Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 89840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Now, I’m sitting here, a tad grumpy and slightly buzzed, stewing about the croissant and my absent-ass husband.
“Another?” a peppy voice asks beside me. I turn my head, spotting the waitress, a young twenty-something with porcelain skin, freckles, blonde hair, and blue eyes. She gestures to the empty glass in front of me.
I nod. “Please. But can you make it a whiskey this time? Top shelf and neat.”
She bobs her head, taking away my empty glass and returning minutes later with a new crystal glass two fingers deep with amber liquid. I pick up the drink, swiveling my eyes to Dominic who is chatting with Melissa and Jim.
I shift in my seat just as Dominic flips his gaze on me, then excuses himself from Jim and Melissa to walk my way.
“Great,” I mumble. He pulls out the chair on the opposite side of my table and sits with a drink in hand. Most likely Jim Beam. I don’t understand why he loves it so much. It’s a college drink he and his frat boys drank religiously.
“You know you don’t have to stay if you don’t want to,” Dominic says, setting his glass down on the dark oak table.
“Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you? Get the wife to leave so you can do all the flirting you want?” I glanced at Staci, one of our volunteers. He’s been eyeing her lately too.
“Jo, come on. Today was a good day. Didn’t you see the news? We went up two percent in the poll projections.” He reaches across the table, placing his hand on mine. “We should be happy, not moping.”
“I’m not moping,” I counter, slowly pulling my hand away. What I really want to do is snatch it, but people are watching. They’re always watching. I lean forward and hiss the words, “I saw you flirting with that journalist after the rally.”
“Good Lord, Jo.” He says the words through his teeth but maintains a poker face. “Look, if you’re going to act like that tonight, I’d rather us go home right now.”
“Right. Let’s do that,” I snap, then pick up my drink and guzzle down the rest. Dominic glares at me, picks his drink up as well, and finishes it off.
I’m already at the door as he speaks to the room. “I’m heading out, friends!” he booms. “Thank you so much for all you do. Like I said earlier, I wouldn’t be able to do any of this without you! Enjoy a few more drinks on me, alright?” Cheers break out in the room as Dominic walks my way, acting like he’s the king of all, the best man in the world.
“Should we follow along, sir?” one of his security officers asks at the door.
“No, no. It’s all good, Frank.” Dominic claps his shoulder. “The wife should be able to get me home. I’ll call if I need you though.”
The wife? Fucking asshole.
I storm out of Fox Trot to get to my car as quickly as I can in my heels. I unlock the doors and climb behind the wheel, but my eyes fall to the croissant box on the seat. I snatch it up and toss it behind the passenger seat, just as Dominic opens the door and settles onto the fine leather with a lazy smile.
I start the engine and drive, letting my anger simmer. It isn’t until we’re turning onto the street of our private home that Dominic says, “You embarrass me, you know that?”
Here we go. “Oh, I embarrass you?”
“Yes, Jo! We can’t even have a damn rally without you accusing me of flirting with someone. And how the hell are you gonna accuse me when I saw you laughing it up with Sanchez?”
“I saw you with my own two eyes, Dominic, and if I did, I know everyone else did too!” I ignore his Sanchez remark. “You’re the one making me look like an idiot—like I have no backbone. I swear to God if it wasn’t for this campaign, I’d be done with you right now.”
He chuckles, and I swear I want to stomp on the brakes just so his face slams into the dashboard. The idiot isn’t wearing a seatbelt. He thinks he’s invincible. He’s lucky I don’t go through with the action in mind. Plus, slamming on the brakes and breaking his damn nose won’t make him look too good in the press.
“Let’s not get carried away, alright? We all know you’re never going to leave me, Jo. You have way too much at stake. Besides, if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t even have that unit near the park. You wouldn’t have all your little girlies huddled up every week in your fancy tea shop, gossiping and talking about tea flavors, chocolate cake, and God knows what else you do. It’s such a waste what you’ve done with your dad’s money.”