Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 64704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
“Of course I am. There’s never been anything between Julia and me. Believe me, I would know. After seeing the two of you together, no one but an idiot would ever think that she has the hots for me,” I pointed out. “Is that what’s going on? You’ve been lusting after a woman who you thought had the hots for me?”
Jim opened his mouth and immediately closed it. I could see the wheels in his head turning. “Maybe,” he finally muttered. “You two work late at night, and you took that vacation together a couple of months ago.”
“First of all, you’re a stupid son-of-a-bitch. That vacation was nothing more than a chance for me to relax while still getting work done. I paid her to answer all of my correspondences. She got a working vacation out of it, and nothing happened. Secondly, you need to fix this. Take her out this weekend and fuck her silly so I can have my mildly annoyed assistant back instead of this overly angry woman I’ve been forced to work with.”
“Yeah, about that.” Jim cleared his throat. “I might have already screwed that up. I probably said some things that I shouldn’t have.”
“Like I said. Stupid son-of-a-bitch.” I got up and started collecting my things. “Beg. Grovel. Fix it.”
“Yeah. And what about you? How are you going to let the woman that you bought and paid for know that you’re in love?”
“Stop saying that,” I snapped. “Things between Daisy and I haven’t changed.”
“Right,” he scoffed. “So, in a week, you’re going to let her go so she can run back to that creepy kid who works on the second floor?”
The hell I was letting her go back to Ralph. She deserved to be with a man who appreciated her. She deserved to be with me.
I couldn’t lie. Things between Daisy and I had changed. She was the most genuine woman that I had ever met. She wasn’t out for all of my money or for power. She just wanted to be with me. It wasn’t just about sex anymore for me, either. Oh, I still craved her. Desperately and with every fiber of my being. I ached when we were apart, but I didn’t just want her body. I also wanted to see her smile. Wanted to see her enjoying her life.
That day at the park had been one of the best days of my life, and it hadn’t been about sex at all. It had just been about making her smile.
I was in love with Daisy, and knew that she was in love with me. It shouldn’t terrify me. It should make me happy. This was something that I never thought would happen to me. I found one woman that could satisfy me both in and out of bed, someone that I could see building a life with.
I’d pay Ralph. Throw in an extra hundred thousand dollars, and he wouldn’t even blink an eye about losing her, and then Daisy would be mine.
Whistling to myself, I left the office and headed home. The penthouse was dark, but I hadn’t expected Daisy to still be awake. It had been a long weekend for her, and it was well after midnight. As much as I wanted to bury myself inside of her, I would kiss her on the cheek, snuggle with her, and let her sleep.
She’d left a note for me about dinner, but I’d eaten earlier, and she could warm it up for lunch tomorrow. I made a mental note to hire another maid. Daisy wasn’t going to be cleaning the penthouse anymore. She wasn’t going to be my servant or my slave. She’d be my equal.
Heading up the steps, I found myself ridiculously pleased to see her. Her bedroom was empty which meant that she was in my bed. I loved that it was an automatic response for her. The door to my bedroom was cracked open, but before I could walk in, I heard her voice.
She was on the phone.
“I can’t wait for the week to be over,” she whispered. The anguish in her voice was evident, and it felt like a fist closed around my heart.
“I don’t know, Ralph. Things are different now, and I want us to be together…”
She stopped suddenly and gasped. After a few moment of silence, she sniffed. “I’m sorry. I love you too, Ralph.”
Rage bloomed in my chest. Here I was, planning on giving her everything that she wanted, and she was telling that sniveling little ass wipe that had sold her that she loved him. She was giving him her heart.
How could I have been so wrong about her? She was nothing more than an opportunistic gold-digger. Normally, I could spot them a mile away, but she had played me good. Those soft little whimpers. That submissive attitude. It was nothing more than a mask.