DISCLAIMER: HG CHARACTERS DO NOT BELONG TO ME, BUT OC ONES DO

A/N: In case anyone who is interested hasn't seen yet, I did post the Galeniss V-Day story, past V-Day of course *sigh*

Chapter 161-Indecent Proposal

Cassandra sits in the large claw tub as the water from the shower head comes down on her. She sits with her legs pulled up to her chest, staring at her nails which were painted bright blue, matching her hair color.

Arriving to Red Rocks early this morning, she was desperate to get away from the Capitol after the conversation she had with Kyle and Ethan yesterday once the fashion show ended. The show was fine and went smoothly, having modeled for sixteen years now, runway shows came as second nature to her, however, now that she is older and no longer with AMB, she no longer as the sense of security she once did. Having already made the mistake of agreeing to go out with Kyle, the owner's Brother, her interactions with Ethan the owner have caused her a lot of anxiety, for she did not know if Ethan knew what happened between the two of them last December.

As she sits, she begins thinking about what happened last night. Once the show ended, all the models were expected to stay for the afterparty. She had been given a peacock dress to wear and had asked another model to take her picture and sent it to Gale right before she headed into the event room. She wished he could have come to the event but understood that he had other plans with his family this weekend. When the afterparty first began, Kyle kept his distance, staying close to his Brother while she mingled with the other models and the other guests, but about one hour later, after coming out of the bathroom, she is startled when she sees Kyle standing outside the door, waiting for her.

"Hello" he says softly.

"Kyle! You scared me" she says in an annoyed tone.

"Sorry, here I got you a drink" and he hands her a glass of champagne.

She takes the glass but does not drink it and begins walking away and sees that he is following her.

"I was hoping we could talk in private" he says coming up beside her.

Not wanting to have anything to do with him but knowing if she does not agree it could lead to bigger issues, she walks over to the bar and takes a seat at the end.

"We can talk here" she says curtly. She was not leaving the main event room to speak to him but picked a spot where no one else was around to hear them.

He nods as he takes a seat beside her. He takes another glass of champagne from a server passing by then says, "I know I should have done this weeks ago, but what happened three months ago, that wasn't me. I think I lost my temper from the drugs, I never mixed drugs with alcohol before and I lost control."

She does not say anything and takes a sip from her glass, then another. When he sees she is not going to respond he continues, "I want to make things right with you, please give me another chance."

Her glass almost empty, she abruptly sets it down and says, "No need for that. My boyfriend and I reunited shortly after….our last date."

Immediately frowning Kyle says, "You are back with him? You said it was over."

"Things change."

"You probably don't remember this, but one time you told me after we had a few that he has never included you in his life."

"Our relationship is none of your business, and it may not be perfect, but he has never forced me to have sex with him, and he never, ever, laid a hand on me" she says sternly.

She watches as he nods slowly, continuing to sip his champagne. He then slowly rises and says, "I hope you have a good night, you look gorgeous by the way" and he turns around and leaves before she can say anything in response.

She rolls her eyes in disgust as she watches him walk away, totally disgusted that he tried to lecture her about reuniting with Gale, when it was because of his actions that caused them to get back together in the first place.

She continues to sit in the corner of the bar area and have another glass of champagne, she is then forced to get up and leave once a man begins hitting on her, not taking her hints that she is not interested. As she begins walking around the room looking for another model she can mingle with, she sees Ethan approach her.

"Cassandra, enjoying the party?"

"Yes sir, thank you" she says as politely as she can muster.

"Great! I'm glad to see everyone enjoying themselves, I did just have a talk with my Brother before he left, he's quite upset."

"Oh?" Cassandra says looking away, desperate not to make eye contact.

"Sounds like you might have broken his heart" Ethan says in a teasing manner, leaning closer to her.

"It wasn't my intention" she says turning her head back around, annoyed that this conversation was happening.

"Of course not! But I have to say, I think it was wrong of you to lead my Brother on like that if you were with someone else" his tone changing.

"Mr. McCalister, my boyfriend and I were broken up when I dated your Brother."

"Were you though? Or were just trying to make your boyfriend jealous?"

"I had no contact with him" Cassandra says in tone letting him know the matter was not up for debate.

"I have to say, I am not surprised to hear you bounce from relationship to relationship, you are quite the beauty. I think he was hoping for more, since that won't be happening, I was thinking….maybe…other arrangements could made."

"What kind of arrangements?" she says cautiously.

"Well, my Brother likes to have a good time, but he is irresponsible, he always has been. He loses control. He needs to quit using drugs and needs to cut down his drinking."

"I can't help him with that."

"I know, but you can help with something else."

"What?" she asks confused.

"He really enjoys your company. Forgive me for saying this, but, the sex, he said the sex the two of you had was amazing. I'd like to propose an arrangement for you to….keep spending time with him."

Horrified by what he is insinuating, she stares at him in shock then says, "Excuse me?"

"You will be compensated, considerably more than what you are currently making now."

"I work for you as a model, if you want your Brother to have great sex instead of doing drugs, get him a prostitute, this is the Capitol, they are not hard to find."

"He wants you."

"That is not happening."

"You will not be able to be a model forever, we will be interviewing soon for new models to sign for contracts."

"I just started working for you."

"Yes, but surely you know you have at best-two, maybe three more years left?"

"So, I am to just, stop working as a model to be a prostitute for your Brother?"

"Look at it as a re-assignment of job duties."

"I signed a contract with MC2 Models" she says sternly.

"And in that contract, it says duties as assigned."

"No" she says trying not to show her vulnerability.

"You are afraid being with him will give him the wrong idea? Do not worry about that, I'll make it clear to him that you are spending time with him as a business arrangement."

"He will never accept that."

"He will have to, after all, you say you have a boyfriend correct?"

She nods, unable to say anything in response for her mind was still trying to process what he had said to her.

"Think about it. I will make it worth your while financially" and before he walks away, he takes his business card and reaches down, his fingers brushing against her breast as he places the card inside.

She then leaves, not bothering to say goodbye to the other models. Once she arrived back to her apartment she heads straight to bed, throwing her dress on the floor not bothering to hang it up. When she awoke the next morning, she did not bother to fix herself something to eat or shower and immediately packed a bag and headed for the train station.

Her thoughts return to the present as she feels the water begin to get cold. She reaches up and turns off the water and sits in the tub, now filled with water. She is not sure how long she continues to sit as she stares at her reflection. When the water is no longer warm, she drains the water out and stands up and turns the water on and begins taking a shower, the water hot once again. Once she is finished, she calls her best friend Aiyana.

Aiyana, her former mentor, and stylist when she first began working at AMB, was now retired, and lived in a spacious one-bedroom apartment in the Capitol. Originally from District 8, Aiyana had worked in a textile factory before the rebellion. After the war, she enrolled in a fashion program in District 8 and moved to the Capitol shortly after to begin a new life. She became a stylist for AMB and worked for AMB until she retired, and Avery was hired for Aiyana's position shortly after. Now 62, she enjoyed spending her days doing leisure activities and traveling.

Desperate to talk to someone, Cassandra asks Aiyana if she could come see her in Red Rocks, offering to let her spend the night in the guest bedroom if she wanted. Relived when Aiyana says yes, she gets dressed and begins cleaning up the cottage. She meets Aiyana at the train station at 2 pm, and while riding back in the taxi takes her on a quick tour of Red Rocks. Once they arrive at the cottage, Cassandra takes her bags as they head inside. As Cassandra shows her around, the older woman gives a look showing she is impressed.

"This is a really nice place, but I guess it has to be considering he somehow talked you into hiding away out here" Aiyana says in a pointed tone.

Cassandra sighs, knowing that her friend has not been the biggest fan of Gale and Avery since her termination at AMB. While she knows Aiyana will always support her, she was not happy when she told her she had given Gale yet another chance and was even less pleased when she told her about his idea of getting the cottage. "It is nice to get away from the Capitol sometimes" she says as she goes and sits on the couch.

Taking a seat beside her, Aiyana gives a concerned look and says, "What's wrong? Did something happen with Gale?"

She quickly shakes her head no and says, "He's away this weekend, he's with his family in District 4."

"And he didn't invite you?" she says in an angry tone.

"He did, I couldn't come because yesterday was the first runway show of the year."

Her anger subsiding, realization sets in and she says, "You saw Kyle at the show?"

Trying to remain calm, Cassandra tells Aiyana about her conversations with Kyle and Ethan. When she is finished, Aiyana hugs her tightly and says, "I'm so sorry, you need to quit and report his ass to the President's office. You know the President has a department that handles these types of things."

Cassandra shakes her head as she pulls away and says, "They'll just do an investigation, and it is my word against his. It doesn't help my case that I was dating his Brother before."

"It doesn't matter, he basically threatened that if you do not comply you won't be able to continue working at MC2."

"He didn't say it specifically though."

"Cass, when are you going to stop letting these men control your life? You told Gale about what happened to you growing up in 5 right?"

She nods her head in response.

"Ok, then you do not have to explain to him the why of any of your actions. I know it's been hard for you to find a job, if you ask me, his Daughter should be helping, considering it is because of her you ended up working for these assholes in the first place."

Knowing that what Aiyana said made sense, but not wanting to talk about Gale or Avery any further, she tells her best friend that she will quit her job if Ethan threatens her employment when she tells him she is turning down his proposal. She also tells her that she will resume her job search again for she had begun looking for jobs after her last date with Kyle, but her job search had been put on pause once all her free time was spent at the cottage with Gale. She let Aiyana know she would make looking for a new job a priority again so she can leave MC2 Models as soon as possible.

Seeing that what she has said has placated her friend, they head into town for an early dinner, Cassandra smirks at the looks they receive, for the two of them look out of place. Cassandra, tall with her electric blue hair, blue nails, blue eye shadow, and in nice, but casual clothing, the blue hair and make-up making her skin look pale. And Aiyana, a shorter and extremely styled and well-dressed older dark-skinned woman. The two had the look and appearance of Capitol tourists. They eat in a booth in the back of a café, enjoying the privacy as they take in the views of the mountains outside. Once they are finished, they head back to the cottage, and Aiyana tells Cassandra she is going to unpack just as Cassandra sees a call come in from Gale.

She excuses herself and goes into her room and closes the door behind her. She tries to act as normal as possible but of course he senses something is wrong and asks her about the show. She manages to change the subject by getting him to talk about his day with his family and before he hangs up, he asks her if she will join him later in the week when he visits his Sister in District 8.

Wishing she could join him; she knows that depending on how her conversation with Ethan goes will depend on if Thursday and Friday will be her last days with the company. She forgets about the events of yesterday as the two of them spend the rest of the evening drinking wine, talking, and listening to music. The next morning, they both wake up late and head into town for brunch and visit some of the local shops then head back to the cottage to pack their bags before heading to the train station.

Thankful for the opportunity to get away, she tries not to think about the phone call she will be making to Ethan tomorrow as they ride in the speeding train through the mountains towards to the Capitol.

March 20 (Saturday)

Cassandra breathes deeply as she leans down and continues kissing Gale. They are in her room, the lights turned off, with only faint light peeking in from the buildings outside. It is unusually warm out, so the window is open and the only sound in the room is the traffic noise from outside. She sits in Gale's lap as they both move up and down on the bed. Missing each other terribly, they have not left her apartment since he arrived late that afternoon after going to lunch. They had not seen each other in two weeks since that night she was last at his house in Silver Lake and had not been intimate for an even longer period. Once he arrived in the Capitol, he spent the night at Avery's apartment for he arrived late Friday night from District 8. They arrange to meet for lunch at a restaurant near her apartment. While at lunch he surprises her with an early Birthday gift, tickets for the two of them to attend an orchestra performance at the President's mansion on Saturday, April 10th. When he says he hopes she does not have a fashion show that evening, she quickly tells him not to worry about it, and leans forward across the table to give him a quick kiss thanking him for the wonderful gift. Once they finish lunch and arrive back to her apartment, they hold hands as they head straight for her room. Placing his bag on floor near the door, for the rest of his luggage was at Avery's apartment, they embrace in silence for a few moments as they stand by the edge of her bed. Once the embrace ends, he leans down and begins kissing her deeply as they begin undressing each other.

The time now 8 pm, she moves her arms up to wrap around his neck as she continues kissing him. Just as she feels her body begin to orgasm, she is startled by the sound of her phone, the chime letting her know a message has arrived.

Seeing her spooked response, for she had abruptly pulled away from him, Gale reaches up and gently touches her face and says, "You okay?"

Bringing his hand back down, she shakes her head and says, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine" and leans forward and inserts her tongue into his mouth while moving their position so that his body is now on top of hers. He moves her legs up over his shoulders and picks up the pace, quickly causing her to orgasm. Her eyes now closed; she feels his lips as he begins trailing kisses from her face all the way down her body. She then feels his hand brush against her recently waxed genitalia before he lays beside her on the bed. She looks over and sees his eyes are now closed as well, for fatigue was beginning to set in for both due to the numerous times they had sex and she gets up and moves to her nightstand and picks up her phone.

She tries to remain silent as she sees it is a message from Kyle.

I heard yesterday was your last day, good luck finding another modeling company that will take you, AMB will never hire you again, rumor is you were fucking the government official from 2, I'm sure you seduced him like you did me, just like you do every man you meet, you will regret taking advantage of me.

Before she can delete the message, she feels Gale's hands wrap around her body, she quickly puts her phone face down, so he does not see the message and leans back against him as he begins kissing her neck, his hands on her breasts, lightly teasing her nipples with his fingers.

"Again?" she asks in a playful manner as his right hand begins moving further down.

His head behind hers, he says into her ear, "I have to call Juniper, how about a shower after I'm done?"

"I think I can manage that."

He laughs as he gives her a quick kiss on the cheek and says, "Be right back" and she watches as he gets up and goes over to his bag, pulling on his boxers and grabbing his phone as he exits the room.

Once her bedroom door is closed, she goes back over to her nightstand and deletes Kyle's message from her phone, along with his phone number and Ethan's number.

Knowing she will eventually have to tell Gale that she is now unemployed and why, she decides to avoid the situation by trying to forget Kyle's message, heading into the attached bathroom, and turning on the water, letting the water heat up as she waits for him to return.

A/N: I hope to update sooner next time-