Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 88656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
I nodded. “Thanks for the advice. I’m here to work, though. Not looking for a girlfriend.”
Mark huffed like he was personally affronted. “Who said anything about a girlfriend? You’re way too young to settle down. Hell, I’m too young to settle down, and I’ve got at least five years on you. How old are you?”
“I’ll be twenty-one in three weeks and a day. The twenty-ninth.”
The door opened behind me, and a cool draft hit my back. Cathy looked up, surprised, then started shuffling papers like she was trying to look busy.
Mark clapped me on the back. “Hey, we’ll have to take you out after work on your birthday and buy you some drinks. It’s not every day a guy becomes legal in Sin City! Don’t plan anything for the night of the twenty-ninth. I’ll handle everything.”
Mark, who looked the part of the quintessential office stud, sounded altogether too excited about introducing me to the debauchery of Vegas. Like he would take great personal pleasure in escorting me through the gates of Hell. My mind conjured up an image of me snorting mounds of cocaine off of a roulette table as Mark Gladstone cackled maniacally, surrounded by mobsters, carnies, and hookers… and one really awkward-looking donkey.
“Sounds nice,” I told him, pushing the disturbing image out of my head.
“You’ll have to get in line, Mark,” said a voice from behind me— a voice smooth and deep like dark chocolate. It was surprising that I recognized the voice without turning around. Except for the noisy video on my phone, I hadn’t heard Michael Kage speak since the night we met. But now he sounded familiar, as if we’d only paused for a moment in conversation.
I whirled around, feeling the smile take over my face. He was dressed in running shorts and sneakers. Sweat had seeped through almost every inch of his t-shirt, causing it to cling to the curves of his muscles. Muscles that were only hinted at in the suit he’d worn the night of the event but were now on audacious display here in this professional setting. Somehow the incongruity of his style of dress and the locale made it almost obscene— like a shirtless guy in a restaurant.
Kage ran a hand through his unruly dark hair, pushing sweaty tendrils away from his face. A few strands still clung to his temples. “I think it’s only right that I should be the one to take Jamie out on his birthday, since he belongs to me.” Both Cathy and Mark seemed to do subtle double-takes at his comment. “I hired him as my publicist, so he’s working for me.”
“Ahhh…” Cathy breathed. “That explains it. We were trying to figure out where the little whippersnapper belonged. Now we know.” She glanced pointedly at Mark. “You got here just in the nick of time. I’m afraid Mr. Gladstone was about to change his sexual affiliation just so he could pull a Bill Clinton.”
“Uh-huh.” Kage narrowed his eyes at Mark. “Get your own intern. This one’s mine.”
Mark waved his hand in the air dismissively. “I want a girl intern, not a boy one. Could you put in a good word with your uncle for me?”
“Sure. Why don’t we get you a private secretary who’s fresh out of massage therapy school? Put you in an office upstairs, with a bed in it? Fully stocked with flavored condoms and a box of latex toys.”
Mark positively beamed. “Now you’re talking.”
“Yeah,” Kage said. “I’ll get right on it.”
He turned his attention to me. “So how is it going, Jamie? Did you get settled into your room okay?”
“Oh, yeah. That place is phenomenal. Love the rock soaps.”
Cathy wrinkled her nose at Kage. “Looks like someone else could use some soap right now.”
Kage smiled almost shyly and grabbed the tail of his t-shirt, pulling it up and using it to wipe his sweaty forehead. I caught a glimpse of his glistening washboard abs before he dropped it back into place.
“You wanna grab some lunch?” he asked.
“Me?” I snapped my gaping mouth shut and looked around to confirm he was talking to me. “Sure. Uh, now?”
“No, not now.” His tone suggested I might be a little soft in the head. “It’s only ten after eight. I meant at noon.”
“Of course.” I blushed so hard I was positive my hair turned red.
“Mr. Santori,” Cathy interrupted, speaking to Kage. “Where should we put your intern?”
“My uncle didn’t make arrangements for him to have an office?”
Cathy shook her head slowly.
“Well, give him an office then. A nice one.”
“Really?” Mark gaped. “I’ve been here two years, and I’m still in a cubicle.”
“Not my problem, brown-nose. You’ve been kissing up to the wrong Santori.” Kage banded his strong fingers around my arm just above my elbow and pulled me down a wide walkway flanked by cubicles. All of the employees, which appeared to comprise two men and four women, had their noses stuck out of their cubicles, watching us.