Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72617 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72617 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
I’d just sat down and turned on my laptop when my cell phone started to ring. I quickly grabbed it out of my purse and checked the screen. When I saw that it was Darby, I answered with a whisper, “Hey, I just got to work. I can’t talk right now.”
“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” she fussed.
“I’m sorry, but you know how Garrett can be.”
“I don’t give two toots about Garrett and his tight ass,” Darby complained. “You gotta tell me how things went last night.”
“I will, but I can’t right now.” I could hear him shuffling around in the other room, so I told her, “I’ll call you during my lunch break.”
Without giving her a chance to respond, I hung up my phone and shoved it back into my purse. I could hear Garrett getting closer to the office, so I quickly pulled up the files he had sent and started going through them. They were the shots he’d taken of the town square before and after the renovations, and like all of his work, they were phenomenal.
I was looking over the ones he’d taken of the bank when he appeared in my doorway and asked, “So, what do you think?”
“They’re really good. I’m very impressed.”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure I liked the lighting in the coffee shop.” He grimaced as he said, “I should go back and do a reshoot.”
“Really?” I looked back to check the images as I told him, “No. I think they look great.”
“And that’s why you’re still a novice.”
“Maybe so, but I know a good shot when I see it.” I could tell by his expression that he wasn’t convinced, so I added, “Just let me tweak a few things, and if you still aren’t happy with them, then you can go do your reshoot.”
“Fine, but I’ll expect them to be done today.”
“Won’t be a problem.”
Without saying anything more, Garrett turned and went back to his office. I spent the next couple of hours working my magic on the images of the coffee shop, and while there were a couple that were harder to manipulate, most just needed a couple of tweaks here and there. I emailed him the final edits, grabbed my purse, and started for the front door.
When I passed Garrett’s office, I called out to him, “I’m going to grab lunch. I’ll be back in half an hour.”
“What about...”
“Already emailed them to you.”
“Oh... okay. I’ll see you when you get back.”
“You want me to bring you something back?”
“No. I’m good.”
“Okay. I’ll be back in a bit.”
I gave him a quick wave, then continued out to the parking lot.
I’d just gotten in my car when my phone started ringing. I grabbed it out of my purse and smiled when I saw that Darby was facetiming me. I answered and was surprised to see that Susana was with her. She was practically beaming as she said, “Hey, hooker! I hear you have juicy tea to spill.”
“I don’t know if I’d say all that.” I started my car and turned on the heat. “You know I’m not one to kiss and tell.”
“So, you kissed?” Darby asked as she leaned into view.
“Not exactly.”
“But he came over, right?”
“Yeah, he came to fix the fan.”
“Ooo-kay,” Darby glanced over at Susana, then back to me. “Did he fix the fan, or did he fix you?”
“Well, after what I did to it, the fan is pretty much beyond repair, and after last night, I am, too.”
“Whoa. What’s that supposed to mean?” Darby gasped.
“Like I told you earlier, it’s complicated.”
I spent the next few minutes giving them the rundown of what had happened with Wrath. I didn’t go into explicit detail, but I told them enough to get Darby riled up. “He just left! You gotta be kiddin’ me!”
“Afraid not.” I let out a long, defeated breath, then told them, “But in his defense, I didn’t ask him to stay.”
“You shouldn’t have to ask him!” Susana snapped. “The jerk should’ve realized that he was lucky to even be there.”
“It’s not his fault... We had an understanding.”
“Well, your understanding was stupid,” Darby interjected. “He should’ve stayed, and more than that, he should’ve wanted to stay.”
“Yeah, that would’ve been great, but it’s not how the cards fell.” I shrugged. “But I’m okay with that... like seriously okay. I had an incredible night with him, and that was that. No hard feelings.”
“How can you be so cool about this?” Darby’s eyes narrowed. “It didn’t happen to me, and I still want to cut his balls off.”
“Nothing happened to me. At least, nothing I didn’t ask for. And if I want something more from him, I’ll ask for that, too. Now, let’s just leave it at that.”
“If you say so.”
“I do.” I glanced up at the clock, and when I saw the time, I grimaced. “I’m sorry to cut this short, but I’ve gotta grab a bite and get back to work.”