Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 63195 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63195 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
It takes everything in me not to reach across the desk and haul him up by his collar. To fist the fine cloth in my grip and spit in his face.
Pure rage and adrenaline pump through my blood.
“Careful now, Evan.” James smiles as he says it, but I notice how he leans back. Both of us know he’s scared. If I throw this punch, if I push, he could bring it all to light.
And then I’ll lose her forever.
“I’m going home, and I’ll let you know when I’m available again.” Never. The word is whispered in the back of my head. I’m never returning to this office. I’m never doing another thing for this prick.
“You can’t leave me. I’ll ruin you,” he practically whispers with nothing but hate. He says the words I already know.
“Ruin me then,” I respond easily, looking into his dark eyes as I turn the doorknob and leave him behind me. On the surface I’m calm, but brewing just beneath my skin is nothing but chaos. Everything I’ve feared has finally come.
Proof I was there.
Proof I lied to the police.
I leave the office with the threat echoing in my head. I did this to myself, digging the hole deeper and deeper.
There’s no way Kat will stay when it all goes down.
Kat
Never trapped, never alone,
This city never sleeps.
Even in the daylight,
The sins are left to creep.
They tempt me and pull me,
And make me feel alive.
My mouth is dry, my body hot.
In temptation regrets will thrive.
My iPhone lights up as I push the top button to check the time again, and then again to look at the date. I’m anxious for this meeting; unusually so. Then again, I’m anxious all the time now.
Evan hasn’t come home; he isn’t talking to me. It’s been four days and each day I feel like I need to cave more and more. I didn’t know how much I wanted him there until he was gone. I just need him back.
A huff leaves me and I shake my head at the thought. Breakups are always hard and that’s what this is, so there’s only one way to move on and that’s to get it over with.
I don’t want to be in our townhouse, but I have nowhere else to go.
An easy breath leaves me as I stand behind the only woman in line at Brew Madison and tilt my head to read the sign on the back wall. All the beverages they have to offer are written on a large chalkboard, and large bakery cases house all the treats they have available. From small pastries to toasted breakfast sandwiches, all lined up as if they’re plastic replicas, even though I know they’re freshly made and just simply that good.
I haven’t had much of an appetite, but every sip of my coffee this morning made me nauseated, so a blueberry muffin top it is.
The brunette curls of the woman in front of me swing from side to side as she gives her order. I can’t see her face, but I know she’s young. From her bright red high heels and black leather jacket paired with white shorts a bit too short for fall, she’s definitely a downtown girl.
I smile at the thought as she waits for her coffee: pumpkin spice.
I used to be like her. Stylish and in charge of my destiny. New to the city and ready to tame it.
I thought I had.
A career and reputation in this publishing industry that I reached within only a few years. I’m an agent worth my weight now and everyone knows it. My name and brand have a meaning to them. The clients are coming in and I’m able to hire more reps and editors. It’s the business I’ve always wanted. More than that, I’m married to a man who still drips of sex appeal and has an edge to him that is irresistible. We own our townhouse near Madison Square Garden. Even if it is small, it’s the closest we could get. And it’s New York, so location is everything.
And my closet … the girl in front of me would kill for my closet. Not that she would know it based on how I’m dressed at the moment.
My name has a purpose and strength to it that made me proud. Evan and I were a powerhouse in the social scene. The couple everyone wanted to be. But envy comes with threats and in its nature, ruins. Rumors and gossip created a wedge between the two of us.
In the last few years, the highs of this world have crashed as my marriage slowly dissolved.
I let it. I spent my life not living it, wanting more and more from my work. Running as fast as I could, just to stay still while I ignored every other change in the world around me. How could I not have seen it deteriorating?