Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 82767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
“Tell me everything,” she whispered.
“We sat on the couch and talked about old times. It was… nice,” I conceded.
“And that’s all?” she sounded disappointed.
“That’s all. Pretty much,” I couldn’t keep the smile out of my voice as I hung up and pictured her frustration at not getting the juicy details.
It wasn’t really all. Sure, we had sat on the couch and talked about old times, things we did and places we went, people we used to know, and where they were now. I had been teasing him about the car he used to drive, a tiny beat-up old thing that we would have to pull over to manually clear the windows because the wipers didn’t work. I was laughing at the memory when he had suddenly moved forward and kissed me, his hands cupping my face, his fingertips sliding into my hair. I froze. This was Drew. Until recently, he had been my co-worker. This was a new Drew, and I found myself wondering where he learned his moves. I pulled back and bit my lip. He smiled and said he should be going.
“Well, Freya, I’ve got to work tomorrow – this might be an awkward excuse for being late,” he smiled. “You’re lucky you are freelance – you can sleep late.”
“Yeah, about that,” I grimaced. “I’m not exactly freelance…”
“No?”
“No,” I squeezed his hand. “You are looking at the assistant of Keegan Callahan of Clover House.”
“What?” Drew looked horrified, and then he laughed.
“I’m serious,” I said, realizing I was quite proud of my achievement so far. “I’m on a secret mission to get to the bottom of what’s happened – I’ve infiltrated the top ranks already.”
For a second, Drew stared at me open-mouthed. “You are incredible.”
“You don’t think I’m crazy?” I laughed.
“I… I gotta be honest, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“I know, I know, no one is very happy about it, but what are our options?” I shrugged.
He left soon after, and I hadn’t been able to resist messaging Beatrix. As predicted, she was dying to know the details. I was happy to offer her some distraction; she had plenty to worry about. She and Stan had decided to postpone their baby-making plans until things were more secure at Dynasty Games. Trying for a baby while dealing with all the stress and uncertainty was just too much. I knew how much she wanted to start a family and how difficult it was for them to put off these plans. It made me even more determined to use my time at Clover House productively. When I had finally hung up the phone from chatting to Beatrix, it was past three. I crept into bed, setting my alarm early enough that I would have time to shower and get fully caffeinated before it was time for work. Between dreading trying to work alongside Keegan after the disastrous meeting with the virtual reality guys and what happened with Drew, I was surprised to find that I fell asleep easily.
Waking up wasn’t so easy. I had only had a few hours rest, and as I made my way into the office, the excitement of the previous night was overshadowed by trying to decide how I should play it at work. Should I apologize for saying what I thought after I was asked? Everything in me resisted it, but I knew that if I wanted to continue at Clover House, I was going to have to grovel. I had plenty of work to get on with, and for the first couple of hours I sat at my desk glancing up to see if there was any sign of Keegan’s shadowy form inside his office. It wasn’t until late morning that Taylor put me out of my misery.
“You know he’s not in today, right?” she asked innocently.
“For real?” I asked, not even trying to hide my hope.
“Yeah,” she laughed. “You sitting there waiting to be summoned was making me nervous!”
“I might have made things awkward,” I said, grimacing.
“Oh?” Taylor looked shocked. “Well, it’s always the quiet ones! You’ve seen him in those bike leathers then?”
“No! Not awkward like that!” I blushed. “I pissed him off – and Sean too – at the virtual reality meeting thing.”
“Let me guess, money?”
“Yeah, kind of, I just said it was too expensive…”
“Girl!” Taylor acted as though I had broken some taboo. “Clover House doesn’t talk money!”
“But…” I began.
“Those boys have never known what it means for something to be too expensive. They work hard, sure, but only because they have to do their time before they can inherit. Money is not an issue to them.” She shrugged, nodding her head to the office entrance where Sean had appeared and was making his way toward us.
“Ladies!” he beamed, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Taylor’s visible shudder. “A word – Effie – in Keegan’s office?” He continued to walk, and I had to follow.