The Billionaire and His PA novel Chapter 96

“Cassie, my socks are itchy!” Lily whined, stopping at the entrance to the theater to dramatically tug at her frilly lace socks.

Cassie rolled her eyes. “If they’re itching you so badly, take them off and hand them over. I’ll stuff them in my purse.”

“Then your purse will stink because she has stinky feet.” Aaron teased.

Ignoring her brother and the stares of passersby, Lily leaned against Felix and started to slip her socks off.

The four of them were standing in front of a theater in Midtown Atlanta. The theater stood proudly amidst the bustling cityscape. Tall, arched windows adorned the front and sides of the building, each one framed with intricate wrought-iron accents. The glass panes themselves were made from delicately assembled stained glass pieces which came together to depict various forms of artistry, from a ballerina standing en pointe to golden depictions of the theater masks Thalia and Melpomene. A lush red carpet was rolled out from the doorway and all the way down the stairs. Stone gargoyles sat atop the towering roof and ornate angels were carved into the imposing pillars of the theater. A majestic banner was draped above the entrance, proudly advertising the play, The Wizard of Oz, and the actors. Even from a distance, everyone could see Diana’s face on the banner beaming at them amongst other main members of the cast. As an art major, she had mostly worked on designing the sets for the play but the girl who was to play Dorothy had come down with a terrible case of chickenpox so, as the understudy, Diana had stepped up to be the new leading lady.

As one of Diana’s friends, Cassie had gotten an invite to the play, snagging tickets for Felix and the twins. She had spotted Austin and Mrs. Thompson somewhere in the throng of people entering the theater but neither of them had seen her. They had both had their attention on different things; Austin’s had been directed towards his phone and Mrs. Thompson’s had been directed at scolding her daughter, Roxanne.

“Hurry up.” Aaron shot. They were one of the few people still outside and from the pamphlet, he could tell that the play was meant to start soon. The concierge was also giving them the stink eye as he waited for them to come in so that he could shut the door. “You’re going to make us late.”

“I’m trying.” Lily hissed as she tried to wiggle her feet back into her sneakers.

“May I?” Felix asked. When she nodded, he tried helping her with her shoes but found that he would have to unlace them if he was ever going to slip her feet back into them, so he picked her up, propping her under one arm like she was a briefcase. “We’ll figure it out in the theater.”

“Pick me up too!” Aaron demanded tugging at the sleeve of Cassie’s dress.

“Sorry, bud. We have both gotten to that stage in our lives where I can’t pick you up anymore.” She said as she stuffed Lily’s socks into her purse. “Ask Felix.”

Without waiting to be asked, Felix picked Aaron up and slung him over one shoulder, then walked into the theater with two children in his hands and Cassie by his side.

The play lasted for a total of ninety minutes, not counting the twenty minute intermission where Cassie and Felix had made out behind one of the pillars while Mrs. Thompson had watched the twins. At the end of the play, friends and family of the cast and crew floated around admiring the painting and sculptures while they nibbled on their hors d'oeuvres and sipped on their glasses of champagne. Cassie spotted Diana from across the room taking a selfie with Austin. Felix, as per the twins’ request, was helping them to hunt for the waiter that they had spotted carrying a tray of chocolate truffles. She had played her part of Dorothy perfectly. Her only flaw was that she had constantly scanned the faces of the crowd to check whether her parents or any family members had come for the play, her face falling by just a little when she didn’t spot them. It seemed that when they had said that they never wanted to see her again after choosing art instead of dentistry, they had been dead serious.

“Oh my God, Cassie.” Diana squealed when she spotted Cassie approaching from across the room. “I’m so glad that you could make it.”

“Are you kidding me? I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” Cassie said, embracing her. “You were amazing out there.”