Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 91058 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91058 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Chapter Four
Scarlett
Kendra shoots up out of her chair with a smile already in place. I’m shocked to realize she’s a pipsqueak. I’m 5’6”—not exactly a giant—but still, I’ll bet Kendra barely comes up to my shoulder.
“Mr. Rhodes, it’s an absolute honor,” she says, rushing toward him with her hand outstretched.
Oh really? Tell the truth, Kendra. Not two minutes ago you were begging to be free of him.
I roll my eyes, and Hudson catches it. Great.
“Are you coming, Ms. Elwood, or would you like me to write out a formal invitation?”
Smug jerk. I shove out of my chair and grab my bag, aware of everyone’s eyes on me as I shimmy around the conference table and make my way toward the front of the room. My cheeks burn red hot. My anger and indignation brew right under the surface. My mom has always had a bit of a temper, and unfortunately, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
“Asshole.”
I don’t miss the sharp intake of breath from every person in the room. Bethany actually groans.
My new boss stares at me like he’s never been more bored in his life.
“Are you done?”
I stay absolutely silent, immediately regretting my impulsive outburst.
Without another word, he turns and walks away. We’re clearly meant to follow.
Kendra shoots me a lethal glare the moment he’s not looking our way. “Are you insane?!” she whisper-hisses. “He’s a partner!”
Dammit.
I should have held my tongue. I know that. I’m just…I’ve never been good at thinking first and speaking second. Why do you think I’m here working in mergers and acquisitions rather than in criminal law?! I could never cut it in a courtroom. I’d lose my cool the moment the judge sided with the opposing counsel.
No, this is where I belong, in a nice, orderly specialty, one where you cross a lot of t’s and dot a lot of i’s—all from the confines of a quiet desk. I just…have to make it to that desk first.
Hudson storms down the hall up ahead like it’s his goal to lose us. I keep up, no problem—I’m still angry, after all, so there’s a lot of energy to burn—but poor Kendra is basically having to all-out sprint.
She curses as her bag slips off her shoulder and a few of her things tumble to the carpet. I turn back to help her, grabbing a tube of lipstick before it can continue rolling away, but she wrenches it out of my hand before I can offer it to her.
“I don’t need your help,” she bites out snidely.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to respond with something equally rude, but then where would we be?
Instead, I push to stand and leave her there to collect her belongings on her own. Hudson hasn’t slowed his pace up ahead. I watch as a young associate walks out of a door to the right just in time to cut directly into Hudson’s path. The associate’s eyes go wide as he halts, pivots, then darts right back into the room he came from. It’d be funny if not for the fact that I’m in no position to laugh at the moment.
Finally, Hudson reaches a glass door through which I can see a formal reception area. This is Hudson’s corner of the 70th floor, where he and his team all work together. There’s a neat row of gold plaques bolted into the wall beside the door.
Hudson Rhodes, Partner
Sophie Smith, Senior Associate
Bethany Quinn, Senior Associate
There are more names, but I don’t have time to read them before Hudson yanks the door open for us. I’m right behind him, but Kendra hasn’t fully caught up since her mishap with her bag.
It gives him and me an awkward few seconds to stand there, beside one another, absolutely painfully quiet while we wait for her.
How would I normally act when meeting a partner for the first time? That’s easy; I’d be deferential and polite, so…I dig deep for those emotions as I peer over at Hudson out of the corners of my eyes.
He’s not looking my way. To him, I don’t exist. He’s skewering Kendra as she scurries the last few feet toward us.
That’s fine. I take the opportunity to size him up while his annoyance is focused elsewhere. He’s wearing a black suit and a pale blue tie. Everything looks to be designer. Ho-hum. Can’t fault him there. I look down at his watch tucked partway beneath his crisp white cuff. The pronounced veins in his hands. Rather large hands…though of course they would be. He’s tall, much taller than me, which makes him hilariously huge compared to Kendra. I’m smiling at the mental image when his eyes slowly slice to me as if he’s been aware of my attention this whole time.
I almost stumble back from the intensity of his gaze.
“I’m Scarlett El—”