Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 155903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 780(@200wpm)___ 624(@250wpm)___ 520(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 155903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 780(@200wpm)___ 624(@250wpm)___ 520(@300wpm)
“Here, eat this.” He unwrapped and held up a piece of chocolate. A Hershey’s Kiss. “It’s emergency chocolate. I have it on good authority that it makes everything better.”
“Oh.” That’s what she’d told him. She tried to take the chocolate, but her hands were trapped.
“I’m trapped! What happened to my hands? They’re stuck.” Panic filled her. She didn’t like being trapped.
“Easy, Little Blossom,” he soothed as he lifted the blanket away.
Oh. That was kind of embarrassing.
Then he pressed the chocolate to her lips. She took the piece and started sucking on it. “Sorry. I’m overreacting.”
“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” he scolded her quietly.
“Sorry. Oops.” She put her hand over her mouth as she finished the sweet treat.
He held up another piece and she took it, devouring it. When she reached for a third piece, he held the chocolate away.
“More,” she demanded.
“No, I think that’s enough.”
She scrunched up her face, she could feel a tantrum building.
Wait. Fudge knuckles. What was she doing?
She couldn’t let her Little out here. It had to be because she was upset. That’s why her Little was so close to the surface.
Faith couldn’t believe she’d been building to a tantrum. She never had tantrums. That would be extremely rude.
“I’m so sorry. I overreacted.”
“You didn’t overreact.” He placed his hand against her cheek.
A shiver of pleasure ran through her.
“She put her hands on you. And she’s a bitch.”
He dropped his hand and she had to fight against the urge to beg him to touch her again.
“I feel like I should get a badge,” she told him. “I survived the wolf of NYC.”
“Little Blossom, she’s not the wolf.”
“No?”
“No, I am. I’m the Big Bad Wolf.”
She gulped before standing and nearly tripping over the blanket that pooled at her feet. “Fudge knuckles.”
“Easy,” he commanded, jumping up to hold her steady. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Just, um, I need to go.”
He eyed her for a long moment, and she expected him to protest. To tell her to sit down.
To her surprise, he nodded. “That might be best. I’ll drive you.”
“No!”
He raised his eyebrows at her adamant protest.
“I’m meeting someone for drinks.” It wasn’t actually a lie. She was meeting Asta in an hour. “I have to go. Bye.”
After rushing out of there, she leaned against the elevator with a groan.
She couldn’t believe how close she’d come to ruining everything.
She had to be more careful.
10
“Ms. Blossom?”
“Yes, sir?” She glanced over at Reuben as he appeared in the doorway between their offices. “I was just about to go get your lunch.”
“Our lunch,” he countered. “Get it from downstairs today.”
She frowned. “But you don’t like the food downstairs.”
“I don’t want you going outside. It looks like it might rain.”
It did?
She glanced out the window. Sure, it looked a bit bleak, but it wasn’t raining.
“That’s an order.”
Faith saluted him as he turned away.
“I saw that!”
Her mouth dropped open. There was no way! He couldn’t have.
Sheesh.
Heading downstairs, she held onto the elevator rail tightly. She’d worked here for nine weeks now and she still struggled with the elevator.
Faith ordered the food from Lou, grateful that she didn’t have any weird concoctions to test on Faith this morning.
Then she headed back upstairs and took Reuben’s food in to him.
“Come and sit with me, Ms. Blossom.”
She stilled in surprise as he got up and walked to the sofa, gesturing to her.
Ever since her run in with Kirsten, things between them had been slightly off.
Sometimes, she caught him staring at her strangely as though he couldn’t quite work her out.
Faith didn’t know what was going on.
“I, um, I was just going to eat at my desk.”
“That’s not good for your digestion. Get your water bottle and sit. I want to make sure you eat and drink.”
Knowing he wasn’t going to take no for an answer, she sat on the other end of the sofa from him. Unwrapping her sandwich, she took a bite and then wrinkled her nose.
“What’s wrong?”
She opened up the sandwich. “Ick. Mustard.”
“You didn’t ask them to not add mustard?” he asked.
“I did. They must have forgot.” Or Lou was too busy talking to her to notice.
Reuben stood. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?” she asked as she wrapped the sandwich up and stood.
“To get them to make you another sandwich.”
“Oh, that’s not necessary.”
He shot her a look.
Okay. They were going downstairs to get a new sandwich.
As they stood waiting for the elevator, she shuffled her weight from foot to foot.
“I really don’t like to make a fuss,” she told him as the elevator doors opened.
“You’re not. I am.”
That didn’t make her feel better. Actually, she felt worse.
He hit the button for the ground floor. She sucked in a breath.
“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you breathing?” he asked.
“Oh. Shoot.” She hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath. “I don’t like elevators.”
Instead of telling her that she was ridiculous, he did something unbearably sweet.