Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 89674 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89674 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
“Funny, how you’ve just made the news that I’m about to give you much easier to say,” Lon said as he entered with a bang of the door against the wall in the irritation of his loss. I took a terry cloth towel off the stack and scrubbed it down my sweaty face then over the wet ends of my damp hair.
“Bad news?” I asked. My tone reflected the sense of disinterest that Lon had taught me to master. I finally cast a glance at Lon before heading to my locker for my shower kit, a term I’d learned from Beau. That thought shifted my focus back to my guy. He’d only been gone for eight hours. Yet, he’d managed to lodge himself into my thoughts. Images flashed through my mind’s eye. Beau nude, grinning, walking toward me. His cock was a thing of beauty, just like the man overall. In this memory, he was flaccid, his length bouncing from one thigh to another as he came at me.
Whatever I had done to cause such a reaction from Beau, I’m sure it would end with me being thoroughly fucked. Tingles rippled over my arms. He knew what I liked and gave it to me every single time. No matter what was happening with me, when we were home together, Beau healed me right up, making sure life looked bearable again. How had our perfect lives gotten so messy and complicated? Beau still mattered more to me than anything else in the world.
“I was prepared to trounce you then give you the blow. You’re competitive, you wouldn’t care what I said.” Lon popped open his locker, managing to gain my full attention.
“Is it about Beau or Chandler?” I asked.
“Chandler. Let’s start there. He’s locked out of everything with no chance of being hired full time. Why’s he here?” Lon asked, agitation entering his tone in seconds flat.
“He stepped up today,” I murmured, recalling the lowly tasks Lon had assigned to me when I first started working closely with him. “He’s also on a temporary contract. Let me figure out his angle, then I’ll send him packing.”
Lon turned to face me directly. “You have the firm paying a salary to a guy you suspect is reporting back to your old man?” His incredulous tone with regard to Chandler hadn’t changed since the first time we had this conversation.
“I’m paying his salary and leading him on a wild goose chase. My father’s getting harmful information from Chandler. Why’re we still talking about this?” I asked and slammed shut my locker door to drive home my point.
“My suggestion is to let the vendetta go, along with Chandler. You’ve won. You’re moving to senior partner soon. Whatever your family did doesn’t matter.” Lon shut his door in a normal way, then followed me into the showers.
“Did we cover the blow you were prepared to give me, or is it about Beau’s appearance today and the way he left the office?” Sadness blanketed my heart. I’d been wrong not to stand up for Beau over the last few years. The hurt and anger in Beau’s gaze the minute he recognized Chandler might leave a lasting scar across my heart. I hadn’t expected Chandler to be in the office until well after Beau had left for the airport. Whatever reprimand Lon was about to throw down was nothing compared to the way I beat myself up for allowing Beau to leave without the full explanation.
But damn, Beau should trust me by now. I’d never do anything to hurt him.
“They’re formally sanctioning you,” Lon said quietly from behind me. That was a much stronger punishment than I’d ever been given before. I will be on probation for the next year. My senior partnership goals were now in question until I served my time. “This time, you’ll be given a discipline mark with a probation time and a substantial fine.”
“For Beau,” I admitted aloud in defeat. There had been countless discussions regarding Beau’s appearance, his demeanor, and how the firm wished to present itself. When I was promoted from associate to junior partner, my agreement dictated that my life revolve around the firm twenty-four seven. This wasn’t the first time I faced discipline over my guy, and he and I had talked about what the firm required from him. He’d agreed to try his best, but when I saw him today, looking quite lumberjack-like, I’d gone with it. His wardrobe choices were a bold statement. He’d grown into an incredibly stubborn man. He gave me no choice but to try to enjoy the hour we shared and take the hits when they came. I had sacrificed so much due to him.
Before entering my shower stall, I stopped, my finger and thumb went to my temple, rotating against the stress building there. I had given Beau a pretty good life and he resented me the entire time.