Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 26894 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 108(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26894 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 108(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
I gawk a bit at my boyfriend because have no idea how he stays so skinny eating the way he does. If I ate all that I’d blow up like a whale instantly.
“Sure hon,” the waitress says amiably. “And for you?” she asks, turning to me.
I sigh, staring at the menu scrawled across one wall in chalk.
“Just a veggie taco salad, please. No meat, thanks.” If I have to eat here, I’m at least going to avoid the rancid meat. Ronald might have a titanium stomach, but I’m not risking food poisoning. If I’m still hungry at the end of the night, at least I’ll know that I avoided potential disaster.
The waitress nods and bustles off as Ronald stares unabashedly at her rear end.
“I love Latin girls,” he sighs. “They’re spicy like hot tamales,” he adds, licking his lips.
I refrain from reminding him that one, I’m his girlfriend, so his comments are rude to me; and two, his fetishization is disgusting, and rude to the waitress. Yet again, I manage to bite my tongue, even if my patience is wearing thin. Somehow, my tolerance seems to be disappearing quickly, and everything Ronald does is more of slap in the face lately, rather than a mere annoyance.
In a few minutes, the food appears and while the tacos look delicious, I’m also not surprised the lettuce in my salad is already wilted and obviously not fresh. I’ll definitely be needing a sandwich when I get home because this just isn’t going to cut it. Ronald, on the other hand, is stuffing his face like he hasn’t eaten in days.
“You sure are hungry, hmm?” I ask.
Ronald looks up mid-bite.
“What does that even mean?” he demands, his tone sharp and annoyed. “Of course I’m hungry. I barely had time to get even a few bites in at lunch. I swear they take advantage of me at Ligne.”
I raise my eyebrow looking at him. “How are they taking advantage of you?”
He rolls his eyes.
“Seriously, Leslie. Are you blind? They practically work me to death like I’m a packhorse or some kind of donkey. To make it worse, no one ever wants to give me credit for all the hard work I do, and if I try to speak up, everyone gets pissy like I’m supposed to be okay with getting shafted! Well, that shit’s about to end.”
I gawk at him, barely able to contain my surprise. It’s a good thing I’m not eating my wilted salad because those sad lettuce leaves would drop out of my mouth with shock. Is Ronald for real? Does he think that he does all the work at Ligne, and that other people are stealing his ideas?
The sad thing is I’m pretty sure my boyfriend really believes his shit, even if the truth is the exact opposite. The reason people get angry is because he’s always trying to take credit for their work, and not the other way around. Josie was right. This guy is a full of it, and not only that, but he’s completely off the reservation too. But I merely smile tightly and nod.
“Is that so? I’m sure they’d understand if you clarified your position,” I venture politely. “After all, we are a team.”
He sniffs and throws me a sly smile.
“No, not exactly. Those people would never get it because they’re small fry with puny brains.” Then he flashes me a big smile. “Actually, I had a heart to heart with Malcolm today and trust me, he gets it. I’m expecting good things to happen going forward, in fact.”
My eyebrows almost fly off my forehead from shock. “Malcolm?” I stammer. “As in Malcolm Neuwirth, the CEO of Ligne?”
Ronald smiles smugly.
“Of course, that Malcolm. We are friends, after all, and I think we might be working on some big projects together soon. I can’t share the details because this stuff is on a need-to-know basis, but let’s just say we discussed a lot of big plans for the company and some of its most important clients. Malcolm likes my work, so it’s only natural he wants me running major deals going forward.”
My mouth snaps shut because nothing Ronald’s saying makes any sense. Malcolm Neuwirth is known for being a creative genius in our field, not to mention an incredible manager, and the founder of Ligne itself. But he’s the CEO and doesn’t interact with junior associates like us. So why would he ever talk to Ronald?
Not only that, but Malcolm Neuwirth’s one of the hottest bachelors in NYC, if not the hottest property in town. I’ve seen pictures of him in magazines, and he’s got a square jaw, blue eyes that flash and dark hair that seems to absorb the light. He’s exactly the kind of man women go ga-ga over, and it seems incredible that he’d associate with someone like my boyfriend.