Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 147128 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 736(@200wpm)___ 589(@250wpm)___ 490(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147128 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 736(@200wpm)___ 589(@250wpm)___ 490(@300wpm)
‘Oh!’
It was not my day. Not at all.
The big, strong hands left my body just as quickly as they had tightened on my waist to stop me from moving further. I hastily took a step forward, moving back to my original spot.
‘Easy there,’ my third victim of the day murmured, pretty close to my ear.
It was the same voice from before. From the guy I’d bumped into in the lobby, not the owner of the hairy hand. A shiver worked its way along my spine and my body warmed, my heart rate slowly picking up speed. Not because of the voice or anything, it was being touched after such a long time that had done it. And yeah, maybe the voice too, just a little.
I do not have a thing for voices.
I do not have a thing for thick, smooth voices.
‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’ I whispered, then in a louder and much more embarrassed voice apologized to him for the second time in a few minutes.
I hung my head and hit one of the blue balloons with my forehead. ‘You were also in the lobby.’ Kill me now. ‘I’m really sorry.’
There was no manly chuckle, but I could hear a smile in his voice. ‘No need to apologize. It’s been a… different morning.’
‘How… nice of you to say that. Different can be good sometimes. Still, I’m very sorry.’
‘No worries.’
I tried to turn around, talk to his face like a normal person this time, but when I finally managed to save myself from the tangle of balloons, the elevator door was closing and there was suddenly no one standing behind me.
I backed into the corner, cautiously this time, and waited and waited. The doors opened and closed a few more times and I belatedly realized that I’d missed my floor.
When I finally made it to the 20th floor and saw Atlas Communications, Crisis Management in the black elegant font on the marble entrance wall, it was 9.26 a.m. and I knew I was dead. Or pretty close to it.
The front desk was empty, but I put the goodbye cake box on it.
‘What the hell Charlie?’
Startled, I whipped around and found a surprised Gayle, my friend and one of the two private investigators that worked in our office, staring at me in horror.
‘Don’t say anything. I know it looks bad,’ I said before she could make a comment about my appearance. ‘It’s just rain, I’ll fix it. Did the meeting start?’
Raising her hands, she tried to hide her amused smile. ‘I’m sorry, but I have to. You look both cheery and miserable at the same time while doing a pretty good impression of a drowned raccoon.’ There was a big smile stretching across her lips, and her eyes lit up with amusement. ‘Very professional of you.’
‘You happy?’
‘Somewhat. Your skirt seems to be doing fine, but you better do something to your shirt. Unless, that is, you’re trying a new look with your purple bra.’
‘It’s lilac. Are we good now?’
‘Yes, thank you. And no, the meeting hasn’t started yet. Your dad asked four times if you’ve arrived though.’
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and then listened to the balloons bump each other and squeak when I massaged my temple.
‘One more question, because I have to ask. Why are there balloons attached to your wrist?’
‘Because I was trying to fly away. Can you do me a favour? Please?’
She raised her brows and rolled her lips, trying her hardest to hold her laughter inside.
I sighed. ‘Because the guy at the shop needed to go to the storage area to get one of those weight thingies, and I didn’t have the time to wait around. That’s not important… you owe me one, Gayle.’
‘Before I circle back to me owing you, let me ask it again. Why are there balloons attached to your wrist?’
‘Rob, Gayle,’ I answered a little exasperated as I moved my arm and watched the balloons almost hit her in the face. ‘These are for Rob. To say goodbye and… look… happy… something. Goodbye party. Remember?’
She leaned back with a frown. ‘Rob… oh, that was today? Are you sure?’
I groaned. ‘Yes, that was today. You owe me one.’
She crossed her arms against her chest. ‘Excuse me?’
I started to try my best to get the balloons off my wrist, but all I was doing was making the band tighter. ‘For the blind double date that went horribly wrong.’
‘That was almost a month ago. And I was doing you a favour. You haven’t touched a guy in ages. Ever since your breakup with the elusive and hater-of-kissing Craig a year ago, you haven’t dated at all.’
Six years of long-distance relationship straight down the drain with that one. ‘So what if I haven’t dated consistently? I saw what’s out there and decided I was better off being alone,’ I shrugged. ‘Perfectly normal behaviour on my part. I’m happy being on my own.’