Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 94546 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94546 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
She knows I’m lying, but she lets me off lightly. “Okay, but hurry back. It might not be a Jersey summer, but with so many people in a small space, the mousse might not hold out until you get back.” She lowers both her smile and tone when Marissa joins me standing at the entrance of the kitchen. “Both of you.”
After issuing her a smile to ensure she has nothing to worry about, I guide Marissa out of the apartment and into the hallway. “Make this quick. She knows I’m lying, and I hate that even more than the looks you’ve been giving Caleb this evening.” Unlike when he bolted out of the bathroom, the glances I’m referencing this time around aren’t amorous. “What is your issue tonight, Mar? You said you liked Octavia, but now you’re treating her differently.”
“It isn’t Octavia.”
“Then what is it?”
Before she can answer me, the thump of someone climbing the stairs booms into my ears a second before Jess stops at the landing. She was meant to join us for dinner, but a last-minute meeting saw her taking a raincheck. “Oh, hey… Mr. Carson.” Her suspicious eyes shoot to Octavia’s closed door before zooming back to me. “Are you late to dinner or leaving early?”
“We’re about to have dessert.”
My blunt reply confuses her more, but she hides it well. “Hence, Octavia’s 9-1-1 for a spatula. They’re a little light on utensils.”
I scoff out a breathy laugh. I learned that the hard way. Have you ever tried to flip an egg with a fork and a spoon? It isn’t easy.
After waving the spatula in the air, Jess murmurs, “Well, I better get this in there before we have to eat dessert off the floor.” She curls her free hand around the doorframe before angling her torso to face a frozen Marissa and me. “Are you guys coming?”
With Marissa frustratingly reserved, I reply, “We’ll be there in a minute.”
Jess is the quietest I’ve seen her as she bounces her eyes between Marissa and me before she eventually enters Octavia’s apartment. I wait for her shadow to disappear beneath the door before shifting my focus back to Marissa. “Out with it, Mar.”
“It’s Ca—”
“Maybe they forgot there’s no elevator.” Octavia’s giggles bound through the front door of her apartment a mere second before she pulls it open. Her happy expression slips off her face when she feels the tension radiating between Marissa and me. “You’re not waiting on the elevator, are you?” When I shake my head, she grimaces before muttering. “Sorry.” Her hair flicks her face when she pivots to bolt, but before she can race away, her determination to keep our relationship on an even playing field gets the better of her. She twirls around before murmuring, “If you needed a minute to talk, you could have just said that. You didn’t need to lie.”
“Octav—”
“It’s fine, Jack. I’m just saying you don’t have to wrap me in cotton wool. I’m not going to break because someone says something bad about me. We’re not flawless creatures. Our faults are sometimes what makes us the great people we are.”
After a smile that exposes I’m not in the shit, she nudges her head to Caleb and Jess in the living room. “Once you’ve finished your chat, come join us.” She stops, pauses, then tries again. “If that’s what you want. No pressure.” She appears as devastated as I feel about her assumption we’re hiding in the hallway, seeking an out from her company.
Marissa’s high shoulders slump when Octavia locks her glistening eyes with hers and says, “Just in case, it was a pleasure meeting you.” Her hand shoots out to squeeze Marissa’s hand even with her eyes relaying she’d prefer to hug her goodbye. I only get one measly word. “Bye.”
When the door doesn’t close quickly enough for me to miss her smile dropping into a frown, I curse under my breath before devoting my focus back to Marissa. Tonight had me gathering enough brownie points to last me a good couple of months, and now my sister has gone and ruined it. Even Caleb wasn’t as stiff as he was Monday night. He greeted me with a handshake and asked what I was doing for the rest of the week since it was his turn to cook this week.
After taking in my devastated expression, Marissa murmurs, “You really like her, don’t you?”
“I thought we already established that.” My words are rough and cut up, sliced through the frustration gripping my throat. I wasn’t the only one who thought tonight was going gangbusters. Octavia did as well. “So consider anything you’re going to say before saying it. I won’t have anything ruin this for me, Mar. Not even you.”
She swallows numerous times before she commences speaking, “It’s about Caleb.” Her lungs expand and release three times before she breathes out, “Why haven’t you offered him a position yet? He has decades of knowledge even with him only being twenty-eight and appears extremely driven. He would be a great asset to any company.”