Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23378 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 117(@200wpm)___ 94(@250wpm)___ 78(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23378 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 117(@200wpm)___ 94(@250wpm)___ 78(@300wpm)
I nod.
“It was disgusting, but honestly, who cares what that idiot thinks? Don’t worry about Foley because he’s just a nobody. I don’t even know why he was at the party.”
Addy shakes her head with frustration again, tears leaking from her eyes.
“Yeah, except he’s not a nobody because he’s the CEO of the company I work for. He has power and standing, and is basically my boss’s boss’s boss.”
I nod.
“I know, and I have no idea how he got to that position but honestly? The guy’s a dinosaur. Men like that are being pushed out of their jobs every day. I mean, look at Matt Lauer and that other guy who was the head of CNN. You can’t behave like that anymore, so trust me when I say John Foley’s not worth your time or your tears.”
But Addy’s clearly distraught and begins to sob again. I try to hold her close, but the woman pulls away, wrapping her arms around herself and hunching into a ball. It kills me to see her like this because for what cause? John Foley is a loser, and yet he ruined my girl’s night. I’m ready to dig that guy’s grave
“Please, sweetheart, don’t let that dweeb get to you,” I growl. “Like I said, he’s not worth your tears. You are so much better than him or his repulsive attitude towards women.”
But she keeps sobbing.
“Honey,” I begin with a desperate tinge. “What can I do?”
But Addy cuts me off.
“That’s the thing,” she manages to get out between keening cries. “There’s a kernel of truth to his words because I’m just some technician who works at a sperm bank for minimum wage. Yeah, they don’t pay much at Valley Cryo and even worse, I don’t get benefits either. Plus, I don’t have a degree or anything like that. Even high school was hard for me, so the best I could do was a GED.”
I stare at her.
“That doesn’t matter, sweetheart. It’s fine. Don’t be so harsh on ourself.”
She sobs again, her hands wiping furiously across her cheeks.
“Yeah, but you saw how surprised John Foley was that we’re dating. He looked at you, and then looked at me, and was like what the fuck? You’re the billionaire CEO of a successful company. You donate to charities and run marathons to raise money for underprivileged children. You’re basically a saint who looks like a male model, and who’s also as rich as Midas. Meanwhile, I’m a nobody from the working class, and even worse, it’s not like I’m ever going to get out of the working class. There’s none of that ‘lift yourself up by your bootstraps’ type thing going on for me because I don’t have a future, and John Foley was right. We shouldn’t be together.”
Okay, that’s going too far and I set my hands on Addy’s slim shoulders, forcing her to look into my eyes.
“Baby, no,” I say with a firm tone. “You’re so wrong. There’s more to a relationship than money, power, and prestige. Do you think I would be dating you if I didn’t care about you? If you weren’t sweet, funny, and sexy as hell?”
She swipes angrily at her tears again.
“But still, Foley has a point right? You’re basically Grade A prime beef, and I’m Grade F horse meat headed for the glue factory.”
That comparison makes me laugh, and she looks up at me, startled.
“Sweetheart, that’s exactly why I adore you,” I say in low tone. “Your metaphors are crazy, and you’re hilarious too! You know how many women I’ve dated who had absolutely no sense of humor? It fucking sucked. Plus, my job and my money shouldn’t matter when it comes to our relationship because once you have enough money, enough is enough. Why, is that why you’re dating me?”
My heart pounds in my chest as I wait a few seconds for Addy to answer. But then it soars with happiness because of course, my girl has the values I’m looking for.
“No,” Addy says in a straightforward voice. “I don’t care about that and I never have. I didn’t even know about it when we first met. To me, you were just a student trying to make money by selling your sperm.”
“So then why does it matter to you now?” I ask in a reasonable tone. “If you don’t care about it, and I don’t care about it, then it doesn’t matter what John Foley thinks. In fact, it never has. This is about you and me, baby, so please please please, don’t let that idiot spoil things.”
Addy thinks for a few moments, still hiccuping a bit.
“I just want you to see the disparity in our living situations,” she says in a quiet voice. “This dress you bought is a whole month’s salary for me.”
I take her hand. “And I would buy you a hundred more just to see how beautiful you look. And to repeat our naughty session in the dressing room. Hell, I’ll buy the store so that we can do that whenever we want.”