Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72655 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72655 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
“Good decision,” she mutters under her breath. It sounds absolutely menacing. “I’m going to dry off the best I can and try your mom’s pudding. We could always use more flavors around here, especially because we’ve been bought out. People will expect great things. We’re still looking to crack the one-hundred mark. The next one has to be momentous.”
Why did I ever think this was a good idea?
Why did I get carried away and impulsively and wickedly buy a pudding company?
How did I end up here now? How did things get this out of control? I barely even recognize myself right now.
Evilla walks to the door and leaves me with her last, icy words. “Better get cracking on the great things, Mr. Montfield. Oh, I mean…darling.”
Chapter seven
Evilla
Awhole lot of restructuring can take place in five days. As far as I can see, Mont is keeping his end of the bargain. I can live with myself if everyone else gets a good deal, too. So far, the hostile takeover hasn’t been so hostile. In fact, morale around the place is pretty darn good.
Compliments of Mont’s mom, we now have a new pudding flavor. Mother’s Marvelous and Miraculous Magic. That way, the ingredients are kept secret. I think everyone likes a mystery, and not naming a flavor or giving hints as to what it tastes like is guaranteed to get sales just because people want to try for themselves what the box promises. That it’s darned delicious.
As far as pudding goes, the woman is a miracle worker.
We don’t have our own offices here, mostly because the previous owners thought it was bad for morale to lock everyone away from each other or call some people more important and worthy of limited space than others. All the desks are pretty much out in the open, with very few of the soul-sucking cubicles typical of most offices.
Since I don’t have a private space, and Mont isn’t going to call me into his office to have a one-on-one meeting, as that would only arouse suspicion, he corners me in the lunchroom when I’m fixing my third coffee of the morning. Don’t judge. The coffee here is seriously watered down, and I hardly ever step out to get my own. Espresso makes me wild, and I’ll be the first one to admit that I’m wild enough already. All my life, people have told me that I’m too extra.
Well, I like being too extra.
Being too extra makes me hella good at my job.
I try to pretend I don’t see him, but that would be like coming face to face with an opossum hanging from a tree and pretending it’s not awesomely amazing and cute as the dickens. Not that Mont is cute in any way. He’s not. He’s too masculine to be called cute. Those muscles of his and his expensive, perfectly fitted clothing, insane jawline, and godly cheekbones…it’s not cute, but it is bad for the libido. My libido. It wakes up instantly in his presence and gets ideas that my brain is not here for. Not today, Satan.
Yes, today, Satan! My vagina practically screams.
I can’t pretend I don’t notice he’s here when I’m staring right at him, so I clear my throat and put on my big girl panties. “Good morning,” I greet in reluctance.
“Good morning,” he says smoothly, but there’s something in his dark eyes. Something that says he wants something. From me.
Before my lady bits get any ideas, I remind myself it’s only fake girlfriend duties. He’s kept his end of the bargain so far. I haven’t done jack shit at all to meet mine, but he hasn’t asked me to, and I certainly wasn’t going to volunteer any sort of get-togethers or meet-and-greets with his family. I mean, I already met his mom. That should be more than enough to put to bed any doubts about me being real or not.
“I was wondering if you might…if you’d think we could…um, do something in order to get to know each other. In case a situation arises where we might need to know each other. At least the basics.”
“I could print out a fact sheet for you. And you could give me one in return.”
“Very good.” But he doesn’t look like it’s very good. “But I think we should know how to act around each other. If we’re stiff and awkward, it’s not going to fly. Looking like we can’t stand each other doesn’t exactly scream match made in lovey-dovey land either.”
“Eww,” I say with a frown.
“My point exactly.”
Ugh. I knew this was coming. I knew it, and I had something in my arsenal prepared. It’s always good to have an ace up one’s sleeve. “There’s a charity event. A Bingo night for a rat rescue that my friend runs.”
His mouth drops, and he blinks at me. Blinks at me some more. Then, he smiles. And drops the smile before blinking three more times. “Oh. You’re serious. I could have believed Bingo, but rats?”