Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 112917 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112917 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
I nodded and took another bite of the sandwich. JK looked at me expectantly. I looked back at him as cluelessly and naively as I possibly could.
If I hadn’t been listening for it, I would have missed the nearly silent grunt of disgust from Bear standing somewhere behind the sofa. I bit back a laugh.
“So, uh… we were thinking this would be a sweet investment deal for you.”
I blinked at him. “For me? Oh, no, thank you. I’ve got all my investments handled at the moment. A team up in New York manages everything for me. I try not to get involved.”
This was a complete lie. With Kenji’s help, I micromanaged the hell out of my money in an effort to give most of it away.
JK’s face crinkled in frustration. “No, but like… this would be an investment. Like… it could make you money.”
“How much?”
He frowned. “Like… you want numbers?”
I shrugged. “I mean, usually, when someone is asking you to invest in their business, they have a business plan and an estimated rate of return. Do you have that?”
The sound of Bear slowly blowing air out through his nose made me bite my upper lip to keep a straight face. I didn’t dare turn to see his colossal eye roll.
“No, but like… I could. I could totally get that for you.”
I knew I shouldn’t have egged him on, but I hadn’t been able to help myself. Now, it was time to crawl it back. “I don’t think my public relations people would be okay with me getting involved in a CBD business. But good luck. Running your own business sounds like a lot of work, but I’m sure you’ll be great at it.”
Since JK was currently employed as a lawn care technician for a weed-killing chemical company, I’d put fifty-fifty odds on which environmental hazard would be more optimal for his health between the two options, and I wouldn’t have put much money on his longevity in either one.
The crowd watching the game shouted in response to a play, and the sudden sound made me jump out of my skin and clutch my chest. I tried to hide my racing heart and shaking hands, but I was sure at least one person in the room had noticed my response and wasn’t thrilled about it.
I turned away from JK to find someone else to talk to so I could avoid another attempt at a business investment. “So, ah, Pearl… tell me how things are going at the salon? Did you ever convince Ke’An to start using that new product line you were telling me about?”
“Omigosh, yes. And it’s amazing. I was hoping while you’re here, you’d let me style you up with it and post a few pics. Maybe just a blowout? It would mean a lot and could really get me some exposure with how great this stuff is. We could run up there right now, in fact, while the salon’s closed, and you wouldn’t even have to—”
I didn’t even need to look at Bear to know he was growling silently in disapproval.
“I don’t know… I was kind of hoping to just chill out here today…”
She started forking her fingers into my hair and moving it here and there. “Wait till you see how sleek it is after I use the smoothing infusion. It would just shine under the stage lights like you wouldn’t believe. Zee… this stuff is amazing, and it’s all paraben- and tetrasodium-free. I would never put your beautiful hair at risk; you know I wouldn’t. Your image is important, and this company takes its image just as seriously as you do. That’s why I knew right away you’d be the perfect person to use it on. The conditioning serum will do wonders for these ends, too, and the cleansing system is exactly what you need to keep your color from fading out between visits.”
I blinked at her. “I don’t color my hair.”
She snorted. “Right. Anyway, the cleansing system has these special nanotechnics that do some special stuff that’s too complicated to explain right now. But the result speaks for itself.”
Aunt Rinny walked up and grabbed my wrist and yanked me up. “Sorry, Pearl, Gran needs Zane in the kitchen. C’mon.”
I nearly tripped over the corner of the coffee table as she yanked me away from all the people shouting at the television. When we got into the kitchen, Gran was nowhere to be found.
The familiar sound of Bear’s quiet footsteps trailed behind me, and I caught a whiff of his scent, which had always been a strange mix of pine trees and Red Hots cinnamon candies. Some days, it was mostly pine, and some days, it was all Red Hots, but no matter when or where I caught a whiff of it, I always knew it wasn’t anyone other than Ryan Galloway. My grumpy, protective Bear.