Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 102781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Yet instead of walking back over the threshold, I found myself pulling the door closed—with me still inside.
“You okay?” My voice was hesitant.
Women were always unpredictable, but a crying woman needed to be treated like a wounded puma lying in the plain you’re trying to cross. She could continue to lie in pain, licking wounds inflicted by someone else in silence, or she could decide at any moment to tear into an innocent bystander and feast on him for lunch.
Basically, I was scared shitless of a woman in tears.
Annalise sat up straighter in her seat and started to shuffle papers around her desk.
“Fine. I’m just finishing up the copy for the Venus meeting with Jonas tomorrow. Sorry I didn’t get it to you sooner. I’ve just been…busy.”
She’d opened the door, giving me the chance to bail on discussing anything personal, and again I failed to back up. What the fuck was wrong with me? She was waving the Advance to Go (Collect $200) card in my face; yet I reached out and plucked the Go Directly to Jail card from the pile instead.
I took a seat in a guest chair in front of me. “You wanna talk about it?”
What the fuck?
Did that just come out of my mouth?
Again?
I knew I shouldn’t have watched The Notebook a few weeks ago, but I’d been too hungover to get up and find the remote to change the channel.
Annalise looked up once more. This time our eyes met. I watched as she tried to pretend nothing was wrong and then…her bottom lip began to tremble.
“I…I spoke to Andrew a little while ago.”
The douchebag. Great. Figures he’d hurt her over the phone while she’s at work. Any guy who utters the words “We should take a break” has no balls to begin with.
I had no idea what to say, so I went with as little as possible—less likely I’d stick my foot in my mouth. “Sorry.”
She sniffled. “I tried not to call him. I really did. He sent me a few texts after you answered my phone yesterday, saying we needed to talk. But it was making me crazy to see his texts and not respond.” She laughed through her tears. “More crazy than having my icons in all the wrong folders has made me over the last week.”
I grinned. “You’re welcome. I probably just added three years back to your life by helping you overcome the demons of organizational control.”
Annalise opened her drawer and fished out a tissue. Wiping her eyes, she said, “How many years do I get added back if I fixed them after four days?”
I nodded. “We’ll work on it. Next week you’ll give me your full-page to-do list, and we’ll try to make it five days without you checking shit off.”
“How do you know I have a full-page to-do list?”
I gave her a look that said Are you joking, Captain Obvious?
She sighed. “I bet Andrew knew I’d call him back, too.”
I had no doubt about that either. The guy was a douchebag because he knew what he could get away with and kept her dangling at the end of that point.
“I might be the last person who should give relationship advice, but I do know men. And any guy who ends things over the phone is a jerkoff and not worth your tears.”
“Oh. Andrew didn’t end things.”
“He didn’t? Then why are you crying?”
“Because he asked me to meet him tomorrow after work for dinner.”
I furrowed my brows. “I’m lost. Why is that a bad thing?”
“Because Andrew is a good man. He wouldn’t tell me it was fully over on the phone.” Her eyes started to fill with water again. “He asked me to meet him after work at the Royal Excelsior. I’m sure it’s because he’s going to buy me an expensive dinner before he ends things in person.”
“The Royal Excelsior? Isn’t that the place in the Royal Hotel downtown? I have a client a few blocks away.”
She nodded and wiped her nose.
Okay. So I’m a big enough man to admit when I’m wrong. And obviously I was wrong thinking her ex was asshole enough to end shit on the phone. I hadn’t realized the guy was a giant asshole and was going to fuck her first before ending it.
“You shouldn’t go meet him.”
Annalise offered a sad smile. “Thank you. But I need to.”
I struggled with my thoughts. Did I lay it out for her—explain that the guy didn’t want to break things off, he wanted to get laid? Hell, if he was smart—which I was reasonably certain he was, looking at the gorgeous woman sitting in front of me that he’d managed to keep on ice for months—he’d probably manage to let her think the roll in the hay was her damn idea.
Or did I keep my nose out of it? After all, she was a grown woman, capable of making her own decisions. And she was also my nemesis.