Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 82767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
“Just about!” he smiled, kissing her back.
“I told you that you would hit traffic,” said the man, and I realized with a start how alike they looked.
“Effie, these are my parents, Bridget and Michael Callahan,” he said. “Effie Hancock is my assistant.”
They smiled at us approvingly and shook my hand, then moved off to speak to some newly arrived guests.
“Your parents seem nice,” I said, because I had to say something.
“They are nice,” he nodded. “I saw them earlier today, but even so, this is about as excited as they get about seeing me.”
“Families, eh?” I said.
“Families,” he agreed. “By the way, I hope you won’t mind me asking, is Effie short for something?”
I quickly took a sip of my drink. I figured this question would come up sooner or later, and I had an answer ready. “Yes, it’s short for Freya.”
He looked out into the crowd. “Freya. A beautiful name. It suits you.”
I’d been complimented on my name before, but this time it made me blush.
“Fuck,” Keegan sighed heavily. “This guy coming over is a total jerk.” The moment passed, and I half wondered if Keegan would even remember asking me my real name in a few minutes. Keegan continued, “He doesn’t think I should be working for the company, and he is a major shareholder, so we have to kiss his skinny ass.”
A thin man approached and held out his hand to Keegan, who shook it, smiling.
“Howard, great to see you. Glad you could come,” he said.
“I didn’t expect to see you here,” said the man with a cold smile. “You don’t usually grace us with your presence.”
“I wanted to be here tonight. This is a great day for Clover House. They have done a fantastic job with the place,” Keegan said warmly.
“Still, I’m not sure it was essential that you attend. This was all quite last-minute, so it will weigh down the old expense account no doubt,” he sniffed.
Keegan looked lost for words. The guy was a total jerk; he was right. I stepped forward and held out my hand for the man to shake.
“Effie, Keegan’s assistant. We have several issues to deal with while we are here, so we arranged the trip to ensure that we can take care of as much of it as possible. Keegan is extremely conscious of how we use company resources. That’s why spending on expense accounts is down by twenty percent this quarter compared to last year.” I smiled broadly at him.
“Very good, very good,” he nodded and moved off without another word to where the servers were emerging with appetizers.
“You’re good, Effie Hancock, I will give you that,” Keegan smiled, looking out over the growing crowd. “Maybe I should be your assistant?”
“Probably,” I agreed and laughed when he looked at me in surprise.
“God, I hate these things,” he sighed. “Although this seems to be going smoothly. I am always sure of some imminent disaster, usually because I have said something I shouldn’t have.”
“Me too,” I agreed.
“You always know what to say,” he scoffed, and I blushed. “You are always in control.”
I wondered if he was remembering that it wasn’t always true as I sipped my Champagne.
“I’m not always in control,” I said, matter of factly.
“Yeah? Like when?” he challenged.
“Like an hour ago, when I was begging the hotel reception to bring me some tape so I could get myself into this dress,” I said, still looking out over the crowd and not making eye contact.
“For real?” he laughed, and this time the laugh was genuine.
“For real,” I nodded.
“I’d never have known,” he said, glancing at the neckline of my dress where the silky fabric gathered low over my chest.
“If I move too quickly, everyone will know,” I said, my hand sitting lightly where I knew the tape was.
He laughed again. “We better go and mingle. I will introduce you to people; it will give me something to say, and then as soon as it is acceptable, I want to get out of here. I have been on a motorcycle all afternoon, and all I want is to get out of this tux,” he said, wriggling slightly.
“You and me both,” I laughed, and we moved off towards the crowd, smiling as we went.
Chapter 24
KEEGAN
I DIDN’T THINK I was that easy to shock, but Effie turned up in a green dress that was so low cut it showed a lot of flesh, and my mind wandered a couple of times to what she might look like without the dress. I was grateful for her. Not for the dress, although I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it, but for the way she spoke so articulately to the shareholders, showed genuine interest in the employees, and even seemed to make a positive first impression on my parents. So the opening wasn’t a total disaster, but I was still incredibly glad when I was able to leave. As soon as there was a lull, after Mick had made his speech and my pa had said a few words and someone – possibly my mother – had cut a ribbon, I was out of there. I told Mick I would see him later – there was always an afterparty with Mick – and Effie and I shared a taxi back to the hotel. We chatted about how it had gone well and discussed the various people we had met, but all I wanted was to get the damn tuxedo off. I made my way up to my room, bidding Effie goodnight as we reached her door.