Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 147128 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 736(@200wpm)___ 589(@250wpm)___ 490(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147128 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 736(@200wpm)___ 589(@250wpm)___ 490(@300wpm)
I could feel the energy change in the room. Rick rubbed his hands together, a new gleam in his eyes. ‘We’re taking on a new case, aren’t we?’ He lived for the rush of the job. ‘A big one from the sound of it.’
There was a small, knowing smile on William’s lips when he met Rick’s gaze. ‘I have to talk to the client first to determine whether or not I’m willing to work with him on this, but yes, there is a possibility.’
‘A possibility?’ Trisha asked with a frown. ‘Are we taking him on, or not?’
‘We’ll talk more at lunch, but… I have a different work ethic than some others in our field. You’ll see this for yourselves in time, but I only agree to work with a client if I believe them and actually think I can help. I don’t lie to get out of a tough situation and I’m definitely not going to lie for someone I don’t know just to make sure they look good in the public eye. Our reputation is everything in our business, and I don’t make sacrifices on this.’
How could someone feel proud of a stranger they didn’t quite know anymore?
I forgot that I was nervous about him recognizing me and outright smiled as I studied him.
He hadn’t changed all that much in the last six years, yet he looked somehow different to me. His hair was a bit shorter – which I kinda liked, but it was still perfectly messy – the kind of hair that made you want to run your fingers through it. His features looked more defined, his jaw stronger and sharper somehow, but his eyes were the same – that warm and inviting brown. His body looked more filled out, nothing too bulky, but lean and muscular, more so than it had been. Or maybe it was just the suit that was affecting me. The suit and the strong shoulders. There was just something about William Carter that had caught my attention all those years ago, and that same something was still there, but it was more amped up somehow.
And this was a whole new side of him I’d never known about. I’d never heard him talk about work, since when we met he was just about to graduate. I had absolutely no idea that he was in the same field as my dad. And it made me feel nervous that I was going to work with him.
William looked down at his watch. ‘I have a meeting with Mr Ashton at 11 a.m. so we’ll know what the situation is by lunch. Then I’ll share the details and we can go from there.’
Since at that point I was more than sure that he had no idea who I was, I felt it’d be okay for me to speak up.
‘Is my dad, I mean is Mr Davis okay with this?’
Our eyes met for the second time and I swallowed, forcing myself to grow a pair and keep eye contact. It might as well have been just the two of us in the room.
‘With?’
‘With you, us, rejecting potential clients.’ I couldn’t see my dad allowing that to happen.
He smiled and it was so beautiful and unexpected that I almost forgot myself and smiled back at him.
‘He wanted me enough to overlook that… what had he called it?… oh, yes, that failing of mine. I’m really good at what I do, Miss Davis. Since we’re getting to know each other, I feel okay to share this. I moved back to New York from California only a month ago. I was supposed to teach a class at Colombia and take a little break from the job, but Mr Davis convinced me to do otherwise.’
‘Sounds like Mr Davis,’ Rick said. And he was right, that sounded like my dad. He was good at convincing people to do things they weren’t particularly planning to do. Which was one of the reasons he had become one of the best in the industry.
‘Okay. If that’s all for now, I’d like to take some time to go over your workload, take the meeting with Mr Ashton and then meet for lunch. Everyone good with the plan?’
We all nodded and gave our approval.
Before I could react or leave, Stan, in his hurry to get back to his work, suddenly turned and walked right into me, causing me to lose my balance and bump my hip hard against the edge of the low bookcase. A few books tumbled down to the floor, breaking the silence.
‘Shit,’ I cursed, frowning and rubbing my hip. My eyes were already watering from the sharp pain.
Stan helped me straighten up. ‘You good?’
Neither Stan nor Trisha were close friends of mine, but we were at least friendly in a professional way.
‘Yeah,’ I replied. In the time it took me to lean down and pick up the books to place them back where they belonged, Stan and Trisha had already left the room.