Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 66323 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66323 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
“Hi,” he replies, his gaze eating me up. “I can’t stay, I just wanted to pop in and see all of this. It’s so great, Stella.”
“Yeah.” I nod and take in the room, trying to ignore so many pairs of eyes looking our way. “Thank you. We worked hard on it.”
“I can see that. Look, I have to go, but I wanted to give you this.”
He holds out a pink gift bag with a white bow, then leans in to kiss my cheek.
“I’m so fucking proud of you, Stella. Good luck to you.”
And with that, he turns and walks away through the crowd and out the front door without looking back.
Shit, that felt so…final.
I look in the bag and feel tears prick my eyes. It’s a blue Tiffany box. When I take it out and pull the white ribbon away, I find a sterling silver business card holder, and on the outside Stella McKenna, Owner is engraved on the front.
“If you don’t call him tomorrow, I might do it for you,” Danny says as he looks over my shoulder. “Seriously, Stella.”
“Yeah, I know. I know.”
“Hell, I think you should run after him,” Liv says as she walks over. “Because I don’t think I’ve ever seen two people light a fire with just a look the way you two just did.”
“He’s already gone,” I say, shaking my head.
But, damn, I miss him so much. I’m so stupid.
“I’ll go see him. I promise.”
He couldn’t get me on his schedule until Friday. I tried to call his cell, but again, he wasn’t available.
So, I made an appointment at his office.
Using a different name.
I’m not going to risk letting him blow me off. Absolutely, not.
I walk into the building and get on the elevator.
It feels like I have a ball of snakes in my stomach. I’ve never been this nervous. Ever.
God, what if he turns me away? He’d be well within his rights to do so. I was so stubborn and so unkind. I wouldn’t blame him if he shoved me out the door and called security to escort me out of the building.
But I hope, with everything in me, that he doesn’t do that.
Mrs. Hadfield looks up from her computer, and when she sees me, her eyes narrow.
“Yes?” Her voice is frosty. I’m surprised there isn’t a thin coat of ice covering everything on her desk.
“I have an appointment with Mr. Sterling,” I inform her.
She checks the computer and then shakes her head. “No, I don’t see your name here.”
“Shelly Jones,” I reply. “I made the appointment under Shelly Jones.”
Her eyebrows climb in surprise, and I shrug a shoulder, not even a little bit ashamed. “I wanted to make sure he would agree to see me.”
“I should send you away,” she says sternly.
“Please, don’t do that.” I clear my throat when I feel it catch. “I really need to see him. I need him.”
She purses her lips as she eyes me for a second, and then with one curt nod, she picks up her phone, punches in some numbers, and waits.
“Mr. Sterling, I have Ms. Jones for you. Very good.” She hangs up and points to the same chair that I sat in the first day I came to see him.
“Thank you,” I say before walking over and taking a seat. Less than two minutes later, the door opens, and his assistant motions for me to follow her.
“Not who I was expecting,” she says as she leads me back. “But I’m happy to see you, Stella.”
“Let’s hope he’s happy, too.”
She opens Gray’s office door and pops her head in. “I have Ms. Jones for you.”
“Send her in.”
His voice is silk.
And when I take a breath and walk through the door, he blinks twice.
“Ms. Jones?”
Chapter 20
Gray
My heart skips a beat, and I’m pretty sure that I must be hallucinating, but Stella walks into my office, closes the door, and sits in the chair on the other side of my desk.
“Hi,” she says simply.
“Is there a Ms. Jones waiting outside that you cut in front of, or—?”
“No, it’s me,” she says. She licks her lips, and two little lines form between her eyebrows as she frowns. “I didn’t think you’d see me if I used my name.”
She would be wrong.
“What can I do for you, Stella?”
“Well, it seems that I need to file a lawsuit against Florence and Emerald City Interiors. I hope you didn’t delete those files off your computer.”
“Why the change of heart?”
She blows out a breath, and I notice that her hands aren’t quite steady as she pushes her fingers through her long, blond hair.
She’s nervous.
“I didn’t want to cause a scandal for my family,” she finally admits. “I would never drag any of them through the mud, and I was afraid of doing exactly that if I stood up for myself against that bully.”