Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 94546 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94546 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
After taking a moment to breathe through the pain crippling me, I shift on my feet to face Caleb. He takes a second jab at my ego when I attempt to remove the box from his grasp. “Nu-uh. This is going in the dumpster where it belongs.”
Although that is what I wanted him to do with it all along, I can’t help but reply, “You can’t leave that in a dumpster. What if someone finds it?”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Caleb mutters under his breath as he stomps back to his room. “It will be well lit before and after I’ve seconded it to hell along with our grandfather.”
He slams his bedroom door shut so forcefully my feet jump into action before my head knows I’m moving. I naturally gravitate toward my room. It is my sanction, my private abode, the one place I’ve always felt safe, and it is the sole reason I don’t usually invite anyone back to my place.
Jack was different, though. He was unique, and if I need any more proof of that, I get it when I notice a note propped against the lamp on my bedside table.
It’s from Jack, and it reads:
* * *
You have until 9 AM tomorrow to
come up with an excuse as to why you lied to me today.
If I believe your intentions were good, I’ll let
this go. But if I don’t, we’re not over.
* * *
Jack C.
* * *
His note excites me… until I spot the C at the end of his signature.
CHAPTER 10
JACK
Elaine’s eyes pop up from her MacBook when I enter the hotel suite she initially booked for a three-night stay. She looks well presented. I, on the other hand, appear as if I slept in the gutter. My outfit is from a thrift store, and my trousers reek of the exhaust fumes of the cab I took back to my hotel. Even though it’s Sunday afternoon, traffic is gridlocked.
“Mr.—”
I cut Elaine off by slicing my hand through the air. I need a shower and a second to wrap my head around Octavia’s lie before I can face whatever battle Elaine is about to present.
Running multiple million-dollar entities isn’t a walk in the park. I’m on call twenty-four-seven, and usually, I don’t take a day off unless it is for something dire.
Yesterday was dire.
Octavia… God. She had me acting as if I’m not juggling a dozen balls at once, so if I don’t take a moment to evaluate, I’ll be sure to drop one.
“Have Morris attend the meeting tomorrow on my behalf. He knows the figures and upcoming projects. If he has any issues, he can contact me here.” Elaine nods before snatching up her digital notepad to jot down the rest of my demands. They rarely stop at one. “Also, have our stay extended.” I pause to consider how fast I’m jumping into things with Octavia. My assessment is nowhere long enough for me to believe the lie she told this morning. “Stretch it until the end of the month. If it goes longer than that, we will re-evaluate. I’ll also need a town car here tomorrow morning no later than seven.”
Hotel prices in Seattle are high, so purchasing a property may be more economical. I have money to burn, but I’d rather use it more resourcefully.
I freeze partway to the bathroom when a final demand pops into my head. My pivot is too quick for Elaine to wipe the shock from her face, but I act ignorant. “See if Dr. Avery is available for a phone consultation. I’d prefer for it to be today, but if she can’t fit me in until tomorrow, that will suffice.”
Dr. Avery is a shrink, and although I’ve never been a fan of them, she was the first woman in a long time I could talk to without clamming up.
Octavia was the second.
As Elaine gathers her cell phone to call a number she’s not dialed in months, I enter the master suite before veering for the attached bathroom. I shred my clothes as I go, my disappointment growing when I notice the thickness still throbbing between my legs. I don’t know why I’m frustrated. This is exactly what I’ve wanted for years. I think it is more to do with the fact the woman I planned to exert years of pent-up frustrations out on wants to play chase instead, not the thought of my dick never deflating.
Under normal circumstances, the grenade Octavia threw out first would have had me immediately backtracking. I have no interest in mowing another man’s lawn, but her deflect won’t work this time around. I know the man she introduced as her husband isn’t her husband. For one, he had far too many similarities to Octavia for anyone to feel comfortable about their pairing. And two, they had no spark whatsoever.