Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 77354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
“Maybe,” I reply.
“Maybe?” Leo asks.
“I think they keep quiet partly out of the legal obligation, but when I spoke to Efa, she made me see that an NDA can’t actually do much. I think my employees don’t talk out of loyalty. Any of them could have made a lot of money by telling people who I am.”
“And… Efa made you see this?” Leo asks.
I grin. “Yeah, I guess she did… when she mocked me for asking her to sign the NDA.”
“I like this girl,” Leo says. “Sounds like she knows how to run rings around you.”
Was that her appeal? Is that why I was sitting here chatting to my best friends about her when I’d never discussed any woman with them before? Because she showed me how flimsy the NDA was? Because she had an ass that hypnotized me? Or because she figured out who I was? “I guess,” I reply. “I don’t know her that well.”
But not because she hides anything.
“Sounds like she knows you very well.”
Maybe that’s it. Maybe the fact that she figured out who I am makes me wonder what else she sees. In me. In others. In the world.
“I don’t know if the NDA is worth pursuing,” I say. “I don’t even know what pursuing means. I don’t think she’s in the country long, and anyway, if she’s not working for Fort, she’s going to be working with a rival or a customer. That brings with it a whole heap of problems.”
“Yeah, just give up,” Worth says. It’s such an un-Worth thing to say, I can tell he’s mocking me. “Sounds like you. A quitter.”
“I’m just saying. It’s complicated.”
“Life’s complicated,” Worth replies.
“Mine isn’t,” Leo says.
“If it isn’t, it will be,” Worth says.
“I’m not saying I want to marry this girl,” I say.
Worth frowns. “Woman.”
I nod. Worth’s right. “So if we’re not worried about the age difference, what about the power differential? She wants a job at Fort. I don’t want to be fucking someone because they want a job from me.”
“I’m not sure I’m the one to help you here,” Leo says. “I’ve never analyzed any of my relationships that closely.”
Worth’s eyes slice to mine, but neither of us says anything. Leo has had a complicated life, but he chooses simplicity these days.
“I think you should trust your gut,” Worth says. “If you thought she was assuming her skills in the bedroom would get her a job, you wouldn’t be sleeping with her.”
“Right,” I say. I’m pretty sure the sex we had the first time is the reason Efa wanted to have sex again. My skin starts to buzz just thinking about her bent over my desk, uniform pushed up over her ass.
I clear my throat before I start getting a boner in front of these guys, which is just gross.
But whatever’s between me and Efa isn’t just sex. If it was, I’m pretty sure I could figure it out on my own. I wouldn’t have brought it up here. Efa has complicated my brain. Why am I still thinking about her? Why am I so keen to delve beneath the surface? Why was I so disappointed when I didn’t see her today?
“I think your gut will know better, the more you get to know her,” Worth says.
“You’re right. So are we going to watch sports or what?” I ask, just as the door goes again and Fisher and Byron appear. I’m done discussing this. I’ve made my decision. When everyone’s settled, I’ll head out. Go and see her—take the NDA. Just one more time, maybe my gut will be able to tell for certain why I can’t get this woman out of my mind.
TWELVE
Efa
I smooth down my new black pencil skirt—that I only just fit into—and widen the fake smile I’ve been wearing all afternoon. I’ve learned I prefer housekeeping to reception. For more reasons than one.
“Enjoy your stay,” I say, handing the woman in front of me a room key. At least rooms are still locking. It’s pretty much the only thing that’s working in this place.
Being moved to reception is so annoying. First, it means I finally got on top of my jet lag and now they’ve moved my shifts to the evening, which means I’m starting work when London is having cocktails. On top of that, every guest I deal with is pissed off because we can’t find anyone’s booking. We basically have to do a search on email confirmations to work out where everyone belongs, and it takes forever. Apparently there’s a team hard at work piecing it all together on paper, which should be ready tomorrow, but shouldn’t they really be focused on getting the booking system up and running? I don’t know much about Gretel, but she needs to do something.
I hate people. I hate late nights. I especially hate that I haven’t seen Bennett for two days. And I hate that I hate I haven’t seen him.