The Society

Chapter 26: The Trial Part I

The Trial - Cassie Cassadaga

I was walking to work, I felt strange like my life had been a blur over the last few months. I was now the leader of The Society, I was just about to go to trial with the biggest case of my career so far. My father had just left me - again. I stopped on the street, leaning my hand against the building and for a second I felt nauseous, I felt week and shaky. It took all my focus not to be sick right there and then. I was focusing on inhaling big strong breaths when I heard a familiar voice.

“Cassie, are you okay?” he sounded worried and I could hear the sound of his shoes hitting the asphalt when he hurried in big strides towards me.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I guess that I just drank to much coffee on an empty stomach.”

Joe was by my side, holding my arm gently to support me. I felt the dizziness subside. What have I gotten myself in to? I thought my father was only acting out of power. I never asked him why he did what he did, I just assumed he did it for the wrong reasons. He only tried to protect me and I just judged him. I guess my feelings for him from my childhood really clouded my judgment. Now he’s gone again and this time it’s my fault. He left because he thought that’s what I wanted and now I’m left trying to control The Society.

I leaned against the wall again, my thoughts had made me feel nauseous again.

“Are you sure that you’re okay?” Joe looked at me eyes filled with concern.

I gently released myself from his grip, forced my face into a smooth and relaxed expression and said quietly, “Yes, I’m fine. Nothing to worry about. Were you heading to the office too?”

We started walking the short distance to the office in silence, my mind was preoccupied with everything that had just happened and everything that was about to happen.

Our silence had carried us all the way to the elevators, as the doors smoothly closed in front of our eyes I could sense that Joe was about to say something.

“So, we never finished our conversation from the other day. You know when Miss Penelope came to collect you?” his voice was leading and excited, as if he expected me to pick up that conversation just where it had been left.

I looked at him, his blonde hair neat as ever, his blue eyes lit up as he looked back at me, his tall build, his stylish but understated blue coat which would revealed an impeccably put together blue suit underneath. Thinking about taking our friendship to the next level felt million miles away. I suddenly realised that I hadn’t even given this situation one thought since it had happened. What does that say about me? That I don’t like Joe like that or that my life has just been too eventful lately? I have the Broffman trial soon and I also have to deal with The Society. Something that Joe can never know about and would never understand. He doesn’t look at the world in the way that The Society does, he would never understand.

I suddenly realised that I looked at the world differently now, before any of this happened I looked at the world with Joe’s black and white, right or wrong morals. Now I could see that the world was more complex than that. I could also see that there was no way I could even consider Joe’s advances with everything else going on in my life.

How would I be able to explain why I always need to attend a private members club in TriBeCa and why he never can visit? Or how I suddenly have all of this power and influence. It would only confuse things if we grew closer, he could possibly figure things out and if he did, I would as a leader have to make some decisions that I never want to be faced with.

I didn’t know how to say any of this to Joe, I didn’t know how to end this conversation. I suddenly heard myself say, “I don’t know Joe. It’s just a lot now, my big case is going to trial. I don’t really feel like I have time to talk about it this week. Maybe in a couple of weeks when the trial is over?” I felt horrible to doing this to him, but I just didn’t feel like I could make any decisions right now.