Jacob Stone sighed as he ticked off yet another item on his sheet. Why did it have to be Chicago? Three weeks ago he'd been so excited about it, he'd known for some time Chicago was coming up, but he'd wanted to surprise Cassandra. And he'd not been sure until this week what his dates were as historian in residence. He'd planned on it being his Christmas surprise to Cassandra. Six weeks in her city, six weeks together.
But then he'd found out she was out of his league. And then he'd panicked like an idiot and sent that photo of Flynn instead. It was all such a mess.
So now, he wasn't going to tell her where he was. Chicago was a big city, the odds on them even meeting were low. He could be there for six weeks and she would never know. And honestly, he'd been pulling back so much lately from her. He could almost feel the hurt tone in her voice. That card she sent yesterday . . . .
The fact that he'd barely acknowledged it made him feel so low. But he had to do this. Even though he could feel his heart breaking. Even if Cassandra could have been the one for him.
After the holidays, he was going to find a way to break it off with her. He didn't want to disappear. They'd meant so much to each other over the course of this year. So he'd have to break up with her just like a real relationship.
He sighed again, just as his co-worker Flynn Carsen came in, carrying his own clipboard and muttering about something that Jones had done.
Jacob looked up as Flynn sat down beside him. "Hey Flynn, Jones messing things up again?"
"The usual, too busy instagramming or whatever it is he does to actually listen. I'm starting to think maybe one of us should go with the truck instead of him."
Jacob chuckled. "Well if there's one thing that Jones loves, it's being in charge. He'll be fine." His tone changed to resignation. "Besides you and I have to get there ahead."
Flynn gave him a look at the sudden change in tone. "What's wrong? You've been so excited about Chicago. Isn't that where your online paramour lives?"
"She does. And I planned on surprising her for Christmas. But . . ." Jacob grabbed his phone. "She sent me her photo."
Flynn's eyes widened as he looked. "Stone, I'm impressed."
Jacob shook his head. "I should be too. A beautiful woman like that? Smart, single, sweet, interested in me? And yet . . . ."
"She is rather tall. Would tower over you . . . ."Flynn clapped a hand over his mouth. Sometimes he spoke without thinking.
Jake groaned but nodded. "She's outta my league. And she's kinda . . . ."
"Not your type?" Flynn asked, looking with way too much interest at the photo. "She's actually more . . . ."
"Yours," Jacob said sullenly. "Yeah, I noticed the whole blonde bombshell thing you're got going on, what with Emily and Nicole. Which is why . . . ."
"Why what?"
Jacob jumped up and started pacing. "I kinda sent her a picture of you."
Flynn looked confused. "What?"
"I panicked alright? She's just so gorgeous and tall! I didn't know what to do. So I sent her a pic of you."
"You're in a fine mess, my friend."
"I know," Jacob sighed. "I'm not tellin' her I'm in Chicago. She won't know, it's a huge city. And after the holidays, I'm breaking it off. I can't keep doing this to either of us."
Flynn looked sad. Jacob knew that no one else understood how he felt about Cassandra. But Flynn had a way of getting people. Flynn patted his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Stone."
"Yeah, me too. Well, let's make sure Ezekiel is ready to go, then let's go get a beer. Monday we'll be in Chicago."
Flynn and Jacob had arrived in Chicago in the late afternoon so they were to go to the museum in the morning. After checking in with Ezekiel to make sure everything had arrived and having dinner, Jacob and Flynn went to their rooms.
Jacob was checking his emails, sighing at the ones from Cassandra. It hurt him now to read them, still so cheerful and lovely and wonderful. All the things that Cassandra was. Was he being too superficial? It was insane really. He was being insane. She was too beautiful for him?
"What is that? Who thinks like that?" He asked himself as he stared at the laptop. "She's not really my type. But I was prepared to love her if she was just a mousy little thing like I thought she was. Instead she's gorgeous. Why . . . ."
And he sighed and realized that he'd always pictured Cassandra as someone adorable and bubbly. And he couldn't quite imagine this cool beauty being adorable and bubbly. But hey looks weren't everything. The photo was obviously taken at a party, so she would have been done up to the nines. Maybe she and friends had had makeovers. Maybe in her day to day life she wasn't so intimidating?
The chat was blinking in the corner and he clicked on it.
Hey darlin'.
How are you? How was Thanksgiving?
Hectic, I'm really sorry. I have a huge family and I had to go to two houses. It was crazy. Plus I had to get ready for more work. Never ever done. But don't wanna talk about that. How was your Thanksgiving?
He kept her busy talking so he didn't have to carry on his end. And he could avoid the subject of where he was. It was better this way. He didn't want to ruin her holiday by breaking it off now.
And besides he had rather missed her little chats. So he closed his eyes and imagined her being adorable and bubbly and got through.
The next morning, he and Flynn headed to the museum. A middle aged no-nonsense woman named Charlene lead them upstairs to their exhibit space. She looked down at the mobile phone she had in her hand and sighed.
"I swear this area is the land of the dead for cellular service. I step right over there," and she pointed to the windows. "And full service, right here, absolutely nothing. But at any rate, I will go call the liaison. She's also in charge of the seasonal exhibit and we had an incident with a preschooler touching something they shouldn't have this morning so she's cleaning it up. It'll be just a moment. And our head of PR will be coming along with her."
"That's fine," Jacob said. "We'll just start taking some measurements."
Charlene stepped away and Jacob did what he always did. Flynn had a tape and was marking things off on his ipad. But Jacob had his own keen since of space and measurement. He started silently counting as he walked to the open area that overlooked the downstairs. Later today workers would wall off the area so that they could work, but right now the area was open.
He looked downstairs into the holiday exhibit and had to smile. It was gorgeous and he'd have to check it out. A young woman on a cell phone down below caught his eye. She was a pretty redhead in a red cardigan and a dark blue skirt with a snowflake pattern on it. A lanyard hung around her neck, so he guessed she was staff. Given that she was in the holiday exhibit and now on the phone, he wondered if she was their liaison. He grinned. Now this trip to Chicago was panning out better than he thought.
Never mind the pang in his stomach that reminded him that that would be like cheating on Cassandra. He closed his eyes and shook his head. When he opened his eyes, the girl downstairs was gone. But someone very familiar was heading toward the holiday exhibit. Tall, blonde, business suit, lanyard like the other girl.
Cassandra.
Cassandra worked here? Oh God, he couldn't breathe.
He could hear Charlene talking to Flynn, "Something came up, so I'm going to have to leave you. But Cassandra and Eve will be here shortly to assist you."
Cassandra. Shit.
Flynn thanked Charlene and walked over to him. "Huh, so one of the ladies is named Cassandra. Heck of a coincidence, hey?"
Then he noticed his friend's face. "You okay, Stone?"
"It is Cassandra! I saw her downstairs. What am I going to do? She thinks you're me!"
Cassandra was waiting for Eve downstairs in the holiday exhibit. She looked up at the area where the special exhibit was, there were two men talking animatedly up there. And then she got a good look at the second one.
Oh my God. Jacob. Jacob was the one of the historians from the Mesopotamian collection. And he thinks I'm Eve.
She saw Eve walking toward her and hoped like hell that Jacob hadn't seen her. She grabbed Eve's arm and pulled her around a corner.
"Cassandra, what the hell?"
"Eve, he's here!"
"Who's here?"
"Jacob! He's one of the historians on the special exhibit. And he thinks I'm you! Oh no."