Layla had seen the text between Dane and her cousin.
As much as she was pissed off by it, there was nothing she could do about it now.
If she had found out earlier, then she would have thought of something.
But this information was impromptu, and coupled with the two missed calls she already had from her father; today was certainly Cassie and Dane's lucky day.
"I will let it pass for now," she gritted her teeth bitterly.
Contrary to what Dane thought, Layla never made peace with her.
She had only tried to offer a truce simply because Cassie and her father persuaded her to do so.
She would never bring herself to forgive Dane and swore to make sure that if she couldn't have him, then no one else would.
Layla was in a place of pain as far as Dane was concerned.
Suffering rejection from someone she thought to be beneath her was something she could not forgive that easily.
In an attempt to see if she could use jealousy to make Dane reciprocate the feelings she had, Layla ended up implicating herself.
Dane simply laughed it off, shaking his head since it was not his business.
Why would he be bothered about a girl that was not his nor did he like her like that?
Layla was proud.
Naturally, she would be.
Being the daughter of the CEO of Grey Corps was a thing of pride but Layla took it to the extreme.
She invoked fear of her in the staff of the company, so much so that Leon had to keep her away for a while before she finally returned.
At that time, Dane would simply smile at her whenever she threw her tantrums and exercised meaningless superiority.
Dane did not care to confront her or react to whatever trouble she tried to raise.
He simply did his job the best way he knew how to.
For Dane, as long as Leon was happy and satisfied with his work, he didn't care what anyone else thought.
Perhaps it was this behaviour that ended up birthing an attraction inside of Layla.
She has hardly met any man of lower status who didn't conform to her influence and that of her father.
Dane was tall, jacked and handsome.
He was the perfect, chiselled athlete but he was not as rich as the Greys.
So Layla was mad when Dane was rejecting her gestures and for no reason whatsoever.
Only for her to now find out that he was building something with her cousin.
There was no way she would allow that.
To her, that was the highest insult and Dane had just crossed a line that he couldn't return.
Snap~
She snapped her finger bitterly with a squeezed face.
"They will see..." she swore, making up her mind to squash whatever it was that those two were building.
Her phone soon rang, snapping her out of her diabolic thoughts.
She glanced at the caller ID
[Daddyyy]
It was her father.
Layla sighed.
She had no choice but to answer.
She was not going to ignore him for so long after all.
———
Cassie and Dane had come to a common conclusion and that was to meet up by 3pm.
Dane had planned to cook at home and have Cassie over but it seemed that wouldn't work out anymore.
Given the disappointed look on his face, it was obvious he had to find another alternative.
He had bought things to cook with and also some drinks that they could share.
Plans were already set for a chilled indoor outing but now Dane couldn't cook
He ran out of gas.
"Shit! Not now."
Since he returned from the hospital, he's been ordering little takeouts here and there and never really had the strength to cook something for himself.
Cooking for Cassie would have been the first time in weeks.
Dane hissed and turned off the gas.
Dane calmed down immediately.
He knew he had to act fast before Cassie closed for the day.
Otherwise, he would look unserious to her and probably inconsiderate.
That will be bad for him.
Thinking fast and taking charge of the situation, Dane already weighed the pros and cons and smiled.
He thought of something.
He took his phone and shot Cassie a quick text.
[Dane: Heyy. Getting off work soon?]
After about two to three minutes, Cassie replied.
[Cassie: Yea. Layla wanted me to do something for her but I will have to do that tomorrow.
[Cassie: It would probably keep here later than I planned if I did]
"Hmmm."
[Dane: How about I pick you up instead?]
A few minutes passed and Cassie had not replied.
Dane also anticipated the possibility of her rejecting the offer or seeking to postpone the date.
He wouldn't fault her if she did, considering that the fault was from his end, not hers.
Dane sprayed some scents on himself, smelling nice as he dressed up.
Ding~
The phone chimed.
[Cassie: That will be great. I'm packing up already]
Dane smiled at the affirmative response and hit her back.
[Dane: Okay then. On my way]
The young man hurried up and locked his apartment on his way out.
He stepped outside, absorbing the view of the city and exhaled satisfactorily before heading over to the garage for the tenants.
Dane got on his power bike.
His was a sleek coal black and red that shone with class and brilliance.
Despite having it for about two years now, his bike was still neat like a brand new one.
Naturally, he would keep it clean and functional.
After taking a few years to save up for it, who wouldn't keep it neat?
Vroom~
Vroom~
The soothing sound of the engine revving resonated through the entire garage, with Dane massaging his bike before speeding off.
The moment he stepped onto the road, he sped off and pushed forward at high speeds, expertly manoeuvring his way between other vehicles on the road.
Dane had taken the situation that was meant to be disappointing as an opportunity.
According to his plan, he wanted Layla to be wrapped around his fingers and one of the perfect ways to do so was to go for her cousin.
Dane knew how competitive and arrogant Layla could get and for the silliest of things.
He was hoping on the fact that if she saw him picking Cassie up from work, she would get jealous and begin to make moves as he envisioned her to.
Dane was banking on his history with Layla, hoping that she would attempt to prove why she was a better choice than Cassie.