Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 108636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
But when I finish the stack of work without Seth—let alone anyone—coming in and sniffing me out, I finally start to relax.
I’m fine. It’s fine. Everything is fineeee. Laura turned Seth’s treasonous offers down, and I don’t have to worry about the next big fiasco in my undying love and devotion to Beau Banks.
It’s all good, and I can and should go back to doing my job.
Emotionally settled, I take my neat little stack of copies and head for Neil’s office. It’s at the end of the hall, on the easternmost corner of the building with the best ocean view, of course, and as a matter of geography, I have to pass nearly everyone else’s office on the way there.
Seth’s blondish-brown hair and evil smile are unavoidably noticeable through Jay’s glass wall, and my hackles start to rise again with great immediacy. Jay is on Beau’s campaign team too, and while Seth pretends to practice his golf swing in front of Jay’s desk, Jay laughs uproariously.
I slow my walk to a shuffle and crane my neck in a way I hope isn’t too obvious, but I can’t hear either of them well enough to make any headway before I’m well past the door.
I can’t stop or linger—it’d be way too obvious.
But regardless of whether Jay caves or not, I’ve got the ominous, unshakable feeling that Seth won’t stop until someone does. I’ve now witnessed him sidling up to two of Beau’s team members with my own eyes and ears, and I can’t be in more than one part of the office at a time. The building is big, fifteen floors in total, and I’m generally relegated to the top floor where Mr. Banks’s and Mr. McKenzie’s offices are located. Both Beau and Seth’s offices are on this floor too, but the people on their teams are scattered throughout the various floors of the building.
What has he already done that I haven’t managed to see?
What a freaking sneaky snake!
Heat licks my ears and my heart throbs as I drop the copies on Neil’s empty desk and consider what in the hell to do next.
I’m not Sherlock Holmes. I’m not even Nancy fucking Drew! I don’t know how to sleuth or investigate or keep tabs on someone’s shady behavior at all. But I can’t let this go unchecked.
Seth has the potential to ruin Beau’s whole freaking campaign without him even knowing!
Gah. I cannot let that happen.
I sneak back to my cubicle and quickly use the Midnight app I just downloaded last night to get a code and scratch out a quick note to go with it. It’s a long shot, I’m sure, but not even twenty minutes ago, Beau told me with his own luscious lips that he’s been using the app to get acquainted with it.
And because of Midnight’s anonymous features, I figure it’s the safest way to go. I have to let Beau know, but the thought of trying to deliver the news in person makes my whole chest seize up tight. This app is the only way I can follow through.
As nonchalantly as I can manage, I sneak back down the hall and into Beau’s currently empty office to leave a Post-it note on his computer.
Meet me at Midnight.
9 p.m.
Dream Code: 62814
The sooner he knows about Seth’s conniving, the better.
My bedroom door slams open with a bang, the sound ricocheting off my vaulted ceiling like a gunshot. A purple throw pillow from my bed and my worn copy of Pride and Prejudice hit the floor with soft thuds thanks to a frightened elbow spasm upon the violent entry, and I clutch my chest to slow my breathing as Avery barges straight toward me, her six-inch, pointy-toed black heels clacking on the white marble of our flooring.
“Holy hell, Avery!” I gasp. “You scared the shit out of me.”
My phone sits beside me on the bed, Dream Code typed in and ready. Thank everything, it wasn’t the thing I sent plummeting toward the floor. I think I’d actually expire if I got to nine o’clock and wasn’t able to log on to see if Beau shows up because I broke my damn phone.
“Is that… Are you wearing sweatpants? And…a shawl?” Her face, covered by a full beat of beautiful makeup, twists in disgust. “By God, June, it’s not even ten.”
In contrast to my gremlin attire, she looks stunning in a body-hugging, cut-out-sporting black-and-gold dress that barely covers her nipples. It’s designer, I’m sure, but to be totally honest, I don’t know which one. I don’t keep up with the trending items nearly as closely as she does.
“I know.” A hearty sigh escapes my lungs. “But I didn’t sleep well last night. Actually, I don’t feel like I’ve slept well in a week or two. I’m exhausted.”
It’s not a lie per se. But it’s not really the truth either. I could fly to China with just the flap of my arms with the adrenaline I have running through my body right now, despite not getting good shut-eye in ages.