Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 153268 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 766(@200wpm)___ 613(@250wpm)___ 511(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 153268 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 766(@200wpm)___ 613(@250wpm)___ 511(@300wpm)
“I’m allergic to assholes,” Gia muttered to her iPad.
“What was that?” Tate scowled.
“If you’re going to ruin everyone’s evening, kindly get the fuck out,” I growled at Tate. My mood was shitty without the added bonus of his unpalatable personality. Glitzy people roamed the place, taking selfies, cooing at the décor, at the designer plates in front of them, and at the delicious food on them. Wineglasses clinked. Black caviar mafaldine and aromatic pork buns floated on pink brass trays across the room. I should have been on top of the world, but I felt six feet under.
“Didn’t that friend of yours, Ronald, say he was going to be here?” Tate scowled, glancing around.
“Huh?” I checked my phone for the millionth time this evening. If she was going to text now, I was going to break and answer her. “Said he would. Guess he’s late.”
The truth of the matter was, I didn’t care one iota about Rhyland not being here. I only cared about one person. A person who had sent me her podcast two days ago. I’d listened to it three hundred times since. It was funny, adorable, smart, interesting, enchanting, her. It was her.
“Well.” Tate grabbed his whiskey—neat—and knocked it back. “I am exceptionally bored. Excuse me while I go find someone to bury my dick in.” He stalked off.
“Please, God, make that someone be a great white shark.” Gia pressed her palms together in a silent prayer, looking heavenward before continuing to work on her iPad.
“You don’t have to stand up, you know.” I patted the stool next to mine.
She shot me a polite smile, taking a seat. “Tate calls people who sit down at the office slackers. He bought everyone treadmills for their laptop stations.”
“Why are you working for this douche canoe?” I parked my elbow on the bar. I was genuinely interested to know. And it wasn’t like I was needed in my own fucking kitchen for my debut night. Taylor was doing a fantastic job.
Gia considered my question with a small frown. “While as a person and as a boss, he is a complete disaster, he actually pays a lot and is generous with my bonuses too.” She glanced down, a little embarrassed. “I tried to find another job several times. But each time I get an offer, it’s like he senses it. He calls me into his office and gives me a twenty percent increase or something ridiculous like that. I am making mid–six figures for an admin job while all my mates make a fraction of that and work the same hours in banking and HR. I’d be mental to leave.”
I opened my mouth, about to tell her that it seemed to me as though Tate Blackthorn had a crush he couldn’t articulate properly, when something caught my eye beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows of the restaurant. A flash of light. Neon light. My neck snapped up, and I looked over Gia’s slender shoulder.
She kept droning on, obviously thankful to have someone to listen to her. “…quite compelling bonuses, such as healthcare both in America and the UK, which is practically unheard of, and a share structure in some of his companies. Admittedly, it isn’t fun to work during Christmas, federal holidays, and from the hospital when I had my tonsils removed, however…”
I saw it again. The flash of color. This time nestled between two bulky doormen outside. Whatever this thing was, it stood behind the golden barriers with the burgundy ropes.
Wait a minute. A head full of messy, wavy, brown hair.
Pink bomber jacket.
High-waisted Levi’s.
Bright red Doc Martens.
Dot.
She was here. In London. At La Vie en Rogue. I spotted her arguing heatedly with the doormen, using wild hand gestures and mimicking a…sleeping baby?
Her tics were out of control. She was blinking hard and fast. I was about to stand up and let her in—and fire the two doormen on the spot while I was at it—when she spotted me through the glass window.
I immediately knew what it looked like. Me. Sitting next to a beautiful woman who had her back to her. To make shit worse, Gia seemed animated and completely engrossed in our one-sided conversation.
“…thought about leaving so many times, but at this point, my entire bloody family is on my payroll. I told Mum she could retire early, she loathed her job so much…”
My eyes snapped back to Cal. She stared at the scene, wide-eyed. I knew how her mind worked. She thought I’d moved on. That it was game over. It had probably taken everything she’d had in her to even get here. I stood up, about to run over there and chase her…
When she did the unthinkable.
The improbable.
She reversed on her heel, turned her back, and walked away…
Only to turn back around and face me. She took a deep breath, gained momentum, and literally barreled through the doormen, bypassing both of them like an NFL player and running straight into the restaurant. They ran after her. I stood up, but she managed to get to me before I could come to her rescue.