundred steps ahead of any threat or whisper of a downfall.

“You ready?” Her eyes snapped to Marcellus. She nodded confidently, though she felt a nervous wreck on the inside. He chuckled, and she was sure he could see right through her. “Stay right there. I’ll get the door for you.”

She did as she was told as she mentally prepared for what she was about to walk into. Marcellus opened her door and helped her out of the car. One thing she could say was that she was glad she looked good. It helped to boost her confidence.

Before Gregory’s funeral, Marcellus had taken her and Tato shopping.

She suspected it was to cheer Tato up. That little boy went home with every single thing he wanted.

Cassydie also needed something to wear to the funeral, but Marcellus ended up blowing a bag on her.

She now had a whole new wardrobe. In anticipation for this meeting, she went to get her hair and nails done, and she looked like old money.

The fitted navy pantsuit felt like silk against her skin and hugged all the curves that were coming back now that she was eating regularly again—Marcellus made sure of that.

Her long hair was straightened with loose curls falling down to her waist, and her stiletto pink nails screamed girl boss.

The look helped her to feel like she deserved to step into this room.

If only Cierra could see her now. Her bestie would be beside herself.

The building was nondescript and looked plain, but as soon as they stepped through, she saw how extravagant it was.

High ceilings with a sleek, modern look greeted her.

The lighting was bright but inviting, and it smelled like lavender.

Several large men dressed in suits stood just inside the door and immediately patted them down and checked her clutch.

They even fingerprinted her and scanned her eyes before allowing them entrance.

It was all so intense and happened so quickly that she felt she didn’t have a moment to breathe.

Before she knew it, she stood in a large closed off room with the biggest round table made of glass she’d ever seen.

Several people turned their heads and looked at her as soon as she stepped into the room.

As badly as she wanted to shrink back into Marcellus, who stood behind her, she didn’t.

She kept her head held high and stood tall as she made eye contact with everyone.

Marcellus had filled her in on who handled what and who was who in the council.

She’d done her homework, and she could name everyone.

That made her feel confident. They were on an even playing field.

Marcellus told her how the council already did an extensive background check on her, but he did a great job of getting her up to speed on everyone’s backstories too.

She zeroed in on Tech, who had dug into her life. He was a nerdy looking dude with dark skin and a clean cut. There was no denying that he was handsome though.

“What’s good, everyone?” Marcellus greeted them from behind her.

He walked around her and pulled out a chair for her, and she sat.

She almost refused the seat so she could stay standing, but she didn’t want to come off like she thought she was above these people, because it was far from that.

There was a lot of wealth and knowledge in this room.

Part of her still didn’t believe this was real.

Marcellus sat next to her as King Ro spoke. “Nice to finally meet you, Cassydie. We all saw you at the funeral but didn’t think it was time to introduce ourselves.”

She nodded. She’d seen them, too, and was glad they decided to keep their distance. That day had been heavy, and all her energy was on Tato and making sure he and, discreetly, Marcellus were okay.

“Nice to meet you too,” she replied. Under the table, Marcellus’s hand found her thigh again. She glanced at him and tried to hide her blush. She liked that he found reasons to touch her.

He winked at her as Karma spoke. “You ain’t say she was so pretty, Cell.”

Cassydie looked at her. A compliment from such a pretty woman warmed her heart. She smiled while Marcellus spoke. “You seen her at the funeral. Ain’t Ro just say that?”

Karma rolled her eyes and waved him off. “Up close is much better.”

Marcellus warned Cassydie that Karma was a flirt and went both ways. While Cassydie appreciated a beautiful woman, she loved men. She muttered a polite “Thank you” before averting her eyes.

“Marcellus filled you in on who we are and what we do?” Peso spoke up. Cassydie looked at him and appreciated his clean-cut look and expensive style. His name definitely fit his lavish style.

“He did.” She nodded.

“So you know ain’t no way out of this shit other than a body bag?” Pop asked. Unlike his twin brother, he slouched in his seat and wore a simple black T-shirt that showed his muscles and tattoos with a pair of jeans.

She slitted her eyes and tilted her head. “I’m clear on that.”

“Pop!” Nyx said, her eyes wide.

Cassydie looked at her. She was beautiful, but she could tell the woman was timid too. Marcellus had warned her she had some fire to her, though, and to not be fooled.

Pop shrugged. “Figured we’d get that shit out the way.”

“Ain’t nobody leavin’ in a body bag, man, chill. She’s up to speed on everything and knows what she’s getting herself into,” Marcellus said. He grilled Pop, who simply shrugged.

Cassydie covered her hand over his that still laid on her thigh. He relaxed slightly. Meanwhile, she got turned on. The way he jumped in to stand up for her had her wanting to melt into her seat.

“This meeting is really to act as an introduction, Cassydie. I want you to feel free to ask questions, and I’m sure we’ll have some questions for you.

” King Ro directed the conversation back to the task at hand, and Cassydie focused.

She looked around the table and practically felt the energy shift with curiosity, and she braced herself because the thing was, she really did have to impress these people if she wanted to officially make it into the council.

And now that she understood that this was very much real, she wanted in real bad.