Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 131916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised when my phone buzzed from my back pocket one minute later, and I found River had already sent a text.
River
Favorite color? Tell me it’s pink like those sheets I got a peep at on your bed. Pink like those distracting scrubs you always wear. Same as the pink that flushes your cheeks when you’re turned on. Because I’m pretty sure that exact color just became my favorite.
And I was the fool who wandered into my bedroom, grinning down at my phone the whole way as I tapped out a response.
Me
Pink is my favorite color.
River
Favorite food?
Me
Pizza. You?
River
Steak.
Why was I not shocked?
River
How old are you?
Me
Twenty-six. You?
River
Thirty-two.
These ones were easy, though on the next, I tripped.
River
Did you always want to be a nurse?
I hesitated for a moment before I responded.
Me
No, I wanted to be a doctor, and I’m not really even a nurse. I’m just a medical assistant.
River
Why didn’t you go for it?
Me
I did.
River
What happened?
Me
I got trapped.
River
Want to elaborate on that?
Me
No. Did you always want to tattoo?
River
Not sure, Charleigh. Only thing I’m sure of is I just wanted to survive.
The tattoo on my inner arm burned its reminder. And I wondered if I was more like the man than I ever could have thought.
TWENTY
CHARLEIGH
EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD
She was in the small alcove making copies at the machine, a mindless job that she hated, as if her intelligence was offering anything to the company the way Frederick Winston had implied when he’d suggested she intern.
It was boring, tedious work that she could have done asleep.
But there she was, stuck for the summer. What was she supposed to do when Frederick had returned to the dining room proclaiming she was going to be joining them, and one minute later, he’d announced her father was getting the promotion?
She knew with the look Frederick had cut her that it was subject to her complying.
Why?
That was what she wasn’t entirely sure about, although she figured the guy liked wielding his power. Tossing it around like a game, pulling strings and finding out who was happy to play his puppet.
One thing for certain?
She wasn’t happy.
Not in the least.
She was supposed to be shadowing a pediatrician for the summer.
But this? This was her lot, but it was only for a couple months. She could handle it if it gave her father that extra nudge toward his own goals and dreams.
He’d sacrificed everything for his family, worked like crazy to give them anything they needed and more, and if she was happy about one thing, it was that she could give a little bit of that back to him, even though he had no clue he was working for a creep.
Everyone thought Frederick was this great guy. Constantly donating money to charities. Coming into the office and showering his staff in compliments and bonuses when they met their goals.
Running things right.
Tech’s Man of the Year.
But there was something about him that set her on edge. Something that slithered like sickness beneath her skin whenever he came into the room.
He’d never been outright inappropriate with her, but she hated the way he looked at her. As if he were devouring her innocence. Like he could tell she was inexperienced and shy and wanted to feed off it.
Where he fell short is he assumed her inexperience made her weak.
She wasn’t, though.
Her mother had always told her she had a quiet strength, and she gathered it up when she felt the sticky presence enclose on her from behind.
She blew out a strained breath, focusing on her job and doing her best to pretend like Frederick Winston wasn’t there, which was impossible considering the tiny room she was boxed in left him three feet away from her where he hovered in the doorway.
“How is it going in here?” he asked.
“Fine,” she said. She didn’t think the mundane task warranted a deeper explanation.
“You’re doing great. A true benefit to the company.”
She was glad she was facing away from him so he couldn’t see the roll of her eyes.
Was he serious?
When she didn’t reply, he took a step forward, and his voice lowered a fraction. “A true benefit.”
He dragged his fingertips down the back of her neck, and she gasped as she whirled on him. “What do you think you’re doing?”
He smiled an arrogant, casual smile. “What exactly are you referring to?”
“You know what I mean. I don’t appreciate you touching me.”
His chuckle was amused. Mocking even. “Oh, I haven’t begun to touch you, Sweet Pea.”
Shock speared her to the spot before dread went sailing through her spirit. Her chest grew heavy, heaving with disbelieving breaths as awareness pulsed through her system.
Did he really think she was going to succumb to this? Yield to him because he was what? Powerful? Rich?
She shook her head because she wasn’t going to put herself through this bullshit. “I don’t think so. I quit.”