Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
“Pardon?”
“If begging will help, make him beg. Save yourself the time and money, and it’ll save me from having to listen to this crap.”
Stop, stop, stop, a voice roars, but I can’t. I keep thinking about the unfair disgust on Vivian’s face, then the confusion on Lily’s. I keep feeling her lips against mine and tasting the other parts of her. I keep thinking of The Bear, those kids, and I’m here, doing this.
“I beg your pardon!” Rosita screeches.
“He’s going through a tough time, Rosita,” Ethan says. “You got to tell her, Landon. Now.” Ethan glares at me.
I force out a laugh. “I’m dying. Please …” When I drop to my knees, Ethan groans. “Forgive me. I fucking beg you.”
Standing, I turn and walk away, hands balled into fists. I can already hear Ethan apologizing for me as I storm out. In the street, I walk, not even thinking where I’m going. My head is cloudy. What am I thinking, pulling a stunt like that? Ethan doesn’t deserve to have to deal with this mess.
I find my way into a park, sitting down and watching as an elderly man throws a ball for his dog. I’m not sure how long I sit here. I only snap back to reality when I get a text.
It’s Ethan. This is my fault. It was unfair of me to expect you to work after getting news like this. That was a lousy friend move on my part. Take some time, Landon.
That will kill you with our workload.
With all due respect, you could’ve just killed our most lucrative contract of the year. Luckily, I salvaged this, but you know me. I’m going to have to put the business first. Take a week.
I’ll see you in a week.
I stuff my phone in my pocket. I won’t argue with him about this. Neither of us has ever acted as unprofessionally as I just did. I don’t have any space to explain, and I don’t want to. I didn’t tell a lie in there. This shit feels meaningless, which says a lot about me and how I’ve sleepwalked through life, taking the logical route.
Another text. I grab my phone, expecting Ethan. When I see Lily’s name, I almost drop the phone, a shudder moving up my arm. We need to talk. Meet me after work?
Sure, I can meet you outside. I text back immediately.
No, let’s meet somewhere else. Somewhere more private.
She doesn’t want to be seen with me. I wonder if she’s had issues at work.
We can meet at my apartment.
Okay, but no funny business?
I’ll be good if you are, I reply.
She sends back a smiling face emoji. Despite everything that’s happened, I’m smiling down at my phone. Maybe I’m putting a stupid amount of importance on that emoji, but it’s like we’ve got some hope, which should be laughable. Months, not years …
What can I offer? If I were the mature one, I’d back out of this before it’s too late. When Vivian questioned me, she was right. I’ve only met with Lily a few times. What if this illness is making me crazy?
Yet I can’t accept that. There’s this certainty scorching through me every time I think about her.
With nothing else to do, I spend the rest of the afternoon in my home gym. Moving and sweating is sometimes the only way to block out everything else. I soak the gym floor, sweat running down my bare chest. Despite the slight silver in my hair, I look healthy and strong in the mirror. I don’t look like a man who’s going to drop dead in a few months.
After a shower, I wait for my phone to go off. When it does, I jump and hurry to the elevator. Lily is waiting for me in the lobby, still wearing her work clothes, the white shirt untucked now, loose around her hips.
“Remember what I said,” she murmurs, walking into the elevator.
She looks up at me, lips pursed, cheeks that tempting, attractive shade of red.
“Are you reminding me … or yourself?”
When the doors close behind her, she lets out a small moan and collapses against me. It’s easily the hottest thing I’ve ever experienced, which maybe isn’t saying much since everything is the most with Lily. We kiss passionately, but then she presses her hand against my chest and pushes me away.
“That was it, okay? My one moment of weakness.”
“This is mine,” I growl, grabbing her hips and pulling her into another kiss. We keep going until the elevator door opens.
She moves away from me, taking a breath and smoothing her shirt. “This is about The Row,” she says. “About The Bear.”
“I thought you were done with that?” I snap.
“I am. That’s why I’m here. I need your help.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
LILY
His apartment is easily the most expensive I’ve ever set foot in. It’s a penthouse with floor-to-ceiling windows that look down over the city. Everything is modern, new, clean, and a little clinical, almost like he needs a lady’s touch.