Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 64704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
The first face that I saw after unlocking the door to my office was filled with fury. Julia marched to my desk and slapped her hands down. “You tell me right now what you've done, and I'll try to get ahead of the press and make sure that it's not splashed in the headlines tomorrow.”
“Good morning, Julia,” I said calmly. “I trust that you took take care of Ralph's egotistical loose lips for me?”
“I threatened to demote him to the mail room. He seemed shocked that you two weren't best friends. Said something about sharing a common interest. So help me God, if you two shared a woman…”
“Stop talking,” I said, holding up my hand and shuddering. “I could have gone my entire lifetime without that mental image in my head. You should know me well enough by now to know that I don't share my women.”
“Then what?” she snapped. “What the hell did you do?”
“I'm borrowing his girlfriend. You wanted me to discreetly take care of my pleasures, and now I have a gorgeous woman in my condo, locked safely away from the prying eyes of the press, and willing to do whatever I want.”
“Borrowing his girlfriend?” Her beautiful face turned ashen. “For a price?”
“Don't worry. It's completely under the table. I won't be claiming it when I do my taxes this year.”
“This is not happening,” she whispered. “You bought a woman. You. Who have women throwing themselves at you, purchased a hooker.”
“She's not a hooker,” I said sharply.
“So what? Is this a girlfriend experience? Brick, what the hell is wrong with you?”
“Nothing is wrong me, Julia. You need to watch yourself. In my professional life, you can spout your opinions until you're blue in the face, but my personal life is none of your business. I've arranged it so that, at least for the next month, the two won't blend together. You should be happy.” I shot her a pointed look. “And we're not going to have this conversation again.”
“The hell we aren't. Ralph might have signed a contract, but did Daisy? What happens when you’re done with that girl? You don't think she's going right to the press to try and wrangle more money out of you?”
The thought of Daisy trying to intimidate me made me chuckle. “Trust me. That is never going to happen. She is more than submissive. She'll take her money and a pat on the head and walk away like a good little girl.”
Julia shook her head. “That’s not good enough for me. I want to meet her.”
“Never going to happen, Julia. Now are we done, or do I have to find a new assistant?”
She pressed her lips in a tight line and straightened. Without a word, she walked out of my office and slammed the door shut behind her. First Suzie. Now Julia. I was apparently pissing off all the women in my life.
Julia communicated only through emails and texts for the rest of the day. Normally, she accosted me before I left work so she could go over tomorrow's schedule, but the lights were out in her office when I took off for the night.
Obviously I'd really pissed her off. It soured my mood as my driver brought me home. The whole point of having Daisy was to not worry about this kind of crossover, but Julia just kept pushing. If only she knew what I really did in my personal life.
I was early getting home, and the scene that greeted me pissed me off even more. Daisy, dressed in a pair of jean shorts and a black blouse, sat on the counter and swung her legs while she talked to Suzie.
“What the hell is this?” I said with a growl. “Why isn't dinner ready, and why the fuck aren't you in the dress that I bought you?”
Daisy’s eyes widened in panic as she hopped down from the counter. I noticed that she was still favoring her foot as she kept her heel up. “I'm sorry. We weren't expecting you for another half an hour.”
“It takes you less than half an hour to get ready?” I taunted.
She looked at me with even more confusion. “It's just a dress. It takes a few seconds to slip on. I did try to walk around in the shoes a little bit though. I think that maybe I can wear them tonight.”
“Not with that cut,” Suzie interrupted. “You need to keep all of your foot flat on the ground.”
“Why are you here, woman?” I snapped. “You're supposed to deliver my meals this month.”
“Mr. Langston,” Daisy gasped.
“Don't get yourself all excited, darling,” Suzie said as she shot me a cold look. “He just gets this way when he's had a bad day at work. He sometimes has a hard time separating the two.”
“Leave. Now.”
Untying her apron, she let it fall to the floor. The anger in me burned even brighter when she gently squeezed Daisy's arm. I waited until the front door slam shut before I advanced on Daisy. “Day two, and you're already turning my staff against me.”