Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 106596 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 533(@200wpm)___ 426(@250wpm)___ 355(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106596 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 533(@200wpm)___ 426(@250wpm)___ 355(@300wpm)
“I thought you two were together.” Dad brushed his fingers along my arm.
“I thought so, too, Dad. He decided to get back with her earlier this week.”
“Idiot.”
I knew he meant Célian, but the same could be said about me.
The whole world had warned me about him, and I’d chosen to stick my earbuds in and ignore them.
“Well, I’m pooped. I’ll finish your soup tomorrow morning before I go to work.” I dropped a kiss on his head, escaping to my room.
I checked the messages on my phone. There were none.
I set my alarm for six in the morning and buried myself under the covers.
Lily had spent the evening with him, then paid me a visit to warn me she was going to steal him back.
She could keep him.
I walked into my office with a fresh cup of coffee and another new suit that cost fuck-knows-how-much so Brianna wouldn’t have to move her precious ass an inch. Kate was sitting behind my desk in my office, but I didn’t have it in me to kick her all the way back to the newsroom with my Oxford still stuck between her ass cheeks.
She didn’t look up from her laptop as I approached. “The dog house is all the way down, to your left, at the nearest Petco store.”
She rubbed her eyes, causing a streak of black eyeliner to run down her cheeks. She looked like she’d been sucking dick for twenty years straight without taking a break—haggard, hair frizzy, with red blotches covering most of her skin. Her gray shirt had at least three different sets of unidentifiable stains.
“You look stunning, by the way.” I slid her my cup of coffee.
“Well, you look like the asshole who’s about to get dumped and fired on the same day, so I wouldn’t go around offering sarcastic compliments.” She shut her laptop, tucked it under her arm, and stood up.
I followed her with my eyes as she made her way to the door. If she thought she was walking away without explaining her behavior, she was gravely mistaken.
“Stop,” I commanded. She did, her back to me.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I leaned against my desk.
She didn’t turn around. “I stayed here all night.”
“Why?”
“Have you not checked the news in the last fifteen hours?”
Alarm trickled into my system. If the mayor had decided to go into cardiac arrest on the first day I decided to unplug, I was going to be ushered to a room right next to him.
“Get to the point,” I bit out.
“Check your phone?” She spun on her heel slowly, arching a patronizing eyebrow.
I shook my head, regarding her through hooded eyes. “This game of yours might cost you your job, so I sure as hell hope you’re enjoying it.”
“Oh, I’m not. Trust me. Now, let’s see.” She made a show of turning to me fully, tapping her lip. “It started with the fact that the entire newsroom saw you leaving with your ex-fiancée a hot second after you’d declared that Jude is your girlfriend, which put her squarely in the position of being the official office joke—the building’s leftover who’s been dumped by the boss. Spoiler alert: she doesn’t like it. Then, sometime last night, it was revealed that there’s an oil spill threatening to kill thousands of mammals and birds. People stayed overnight. Jude didn’t, because she had to take care of her father after working overtime. So don’t worry, I’m sure she caught the Gossip Road rerun of you hanging out with Lily. Gosh…” She slapped a hand over her chest. “What a multitasker. Banging your ex and your life simultaneously.”
I erased the space between us, jerking my chin up to look down at her. She hadn’t told me anything I didn’t already know—well, okay, except the oil spill—and I wasn’t an idiot, so obviously, I had a good idea of what it all looked like. Keeping Jude guessing was the plan. Pushing her away—the goal.
But I didn’t like what Kate had insinuated. “I didn’t fuck Lily. Her grandmother died.”
That was not something I could exactly shout from the rooftops. The Davis family was private. Her sisters were adamant about working regular jobs.
“Does Jude know?”
“She will.” I was playing with fire, but the self-fulfilling prophecy wasn’t uncalled for. I didn’t really do girlfriends, and the shit with Chucks was getting to be a bit much.
“You’re not listening, Célian. She’s not going to hear your bullshit. How will you explain hanging at Lily’s apartment building? Attending a birthday party with her? Disappearing on all of us?”
I shouldered past her, and she gasped, taking an evasive step. The impending calamity I’d inserted myself into with eyes wide open was going to come raining down on me. It wasn’t pouring, but we were already at a steady trickle. Shit. I was in deep shit.