Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 135847 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 679(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135847 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 679(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
“Don’t take what I said as a complaint.”
She laughed softly, kissed him the same way, then rolled off the bed.
He knew she was going to put on a nightie. She didn’t like to sleep in the nude.
Now, no panties, that was a different story. She’d put them on if he didn’t say anything. She’d sleep without if he ordered her to.
The length of one of his walls was a massive walk-in closet that lay behind some ridged, opaque-gold sliding panels of glass.
She slid the glass open, and he watched as she pulled a nightgown out of a drawer and tugged it on.
When she reached for panties, he called, “Nope.”
She looked his way.
Smirked.
Then walked his way and bent in for another kiss before she headed to the bathroom.
When he lost sight of her, he fell to his back and stared at the ceiling.
When he heard the water go on and he knew she was brushing her teeth, he asked the ceiling, “What are you doing?”
The ceiling had no answer.
But Hale knew two things.
He needed to figure it out and either lean into it.
Or put a stop to it.
And feeling the burn of just thinking about putting a stop to it, he knew that was what he had to do.
Eventually.
Soon.
CHAPTER 23
TRAINING YOU CAN’T COMPREHEND
Hale
“So, Javi, are you in?” Hale asked the man sitting across from him in his office.
Javi ran it down. “Right, a hundred fifty K more a year. Additional stock options. Additional week leave. A raise that comes with a promotion that means I’ll get to see the world on your dime.”
Hale cut in and warned, “That kind of travel isn’t all it seems cracked up to be.”
Javier Rojas smiled at him. “I promise, Hale. When I get fed up with it in three or four years, I’ll let you know.”
Hale smiled back, ignoring the weird feeling in the pit of his stomach.
He knew what it was.
Once Javi was up to speed, Hale’s excuses would dwindle.
He’d have to deal with his mom.
He’d have to deal with that box.
He’d have to deal with Elsa.
Yup.
Time to put that shit out of his mind.
“Are you saying yes?” he pressed Javi, just as there was a knock on the door.
“I don’t want you to think I’m indecisive. But I have a life plan, Hale, and part of it wasn’t working for someone else for very long. You’re asking for a five-year commitment. I absolutely see the merits of being the second top man at Corza Holdings. But I’m asking you to let me sleep on it.”
“Take a week. It’s a big decision.” Another knock came at the door, this one more demanding, and Hale tagged it this time, because one of his assistants would knock, and if he didn’t answer, they knew, if it was urgent or they needed something critical to get on with their work, they could open the door and interrupt him. “So take the time.”
“Thanks, man.”
“Thanks for considering it,” Hale replied, then called loudly, “Yes?”
The door opened and Rocco walked just inside, followed by Heath, head of security.
“Sorry to interrupt, it’s important,” Rocco said.
“I’ll take off. Let you know as soon as I decide,” Javi said, standing and moving to the door.
“Thanks, Javi. Later.”
Rocco waited at the door and closed it behind Javi while Heath walked to the desk.
He then put his phone on it and told Hale. “It’s Chuck. Elsa’s producer.”
Hale didn’t like this one fucking bit.
He stared at Heath’s unhappy face while he greeted, “Hey, Chuck.”
“Okay, well, shit,” Chuck replied. “But I guess I’m not surprised.”
“About what?”
“About your team taking this as seriously as Zoey and I have been taking it.”
Hale liked that even less. “Taking what?”
“The death threats and creepy gifts Elsa has been getting.”
Hale’s stomach dropped and it felt like his muscles atrophied, so he had to force his mouth to move.
“What are you talking about?”
Chuck now sounded cagey. “So she didn’t call you?”
“No,” Hale bit off. “So you tell me.”
“If she didn’t tell you—”
“You tweaked about this?” Hale demanded.
“Fuck yeah.”
“So tell me,” Hale ordered.
“Elsa’s been getting a lot of messages from the same email address. When pictures started coming out of you guys in Cali, of her going into your place, they got nasty. And the gifts started. Zoey and I have been keeping the gifts from Elsa because she keeps blowing this shit off. But also because they’re all kinds of fucked up. We asked and building security have been accepting delivery for us. They call Zo or me when something comes in. We go down, check it out, take pictures, and Zoey’s reported it to the police. They come and collect the stuff, or take their own pictures, and a statement from Zoey and me.”
“What are these gifts?”
“Couple bouquets of dead flowers. An elaborate picture frame with a picture of you two in it, but Elsa’s image has been cut up. Still there, but cut up, like hand shredded with scissors. And the reason I told Hudson, who’s on Elsa today, and he told me to call it in to your people is, she got a dead cat today.”