Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 32348 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 162(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32348 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 162(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
A smile broke over Poppy's face when she saw Heather pointing to a large Himalayan cat currently eyeing her like a heavenly judge weighing her worth.
"Hello there." Poppy crouched down on one knee, and her patience was eventually rewarded as the cat padded towards her and rubbed his face against her palm.
Heather was in awe. Silver had always been wary of strangers...until now.
"He's so sweet," Poppy exclaimed as the cat settled into her lap like he had found his new favorite bed.
"Um...yeah." Heather didn't see any point telling Poppy the truth, which was how Silver had been so "sweet" that his former owner had actually been in the process of getting a vet to put him to sleep because of his aggression.
Poppy stroked Silver's fur lovingly, but her problems gradually resurfaced in her mind, and her smile faded.
"I think I really need to quit this time," she said in a small voice.
Heather was about to ask what happened when her phone suddenly rang. Why was the company lawyer calling her at this hour? She turned to Poppy in apology, saying, "Is it okay if I step out for a moment? I need to take this call."
"Please don't mind me," Poppy said quickly, seeing the worry on Heather's face. "Is there anything I can do?"
"You're so sweet to offer," Heather said with a sigh, "but you're the one I'm supposed to comfort, not the other way around."
Poppy promised to keep an eye on Silver in the meantime, and the other woman breathed a sigh of relief. "I'd appreciate that, thank you. And I promise, I'll be as quick as I can."
Heather stepped out to the balcony as she answered her phone, and Poppy resumed stroking Silver's fur as she looked around. Heather's apartment wasn't just gorgeous. It was also unbelievably luxurious, and she could only imagine how much the other woman earned in a year to afford living here.
A now-frantic-looking Heather was still out on the balcony when Poppy heard the doorbell. She hesitated for a moment before carefully scooping Silver off her lap and placing him on the sofa. "I'll be right back," she murmured, and Heather's cat actually meowed back in answer.
Their interaction had Poppy smiling as she answered the door—-
"You."
Poppy only had time to gasp just as the billionaire suddenly moved forward to cup her face between his hands.
Was this for real?
Was she imagining things?
Was she—-aaaaaah.
He started to lower his head, and all she could see for one precious second was him.
Valerian.
She had never allowed her gaze to linger on him.
Never.
The mere thought of doing so already felt like a sin to her, but now it was so much worse, with her entire world suddenly encompassed in his smoldering gaze, and every inch of her body throbbing into life the moment his hands pressed against her cheeks.
Heat as she had never known blazed before through her blood, but as his head inched closer, the scent of his breath hit her, and it gave Poppy the strength to make one last desperate attempt to save both of them from making a mistake.
"Mr. R-Rossfield—-"
"Valerian," the billionaire rasped out. "You can call me that now."
W-what did he just say?
Her lips slowly parted. But instead of a single word slipping out, it was his tongue that entered her mouth.
Aaaaah.
The feel of it was indescribable, but Poppy didn't know if that had more to do with the fact that this was her first kiss or who it was that was kissing her.
Was this really happening?
Valerian's tongue was inside of her mouth, and it was...
It was...
"What do you think you're doing?"
Chapter Eight
Breaking news, tea drinkers! One of our cattiest friends in high places was at some posh pool party earlier when their beautiful host started freaking out. BH has always been known to be a cool customer, but our source says she was acting oddly that day. A green-eyed monster may be involved, along with the hired help from a certain hair salon with lots of A-listers in its clientele.
Posted by @SocietyFlavoredTea
My, my, tonight is shaping up to be really exciting, tea drinkers. Catty Friend from our earlier post has an update. Apparently, things have gotten worse for BH and her long-time boyfriend...who may not be a billionaire for long. Now, yours truly won't pretend to know much about high-risk business deals, but what's pretty clear to me is how the loss of $2.8B is no small amount. Can Former Mr. Big Bucks ever recover from this? More importantly, will his beautiful girlfriend choose to stand by him, for better or for worse?
Posted by @SocietyFlavoredTea
VALERIAN STARED AT the numbers on his screen in numb disbelief. After saying goodbye to the last of their guests, he had been about to drive Camelia home when he received a call from his lawyer. He had thought the latter was joking, but now that he and Camelia were in his office, there was no longer any way for him to deny the truth.