Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 108636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
“Is June okay?” my mom asks, and I look down at my hands, worry bowing my shoulders forward.
“I don’t even know where she is.”
“Oh, sweetie,” my mom whispers, rubbing my shoulder. “She just needs time. And so does Avery. It sounds like the two of you love each other, and I can tell you from experience that love is a very powerful thing.”
I glance inside at my dad as she does. “I want what you guys have. I want the family. The love. I want it with her.”
My mom’s gaze is steady and poignant. “Then you need to tell her.”
“How do I tell her if she won’t even talk to me?”
“Oh, Beau,” she says, reaching out to pat my hand. “You’ll find a way. I know you will. You always do.”
I have to find a way. There’s no other option for me but June.
My hands shake as I set a cup of coffee in front of Marcus Hughes at the conference table, the projection screen on the far end of the room lit up and waiting with Seth McKenzie’s presentation.
Today is New Year’s Eve, the day Beau and Seth are due to pitch their Midnight campaigns and showcase all the hard work—or in Seth’s case, hard-scheming—their teams have put in over the past few months.
Honestly, knowing what I know, it feels like I’m waiting on disaster, and my nerves are raw with anticipation.
For the last week, I’ve been hiding out at my dad’s empty house to give Avery some space. Beau tried to reach out to me several times through Midnight, but I just left the conversation because the mess I’ve created, the pain I’ve caused, feels too much to overcome. He then resorted to texts and calls, but I ignored those too. Not because I don’t want to talk to him—of course I do—but because I refuse to be the reason I cause a rift in the best family I’ve ever known.
I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that Christmas Day was quiet and lonely in my dad’s big, empty house. There was staff, of course, but I spent most of the day locked away in my childhood bedroom, bawling my eyes out.
Thankfully, I’ve cried so much that my tear ducts have gone on strike, and I’ve somehow managed to pull myself together enough to show up at work this morning. Though, I guess that strength stems from the changes I’ve already put into action.
At the start of the year, I’ve agreed to start working for my dad, one simple text to him the other day putting it all into motion.
Of course, I’d never leave Banks & McKenzie hanging, knowing what’s at stake with the Midnight account. So, I made the hard decision to email Mr. Banks my official resignation this morning, with a request for a meeting this afternoon after the Midnight pitch conference is over.
Then, this chapter of my life will officially be done, and I’ll start the new year as the newest employee at Perry Enterprises. Yay.
I take a spot against the back wall as Seth starts his presentation, and Beau takes a seat at the table, his hands steepled in front of him as he looks on.
He’s as handsome as ever, and a war rages inside me with the knowledge of what’s to come. Seth is a snipe and a snake, and his campaign is built off the back of Beau’s ideas. It doesn’t matter, though, since he’s going first.
He’s going to end up getting all the credit, and Beau… Well, I don’t know what Beau will do. All I can do is wait and see.
“Gentlemen, ladies, on behalf of Banks & McKenzie, we’d like to thank you for coming today,” Seth announces to the room. “We’re unbelievably excited to share our vision with you for what we think is going to be the next big app in the space. Buckle in, because we’re going dark.”
The lights dim and the screen flashes, and in the center of it all, the branding I know Beau envisioned from the start flashes on the screen. It’s a black background with gold lettering, and the word midnight is in capitalized, simple text. Underneath is the slogan. No curfew. No rules.
“Midnight is a lust-filled, uninhibited experience between consenting adults under the cover of darkness. It’s sexy and shameless, and there are no rules when it comes to being yourself. Kinks? You can explore them. Fantasies? They’re real now. Midnight is an immersive experience for meeting strangers and turning them into lovers, and it’s an experience for the masses,” Seth explains magnanimously.
“We know how important it is to you to reach the biggest audience the space has to offer, and this does that in spades. Being over eighteen is the only restriction, and the world is your oyster. You can chat anytime, anywhere, with just the device in your hand. The interface is simple, and all access is code-based, just as you suggested. One of the biggest problems in today’s advertising space is overcomplication. We’re giving complex connection, but we’re not doing it at the expense of ease. I think you’ll find that this, this vision, is exactly what the people are looking for.”