Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33230 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33230 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
“Your mom home with Belle tonight?” I ask, all breathy. He nods. “Come home with me.” He raises an eyebrow. “No one cares. If anyone is even there.”
“Sarah will notice.”
“Yeah, but Sarah’s no snitch and she likes you.” He looks almost shocked at my confession. “Brad, why wouldn't she like you? She sees you with your sister. You’re respectful. She said that you didn't even leave a mess when you used her kitchen.”
He laughs. “I know how to clean up after myself.”
“At least one of us does.” I give him the biggest smile. I know I can be a mess. Brad smiles over at me as he buckles my seatbelt, then his.
“I think I can handle your messes.”
“I think you can handle anything.” I do. I don’t know if he knows that but I truly believe it. He’s an unstoppable force but what makes him more special is that you may not see him coming. Brad is unmissable but you just don’t know what you’re going to get. He’s underestimated. I made that mistake once. He’d taught me a lesson that first day I’d met him.
I pull out the stack of cash I got from my wager. “Can we call Carter’s lawyer now?” I ask.
“Yeah, but you won’t need that. Carter is always owing me a favor.”
“Fine, I’ll just take Belle on a shopping trip. I told her we’d go to the mall this weekend anyways.”
“She’ll love that.” He looks over at me and his eyes go soft. I lean over, kissing him.
It might be bold to say this but I do it anyways. “She’ll be my sister one day. Two against one. That’s a fight you’ll never win.” He smiles against my mouth.
“I look forward to losing.”
Chapter 19
Brad
“This is the proxy transfer and this is the agreement that you will be disgorging any profits that are earned during your tenure as a board member.”
“Is that really necessary?” Mel cuts in as the papers are shoved in front of me. “He’s going to be working and should be paid.” She wraps her hand around the top of the pen so I can’t move it. “Don’t sign this. I thought you were working for us.” She glares at the lawyer.
Kevin Bailey is exactly what I thought a lawyer would look like--slightly fat from being rich with white hair and sharp eyes. He directs a pointed gaze at her over his glasses. “Ms. James. I work for you. I cannot represent two people with competing interests.”
“Well then since we’re on the same side, you shouldn’t be putting in clauses like that. Brad needs to be paid.”
“I really don’t.”
“You really do,” she insists. “Watching you fight is hot, but one of these days, you’re going to meet an opponent who is bigger and meaner than you are.”
“Bigger, possibly. Meaner? Doubtful.”
“What’s this about fighting?” the lawyer breaks in.
“Nothing,” Mel and I say at the same time.
She dissolves into light giggles. I pick up her hand and press it to my lips. “It’s all good, babe. I don’t want your money. Never did.”
“You still need to be paid. Everyone who sits on the board is paid and it would look sketchy if you didn’t. Right, Mr. Bailey?”
His white helmet hair doesn’t move as he nods. “That’s right, which is why the contract specifies that only the profits need to be returned. Mr. Hayes may keep his salary.”
He also sounds like a lawyer--stuffy and pretentious. I squeeze Mel’s hand again. “It’s fine, Mel.” I scrawl my signature on the line and date it before she can voice another objection. She sighs and slumps back in her chair. It takes me ten minutes to get through all the paperwork. At the end, my hand is cramped. “This is harder work than the ring,” I joke.
“You still look sexy,” Mel replies, running her sparkling eyes over my frame. I guess the suit and tie thing is a turn-on because when I came out of the bathroom this morning, she jumped me. Literally. She raced over, threw herself into my arms and told me that we had ten minutes before we needed to be at the lawyer’s office and that I should use it wisely. It’s hard fucking a girl wearing a suit and tie. I thought the tie was going to strangle my airways, but in some ways, it was a real trip. Ten out of ten would definitely do it again.
There’s a small buzzing noise and then a light voice filters through a speakerphone on the desk. “All the board members have arrived.”
Mr. Bailey shuffles all the papers together and then taps the stack into a neat pile. “I’m ready if you two are.”
Ignoring the churning in my gut, I get to my feet and reach down to help Mel stand. In the plate glass windows, I catch a glimpse of us. She’s wearing some designer suit with small fringe, a chain belt around the edges and pearl buttons. It looks like it cost a million bucks. When I mentioned that to her this morning, she flushed and said that it was a bit more than her Cartier bracelets. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the kind of money Mel has in her bank account. The suit I’m wearing isn’t super expensive. Mr. Bailey told me a good life tip which was to buy any decent suit and have it tailored, which is why I look okay standing next to Mel without having had to sell a kidney to get geared up. The point is, we look good together--like we match, but I don’t know if it’s necessarily the clothes or the fact that I think we belong together. We’re meant to be a unit, not separate individuals. She’s fun and kind and softens my hard edges. I’m not sure what I bring to the table other than the ability to knock someone out, hack into a few accounts, and give her good orgasms, but it is enough for her, which is all that matters.