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)
“I need to check what shoe size she wears.” I stuff my hands into my pocket when my demand for Elaine to enter the bathroom on my behalf sits on the tip of my tongue but refuses to be relinquished from my mouth. “Which I will get for you now.”
“Mr. Carson… uh… that’s the ladies’ bathroom,” Elaine stammers out when I make a beeline for the door Octavia whizzed through only moments ago.
The unease in Elaine’s tone should slow me down. I should be backing away in an instant, but before either Elaine or my shrewdness can talk me out of it, I barrel into the women’s bathroom like my mother never taught me any manners.
My plan is simple. Ask Octavia her shoe size, then leave. I wouldn’t have faced an issue if her lust-crammed eyes didn’t align with mine in the mirror the instant I entered. Something about her dazzling eyes has me wanting to throw caution to the wind. And that is precisely what I do for the second time today when I mutter, “Come with me.”
“With you where, exactly?” There’s no hesitation in her voice. No unease. She isn’t even looking at me like I’m a man of such substantial wealth I could gift her everything her heart desires ten times over. She sees the adrenaline junkie I must keep hidden from board members and the playboy undeserving of the title.
She sees a Jerseyite in the wild who doesn’t have a grip on reality any better than her.
“Anywhere.”
The confused crinkle between her faultless blonde brows is cute, but I’d rather witness it without the words delivered shortly after its arrival. “I can’t. If I skip this meet-up, that’s strike three for me. I’ll be out on my ass first thing Monday.” Her eyes drag down the front of her body while mine peruse the back. “And I’m far too disheveled for any indoor activities.”
“Then we’ll keep things outdoors.” Not giving her the chance to deny me for the second time, I band my arm around her tiny waist and then guide her out of the bathroom as quickly as I entered it.
“Mr. C—”
I cut Elaine off with a rueful sideways glare before saying, “Your services will not be required for the rest of the day.”
She attempts to argue, but my determination is unbendable. In general, it is as stiff as my overly laundered ties, but today, it is even more aloof than the personality that comes out during dreary functions like the one I was about to attend.
Elaine bows her head in defeat. “Very well. I shall see you first thing tomorrow morning.”
As I race Octavia to the door, Elaine gathers her jacket and cell phone from behind one of the many desks I have dotted on this side of the coast before following us out.
She veers for a bank of town cars at the front of the race club, but since Octavia’s earlier worry is still in the forefront of my mind, I steer us in the opposite direction.
Octavia breathes out a relieved sigh when she notices the direction we’re traveling. It isn’t in respite that she won’t end up homeless like Elaine would have if she had disclosed my identity. She’s sighing in relief on behalf of my crotch. “Jersey girls don’t take kindly to being manhandled. I thought you—”
“I know. Believe me, I know,” I interrupt as a long berate by my sister pops into my head. She turned forty-five last month, but the maturity that should come with her age wouldn’t have stopped her from kneeing a guy in the balls if he burst in on her in the bathroom and then ordered her around like she’s a member of his staff.
Although if Octavia’s attendance today is as believed, that could very well be the case. She could be an employee of mine.
Once again, you’d think my confession would halve the length of my strides.
It doesn’t.
Not in the slightest.
It doubles them.
“Tivy,” a petite brunette with massive hazel eyes shouts when we enter the promotional tent at the side of the track. Since horses are galloping by, most gamblers’ eyes are glued to the race instead of two tardy attendees.
I see their distraction as good fortune.
It isn’t often a billionaire enters a room unnoticed.
When the brunette throws her arms around Octavia’s neck, she dislodges mine from her back. “I thought you were going to be a no-show again, then I would have been left to fend off Mr. Kell’s sick comments alone.” She hugs Octavia tighter. “Thank God you arrived when you did because they’re more perverted since he’s drunk.”
I take a mental snapshot of the man who sinks to the back of the group when the unknown woman’s eyes stray in his direction. He has the seedy, demoralizing watch down-pat, and although it frustrates me when I notice he’s glaring at Octavia’s colleague’s bottom, it downright infuriates me when it switches to Octavia’s shirt. He’s not scanning the flecks of manure my pilot will pay dearly for when I visit him this evening, he is gawking at Octavia’s cleavage.