Total pages in book: 156
Estimated words: 158829 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 794(@200wpm)___ 635(@250wpm)___ 529(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 158829 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 794(@200wpm)___ 635(@250wpm)___ 529(@300wpm)
“Payback for Hawaii,” I mutter under my breath.
Although I’m not sure what I did there to piss him off.
Maybe it was sending him that big fat Yuck to his totally inappropriate offer of haunting me with naked photos.
Like we really need to make this more awkward.
Jenn glances at our office door to make sure it’s closed. “So, um...ignore me if this is too personal, but now that the truth is out... I can’t believe you kissed Brock Winthrope.”
I spin around in my seat.
She smiles shyly. “Was it good? I guess it must have been because when he was NIH, you wouldn’t shut up about it.”
“Jenn. Shut up!” I hiss.
“Right. I figured.” A wide grin covers her face as she turns away.
It’s just like being back in high school. I notice the way she’s moving in her chair, and it’s obvious she isn’t done.
She’s going to explode if she doesn’t say it.
“What’s eating you?” I say with a sigh. “Just spit it out.”
“...does he look even better in the shower than he looks in his suits?” She’s blushing when she looks at me again. “That’s the only thing people ever liked about Winthrope. On the man-o-meter from one to ten, he’s a twenty.”
Blood pumps under my face. “You’re asking about the CEO naked? I’m trying to keep things professional here.”
“Fine, fine, keep telling yourself that.” Her smile wilts.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Girl, the way you called him out in that meeting—you were daring him not to flirt.”
Was not!
Wait. Did she think I was—oh.
“He was flirting?” I say, pretending to play dumb.
“Like you weren’t.” Jenn laughs. “I love you, Pippa, but you’re such a nerd sometimes.”
Maybe so, but that doesn’t answer my question.
And if I have to ask again, I know I’m just inviting death by innuendo and memories of our naked boss.
“So will you answer my question? Is he as hot as he looks without clothes?”
“Jenn!”
“Oh, Pippa. We’ve been friends for ten years. You can tell me if he still seems as hot as you said back in Hawaii now that you know who he really is.”
My face is melting.
I hate myself as I nod—only to humor her.
She laughs so hard her chair rolls across the floor.
I’m almost grateful for the tap on our door a split second before it pops open. That shuts her up.
Then I see who it is and my relief disappears.
Brock takes up the entire doorframe, tracing his eyes from me to Jenn and back to me again.
We both sit up straight and go quiet. I bite my lip to keep from laughing.
“Are we actually working?” His eyes lance through me.
I throw him a dirty look. “Are you? Or did you just drop by to give us your impression of detention teacher?”
“Miss Renee, this assignment is critical,” he snaps. “The faster you work through the slush pile, the sooner you’ll be generating new ideas.”
“I can think of things I’d rather work through.” Jenn realizes what she blurted out too late and claps a hand over her mouth.
Brock’s jaw clenches as he stares at me through flaming blue slitted eyes. He leans over me to look at my screen.
I hate how I stiffen down to my toes.
I hate that he smells so good.
My breath hitches at his proximity and every part of me vibrates.
He exhales slowly, his jaw clenched like he’s refusing to smile. “Almost halfway there, I see. But if you two insist on laughing like schoolgirls, keep it down. I can hear you from my damn office.”
“Got it. No fun. Is that it, Principal Buzzkill?” I glare at him.
“If either of you are hungry, I’m going to lunch with Keenan. You’re welcome to tag along.”
Oh, now he’s trying to be nice?
Jenn stands and pushes her chair under her desk.
“We’re not,” I say quickly, ignoring my friend’s scorned look.
“It’s on the company’s dime,” Brock offers.
“That makes us even less hungry, Mr. Winthrope.” I smile at him. “Enjoy your lunch.”
He mutters something that sounds a lot like “insolent” under his breath, turning away from me.
“Could you leave now? We have a ton of work to do—”
“And your boss is an ogre?” he growls over his shoulder.
“You said it, not me, Shrek.”
Shaking his head, he stomps out of our office, shutting the door behind him.
“Are you crazy!” Jenn shouts the second he’s gone. “Pippa, why? I know you can hear my stomach growling from here. We’ve worked so much my eyes are crossing, and I’m starving.”
“Calm down. We’ll grab pizza so we can keep chugging along. I saved us a lot of awkward silences at some stuffy restaurant. You’re welcome.”
Her frown has zero gratitude.
“Pippa. We could have escaped for a walk and fresh air. Listen, the next time you go kissing some weirdo intruder, please make sure he doesn’t have the power to turn us into bugs. This sucks.”
“Oh, he’s just waving his dick around. The lunch thing was a total flex.”