Never Bargain with the Boss (Never Say Never #5) Read Online Lauren Landish

Categories Genre: Alpha Male, Billionaire, Contemporary, Funny Tags Authors: Series: Never Say Never Series by Lauren Landish
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Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 137077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
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I hope Riley is more forgiving.

Thankfully, Janey is a bit more optimistic. “You’re made for each other,” she states. She’s been quiet through this whole thing, just watching me spin out, but she’s Riley’s best friend, and I think unintentional or not, she’s been checking to see if I’m good enough for her. I hope I passed the test.

I look to her, my brows raised in question. “How do you know that?”

“You don’t look at each other with stars in your eyes, like wishes are easy to come by. You look at each other with reality—and all the darkness it sometimes holds—in your hearts, but at the same time, like there could be light and love waiting for you.”

“Tell me where she is.” That one I direct to Cole, because he’s the only one who’d know. I’m still mad at him for not telling me about the Austin situation from the beginning, but this is how he can make that up to me.

“Thought you’d never ask,” he quips, looking like he’s fighting a smile. He glances down at his phone, then jerks his head back up. “To be clear, if you hurt her again, I’ll bury you in a shallow grave in some deserted woods I know about.”

He wouldn’t. Not because he couldn’t or shouldn’t, but because my brother knows better than to bury a body shallowly. He’d be the one to hand-dig a hole twelve feet deep and put you in vertically so any heat sensors wouldn’t recognize it as a body.

“If I fuck up this bad again, please do it.”

He looks back down, acknowledging the request, and studies his phone. “Looks like she’s still at the hotel. Texting you the address.”

I’m already standing, my coat in my hand, and I nod. “Grace, are you good to stay here a little longer? No promises, but I’m going to go talk to Riley.”

“Go get her, Dad!” she cheers hopefully. “Bring Riley home!”

Fuck, I hope I can do that. I thought I was putting Grace first by sending Riley away, and I was willing to make that sacrifice for my daughter. But the idea that I can have it all—my daughter safe, my heart full, and Riley happy—is my dream now.

RILEY

Today has sucked. Like more than a Dyson holding up a bowling ball level of suckage.

I’ve mostly stayed in bed, staring at my phone and disassociating. At some point, I’ll have to make some decisions about what’s next for me, but today, I’m letting myself wallow in sadness.

Tomorrow, I’ll open myself up to Fate and see where she leads me.

So of course, that bitch says, ‘Heard. Check this out,’ and leads me wherever the hell she wants to, because that’s when there’s a knock at the door.

I freeze, eyes looking left and right like the answer of who’s at the door might be in the room with me. Of course, it’s not. I didn’t order food for dinner, I already paid for the night so it shouldn’t be hotel staff, and the Harrington crew already said their piece.

I climb out of the nest I’ve made myself on the bed and look out the peephole. Instantly, I start trying to fix my mess of hair, swiping under my eyes to get the dried tear-crusties off, and straightening the nightgown I never bothered to get out of. Because Cameron is here.

I look through the peephole again like he might’ve been a mirage, but he’s still there. He looks good, in his work suit, his hair perfectly styled, a five o’clock shadow appearing on his jaw, but his eyes are haunted as he stares at the door between us. Like Kayla, he knows I’m here and peeping out at him, but the truth is, there’s a lot more than two inches of wood-veneer separating us now. There’s a chasm of hurt and betrayal.

Even so, I open the door. I can’t not open for him when I love him despite everything.

“Cameron? What are you doing here?” I’m still fidgeting in a pointless effort to make myself look presentable and slightly less like a feral fairy, but it’s a losing battle.

“Riley, can we talk? Please?” He looks uncertain whether I’m going to say yes, but of course, I’m going to let him in. I step back, giving him space to come inside.

He looks around the hotel room, seeing the disarrayed pile of sheets and blankets on the bed I’ve been sleeping in and the neatly folded stacks of clothes on the other bed. After Janey, Kayla, and Miranda left yesterday, folding clothes had been my busy work, keeping my hands moving while my mind raced. Now that it’s all tidy, I think everything will fit in my usual suitcase and duffle bag combo, and I won’t need an additional bag, much less a trash bag. It also seems like a metaphor for me and Cameron at the moment—me, a complete mess, and him, all organized and neat. At least on the outside. Inside, I think we’re both pretty fucked up.



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