Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 106150 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106150 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Logically, I knew he was absolutely right. Someone needed to investigate Rowe-Not-Sterling and learn his true motives… but it wouldn’t be me because, for the moment, I was thinking with my dick.
“Indeed!” Rowe agreed. “Very easy. One syllable, four little letters. Well!” He clapped his hands together once and attempted a friendly smile. “It’s been lovely chatting with you, good sirs,” Rowe managed to choke out. “I really must dash. I need to speak to someone about a time-sensitive issue. Adieu,” he said with a little flourish-bow and a curious British lilt.
He was outrageous. Silly. Criminal. Not at all sexy.
So why was I consumed with the desire to lick into his mouth and taste the lies on his lips?
“Perhaps we can help you locate the person you’re looking for,” I blurted. “Mr. Concannon here knows everyone.”
Silas shot me a distinctly unappreciative look.
“Er, yes…” Rowe hesitated. “I don’t suppose you know Justin Hardy?”
Hearing the name of Silas’s ex-boyfriend was like being doused with cold water. Beside me, Silas’s entire body went tense, and I struggled to keep my voice light. “Yes. I’m acquainted with him. One of your company’s biggest competitors, isn’t he?”
“Oh, that.” Rowe laughed weakly. “Much ado about nothing. Justin’s perfectly lovely. Very friendly. He built his business entirely on his own, you know. A self-made man.”
“Is he really?” Silas set his jaw. “Do you do much business with Justin?”
“Not often, no. But I do need to speak to him on a matter of business tonight. I have an idea that will suit Hardy Development perfectly,” Rowe said with an eagerness he couldn’t hide. “So… could you point me to him?”
Finally, a plausible explanation for why someone would want to masquerade as the head of my company.
Rowe was probably an app developer trying to sell Justin Hardy his revolutionary new game or convince Justin to invest in Rowe’s sinking ship of a tech company. Rowe had probably purchased a ticket in Sterling’s name or stolen one of the extra spots my company had purchased for our employees, thinking Sterling’s name would give him instant credibility.
It wasn’t unusual by any means. Just that night, I’d had people I barely knew approach me for investments and job opportunities simply because we happened to be in the same place at the same time. And I’d gotten so tired of being approached by entrepreneurs hoping I’d hear their pitches on behalf of Sterling Chase over the years I’d hired a CEO and a head of development just so I could throw my hands up and pretend I wasn’t a decision-maker in my own company.
It shouldn’t have been this disappointing to find that Rowe was a schemer like all the rest… but it was.
Stranger still, even knowing he was a liar and a schemer, the idea of him having anything to do with an asshole like Justin Hardy made red flash across my vision.
The silence stretched so long that Silas and Rowe both darted worried glances at me. Finally, Silas answered Rowe’s question himself. “I haven’t seen him. Bash, have you?”
Given how Justin Hardy had treated Silas, he was unlikely to show his treacherous face anywhere in my vicinity, let alone Silas’s.
I merely shook my head. “Not tonight.”
“Well.” My angelic liar blew out a disappointed breath and set his shoulders like he was off to fight a battle. “Thank you anyway, Bash.” He gave me a smile that was small and shy—not at all like his Sterling Chase persona, and all the more appealing for being genuine. “I’m certain we’ll be in touch. Toodaloo!”
I let him walk away, sighing as the fern snapped back into place behind him because I knew exactly what was coming in five, four, three—
“Toodaloo?” Silas repeated incredulously. “Bash, what the fuck did I just witness?”
“Let it go,” I said, more snappily than I’d intended.
Silas was loyal to a fault. Protective and kind. Doggedly determined. And once he’d set his sights on a goal, whether it was improving management practices at a company or buying new underwear, he didn’t stop until it was achieved.
But I didn’t want to be one of his projects.
“What are you doing in town?” I asked, a casual, not-so-subtle attempt to change the subject. “Big meeting?” I lowered my voice. “Is Landry in trouble again?”
“Probably, but that’s not why I’m here. I figured, since I was coming to town in a couple weeks for the Innovation Awards anyway, I’d just come early to see the polo match tomorrow and catch up with Dev.”
I stared at him blankly. “Polo match?”
“Honestly, Sebastian.” Silas rolled his eyes. “The second half of the charity benefit the company’s sponsoring this weekend? Someone should be there representing Sterling Chase—the company, I mean, not your new friend—and technically, Devon will be there since he’s coming up to check on some horses stabled there, but…”