Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 55093 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55093 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
“Well, if I’m to accompany you to these dinners with business associates, I’m going to need the appropriate wardrobe. Then there’s the hair and makeup, stuff like that. How often do you expect to need me for one of these things?” If I have my way, every fucking day and night. Until I outgrow this shit whatever it is.
“It varies. Some weeks I have a full calendar. Sometimes it may be a few nights a week. But you’ll be needed at least twice a week without question.” She went back to thinking and I saw the moment she thought she had me. She gets this mischievous little twinkle in her eyes and her lips twitch just the slightest bit. Why that should warm my heart I don’t know, but such is the case.
“Four hundred thousand a year.” She all but snickered, sure that I would turn her down.
“Done.” I would’ve given her twice as much, even more. I couldn’t withhold my grin at her fish out of water look. “And I’ll be paying for any outfits and your hair and makeup deal.”
EMILY
Is he insane? I just threw a number out there because I was sure he wouldn’t go for it. What does he mean by accepting such an offer? What the hell, kinda businessman is he? And why the hell is he grinning at me like an idiot? This day was not turning out at all the way I’d expected, and my little exercise that I’d set myself up for was not working.
I’d tossed and turned all night after dropping into bed. I wasn’t worried about the expose and the rest of the world knowing the shame of what daddy had done, no I spent the night mooning over him like I was back in high school trying to win the affections of the hottest guy there. If that wasn’t bad enough, my body, which was still bearing the effects of his nearness, took forever to calm the hell down.
I finally dropped into sleep sometime later only to dream of him. The way his arms felt, the way I wanted to just sink into him and let him take over. I woke not feeling any better, the prospect of working for him losing some of its luster as I dreaded what such close proximity to him for an extended period of time would do to me.
I dragged myself out of bed and went to check on my mother. I wanted to be the one to break the news to her, and that went pretty much the way I expected. More tears, more woe is me, and back under the covers. I need to do something about her but had no time right now because I was too busy trying to keep us off the damn streets. No point in blaming her for being who she is, who she’s always been.
The doorbell rang as I made my way downstairs and my heart went into overdrive thinking it was him. It was Simone. “Which one of those fucking pariahs did you tell about the website?”
“Well good morning to you too.” She took my coffee from my hand and marched into the house ahead of me.
“Who did you talk to?” She was in bitch mode. In fact she seemed more upset than I. “No one, I don’t think…Cindy was here the day before, but we didn’t talk about that.”
“Did you leave her alone in your room at any time, did she have access to your phone or laptop?”
“Well I did go check on mother but I was gone less than ten minutes.”
“You know how much damage a bitch like that can do in ten minutes?”
“I’m not really worried about that now, I have more pressing things on my mind.” I followed her to the kitchen where I noticed the bag she carried for the first time. It was from my favorite bagel shop and I marveled once more at her thoughtfulness. In truth, of all my friends and acquaintances, Simone is the last one I’d have expected to come through.
Her family is Uber-rich, like they could buy mine ten times over and that’s when daddy was doing well. They’re also very reserved and as far as I know tend to stay as far away from anything resembling scandal as they can. Her parents have always been over protective and I recall a time or two when she’d been forbidden to associate with certain people. Although I count her among my friends, there were others I believed myself closer to. Now look!
“Oh you mean that thing about your dad?” She waved it off like it was nothing. “That’s not your fault and has fuck all to do with you. I’m gonna rip her fucking brainless head off and shit down her neck.”
“Oh damn, you been watching Sicario again? You always go all gangsta when you watch that shit.”