Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 61657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
“I’m not giving up,” Theo said firmly before looking up and seeing me in the doorway.
His face lit up into a smile and my chest exploded in happiness at the warmth I saw there. He really did care for me. I’d been so stupid to let my negative thoughts almost get the best of me.
“I’ve got to go, Warren,” Theo said hanging up. He came over to me and scooped me up in his arms. “Did I wake you?”
“No, I just couldn’t sleep without you,” I stammered.
“You want a snack?” he asked, kissing me on the top of my head.
“Sure. I always want a snack,” I said.
“Great. I’m starving,” he said, giving me another kiss, this time on my nose.
I’d always dreamed of the day a man cared for me enough to kiss me on my nose. A nose kiss was such a sweet delicate gesture and Theo did it with such casual grace. I was the luckiest woman on Earth.
He held my hand as we walked downstairs. “You ever have a waffle BLT?”
“No, but it sounds delicious!” I answered, intrigued.
In the kitchen, Theo was upbeat and cheerful, but I knew there was so much on his mind. Warren didn’t sound optimistic on the phone.
Opening the freezer, he pulled out frozen waffles. “Waffle BLT’s are so good and incredibly easy to make. You’ll love them.”
“Can’t wait!” I paused, reluctant to spoil the mood. “Um. So, who were you talking to?”
Theo’s face tensed as he took out a frying pan from a cupboard and bacon from the fridge. “Warren.”
It was best to not reveal how much of the conversation was overheard, so I played stupid. “Oh? Something important? You two were talking so late. Everything, okay?”
Theo clicked on the stove. His face was conflicted before he said, “I don’t want to worry you.” He took my hands in his. “Nor do I want you to feel responsible for any of this.”
It was too late. I already did.
He turned back to the stove and placed four pieces of bacon in the pan. “But, because of everything that’s happened, the Board is going to vote on whether I can stay on as CEO.”
I hugged him from behind, squeezing him tight. “Can they do that?”
He clasped my hand on his stomach and just nodded.
I felt awful. “There must be something that can be done. Something that I can do? I’m the one that started this whole thing any way.”
My rogue activism as Anonimo could cost Theo his company. Pictogram meant everything to Theo. If he lost it, it would be all my fault.
The bacon sizzled and crisped in the pan. The salty, savory smells of mouth watering bacon wafted throughout the kitchen.
“Can you pop some waffles into the toaster?” Theo asked me.
Regretfully, I pulled away from him. Worries that our relationship could be in jeopardy stirred back up inside me. How would Theo ever forgive me if he lost Pictogram?
With shaky hands, I took the waffles out of the package and put them in the toaster. What could I do to help him? Pictogram was everything to Theo.
He held me from behind. “I don’t want you to feel responsible for any of this. The Board had already questioned my leadership long before any of the pics came out.
Tears fell from my eyes. “I shouldn’t have been such an asshole and posted those photos and violated your privacy.”
He turned me around to face him and touched his nose to mine, holding my face in his hands. “If you hadn’t posted those photos, we wouldn’t be here right now together. Everything happens for a reason. If those leaked photos led me to you, I would do it all over again. A hundred times over.”
Wiping my tears from my cheeks, he kissed me on the lips. The bacon cracked and sizzled. Abruptly, he turned back to the stove. “The bacon! I hope you like them extra crispy!”
“I love extra crispy,” I said, sniffling and wiping my tears away.
My love for Theo made my heart burst. I couldn’t let him lose the community he built from his heart, especially since it was without a doubt all my fault.
12
Theo
With Mia staying over more, the last couple weeks had flown by happily. The joy I felt waking up to her overwhelmed me. The happiness that was inside me was unfamiliar, but I cherished it. With her in my bed, there was no need for my sleeping rituals: the fans, the noise machine. And I hardly bothered to draw the blackout curtains on most days now.
All I needed was her warm body next to me.
Lying in bed with her, an ease came over me allowing me to peacefully drift off into sleep even with everything going on at Pictogram. Admittedly, the nights she was away were difficult. I fretted over the fate of my Pictogram community into the late hours.