Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 79898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
But Nico was so sexy that staying away from him was incredibly difficult. I’d felt like such a bitch the other day on the phone, when I’d had to act so cold just to ward off his advances.
Fuck, why did no one ever tell me that adulthood would be so complicated?
The elevator arrived and the doors opened, revealing an empty space.
Nico hesitated for a moment before stepping inside, and suddenly my mind transported me back four years, back to a moment in Nico’s office that I’d completely forgotten about until now.
It had been late at night, around the holidays, and I had been working alone at my desk for hours. Dinner time had come and gone – I’d ordered takeout from the deli downstairs, like usual – and I was getting ready to go home. Outside, the streets of Manhattan were covered in a blurry haze of snow and ice and just looking out the window made me shiver.
When I’d shut down my laptop and tucked it into my bag, I’d heard a noise from inside Nico’s office. I wasn’t the kind of person to jump and shriek at random sounds, but being alone in the mostly-dark office was frightening. I’d cautiously walked over to his office and opened the door, only to see Nico standing by the window with his arms folded across his chest. When he’d heard the door open, he’d turned to me.
“What are you still doing here?” Nico had asked quietly. He looked tired and unguarded, the most normal I’d ever seen him.
“I was just leaving,” I admitted. “But I wanted to make sure I had everything ready for your big meeting with the UConn coaches next week.”
Nico smiled. “You work too hard, Harper,” he said. After a moment, he’d spontaneously added: “Have a drink with me.”
I swallowed hard. “I ... I really should be getting home,” I said finally.
Nico stared at me. His eyes traveled the length of my body, making me feel like I was under a spotlight.
“Good night, Harper,” Nico said. His voice was as soft and dark as velvet and right then, I realized how attracted I was to him. Maybe there was more to Nico than the tyrant boss, the arrogant asshole who made his workers cower in fear every time he walked past.
That night, I thought that I’d seen a new side of Nico – a side no one else had ever noticed. I’d slept well, thinking of how things could maybe develop between us.
But in the morning, he was back to his old, cruel self and I’d felt like a massive jerk and a fool for thinking he could be anything other than a complete asshole.
“Harper?”
Nico’s voice jerked me out of my memory and back into the present.
“What?” I asked. “I mean, I’m sorry. Yes? What is it?”
Nico smiled ruefully.
“It was nice to see you,” he said.
Then, he disappeared into the elevator, leaving me alone with my thoughts and my memories. The silence was almost pleasant, but when I turned around I saw that Nell was standing there, clearly waiting for me.
“Harper, may I have a word?”
My stomach churned – what I had done wrong now?
“Of course,” I told her, trying for a convincing smile. “What is it?”
Nell led me into her posh office and gestured for me to have a seat in front of her desk. I did so and she went behind the desk and sat down, perching on the edge of her chair.
“I noticed a little tension between you and Mr. Ulrich,” Nell said.
My heart sank and I held my breath, waiting for her next words.
“And as your boss, I’d like to ask you about that,” Nell said. “If there’s a problem working with him, I can assign you to a different issue ... but Harper, let me be clear that you need to do your job here.”
“I know,” I said quickly, wincing inwardly at how defensive I sounded. “It’s nothing, really.”
Nell gave me a look, like she knew I was full of it.
“We used to work together,” I admitted after a short pause.
Nell cocked her head to the side and frowned. “In Boston?”
“No,” I said. “Um, here. I lived here for a long time before I was in Boston for a few years.”
“I see,” Nell said. She rose to her feet, signaling that our conversation was over. I knew that I should say something else – anything to smooth things over and make her realize that I was capable of doing my job, even if it meant working with someone like Nico.
“There won’t be any problems,” I said. “I promise.”
Nell looked at me for a long moment, as if she was trying to read my mind. There was something about the look in her flat gray eyes that was unsettling, and worse, I had a feeling she knew it just as well as I did.