Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 61160 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 245(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61160 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 245(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
I opened a second email she’d sent directly to me.
Subject: Co-CEO Life
Mr. Carrington,
I know you just got started here, but I want everyone to respect you as much as they respect me, so I’m just shooting you some friendly reminders.
Don’t stay late and work with the staff, and don’t spend too much time in the break room talking. You’re not on their level and they need to stay down where they belong. You’re on MY level, and we have to stay together.
K? Okay!
Oh! And you seem like you’re like, not a poor person (Right? You still have money?), would you like to join me on a shopping trip during lunch next Monday? I have to get this Versace bag for the upcoming gala before anyone else buys it.
—Hazel Swift
Co-CEO,
Rogue Publishing
I deleted it, holding back a groan.
“I’m forwarding the email to you,” I said to Chloe. “Anything else?”
“No, thank you.”
Silence.
“You can hang up now then, unless you have no one else to talk to tonight.”
“I have two best friends I can call whenever I want,” she said. “They’re like my sisters.”
“But they’re not available right now, are they?”
She didn’t answer, and I laughed.
“Are you still at the office?”
“No, I’m…I’m at Whimstery Cafe,” she admitted, her tone a bit softer than usual. “I like to work here after-hours because it’s unlimited refills and the staff is nice.”
I sat down in a chair, tapping my fingers against the armrest. “What’s that like?”
“It’s pretty nice,” she said. “They have a ton of work space, better coffee than most of the other shops, and—”
“No, not that,” I interrupted. “What’s it like working in a cafe where no one bothers you? Where no one rushes up to you every few seconds?”
“Oh.” She was silent for several moments. “It’s very peaceful.”
“Do the baristas know what you do for a living?”
“No, and they don’t care.” There was a smile in her voice. “They’re very friendly, though. They have a private room downstairs if you ever want to reserve it for yourself.”
“I’ll have to consider that someday.” I tapped my screen a few times. “How long will you be there?”
“Until I have to pick up my rental car in the morning. Are you planning to show up and argue with me?”
“Not tonight, no.” I finished tapping my screen. “Tell me something, though. How did Hazel get the CEO job over you or anyone else?”
“You mean, why did her multi-millionaire dad buy her a company because they drove by one day and she said, “Ohhh! Rogue! That reminds me of Vogue. Can I have it, Daddy?” Like, that’s what you want to know?”
“Please tell me that’s a fictional story.”
“It’s sadly the truth,” she said. “I was her very first hire, and because of that, her dad thinks she’s the one running the company very well.”
“And you haven’t said anything about this issue because?”
“Because some of us ‘poor people’ can’t afford to rock the boat if someone doesn’t believe us.” Her voice was soft. “I don’t have another safe ship to jump into.”
“We should probably discuss you getting a higher title and salary soon.”
“That would be nice…”
“I haven’t decided if I’ll tie that to your decision on reconsidering sex with me, though,” I said. “I’ll have to consider that deeply.”
“I’m hanging up now.”
“It was a joke, Chloe.”
“Was it, really?”
“No.” I smiled, expecting her to end the call, but her light laughter came over the line.
“What’s my name in your phone?”
“Tyler.”
“I doubt that.”
She was silent for a few seconds. “My-Baby-Daddy-Whom-I-Loathe.”
“How catchy.”
“It is.” She laughed. “Oh, wait. Someone’s trying to get my attention. Hold on.”
I walked over to my laptop and noticed that Priscilla and Charlie were still talking, so I restarted my video loop.
“Are these from you?” Chloe’s voice was soft.
“What do ‘these’ refer to?”
“They’re designer pink and white roses.”
“There’s a note on them, I’m sure.”
She was quiet for several seconds, and then she sucked in a breath. “Seriously?”
“I meant to give you that the morning after our night that never happened—if you’d given me the next day, of course—but you know how that ended.”
“Okay, now I’m hanging up.”
“You could at least read it to me so I can decide if I want to use this company again.”
“I’ll send you a picture.” She finally hung up and my phone buzzed with a text message. The picture note was written exactly as I’d ordered it.
Happy Birthday, Chloe.
I know we’ve just met, but I decided to get you a birthday gift.
I’m not sure what you like, but since your pussy is extremely tight and I’ll probably be thinking about it for a while, here are fifty pink & white tightly stuffed roses.
You should call me while you’re putting them in a vase.
I’m willing to fly you out to meet me somewhere so we can finish what we started.
This time, we’re not stopping at round seven.