Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
“To dinner,” he says nonchalantly. “Wanna join me?”
“I’d rather starve than go to dinner with you.” I glare.
He chuckles. “Probably for the best.” He flicks his wrist and glances at his watch. “Reservations are for eight, and you need a shower.” He leans in and sniffs me. “You smell like a wet dog.”
Dad
Missed you at dinner tonight. Julian said you were sick as a dog. Do you need anything?
I’m lying in bed, and I sit upright in confusion. Dinner? Sick as a …
Oh, that sneaky bastard! He never said he was meeting my dad for dinner.
Me
I’m okay. I think it was something I ate.
Dad
Okay, good. We’re meeting tomorrow at 9:00. Ronan mentioned at dinner tonight that he’d like to do something different with our collaboration, and Julian and I agreed. We’ll discuss it tomorrow.
Oh my God! I shoot out of bed, ready to murder my fake damn fiancé. Here I thought the sprinklers were payback for me deflating his tires.
Me
WTF?! You went to dinner without me?
A response comes in seconds later.
Julian
I asked you to go. You said you’d rather starve.
Me
Game on, asshole.
Julian
Red, I think you’ve proven you’re playing a game you can’t win. Probably should surrender before you end up in the doghouse.
I’m going to kill him. No, that would be too easy. I’m going to get him back.
I pace the room, trying to calm my heart rate and think of how to go about it when the perfect idea comes to mind.
I’m going to hell for this.
Straight down, flames a-blazing.
But it’ll be worth it.
Julian wants to play dirty and insinuate that because I don’t have a dick between my legs, I can’t play with the guys. Well, he’s about to learn that this woman can play with the big boys—and I’ll come out on top. And by the time I’m done, he’ll be begging to be taken out of the game.
Yep, I’m going to hell for this.
But it’s going to be so worth it.
chapter fifteen
JULIAN
Last night was fun, but I have to admit, I feel a bit guilty about not being completely honest with Anastasia about the dinner. In my defense, she started this. When I had gone behind her back regarding my meeting with Ronan, it had been for the good of the company. I wasn’t trying to play games. But then she deflated all of my damn tires, and I had no choice but to sink to her level. The sprinklers were probably enough payback, and I planned to tell her about the dinner—figuring she’d be forced to quickly get ready or show up, looking like hell—but when she told me she’d rather starve than eat with me, my pettiness reared its ugly head.
After our meeting this morning, I’m going to talk to Anastasia and see if she’ll be willing to call it a truce. We both want the CEO position, but there’s no reason we have to act like teenagers to get it.
I step into the conference room where the meeting is being held. Only instead of several of the department heads being present, like I thought there would be since we’re here to discuss ideas for the Ronan collaboration, it’s only Samuel and Anastasia.
“Morning,” I tell them, closing the glass door behind me and then having a seat next to Anastasia and across from Samuel.
“Morning,” Samuel says, but he barely makes eye contact, and his tone sounds off.
“Okay, now that you’re both here, let’s get down to it,” he continues. “I want our collab with Ronan to go beyond the norm. We need to schedule for him to come in and design his own drink, but we want a marketing plan that will stand out. He made it clear last night that he doesn’t do subpar, and neither do we at Kingston.
“Which is where you two come in.” His eyes flick between Red and me. “I want something that will go above and beyond, leave the competition in awe. Consider this your next test for the CEO position. We’ll meet back on Monday so you can pitch your ideas to the team.”
“Sounds good,” Anastasia chirps way too happily for someone who got left out of the dinner last night. “Oh, by the way, the day-care proposal has been approved by legal. We just need Julian’s seal of approval since he has the final say in everything.” She glances at me and flutters her lashes. “Maybe we can go over it at dinner tonight, so we can move forward?”
I bite back what I want to say—what the hell are you up to?—and go with, “Sure, sweetheart. That sounds good.”
“Great! See you later.” She leans in and kisses my cheek and then stands and practically skips over to the door before turning back around. “Oh, Dad,” she says, “lunch today?” This time, when she speaks, her facial expression matches her genuine tone. She’s not asking him to lunch as a ploy. She’s doing it because she loves her dad and is trying to make shit right.