Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 81581 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 408(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81581 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 408(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
“Make yourself at home, why don’t you?” I grumble.
He winks at me and points to a steaming mug on the coffee table. Swallowing down my irritation, I sit down next to the big man with the intense gaze and take his peace offering. The coffee tastes good. I’d expected it to be the way he likes it. One cream. Two sugars. A bit of cinnamon. But it’s the way I like it. Black with a hint of sugar.
“How did you know—”
He cuts me off. “I need your help.”
My brows shoot up. “This is work related?”
His fingers run through his dark hair, messing up the gel, and a lock falls down over his eyebrow. It gives him a boyish quality, despite his age. I know he’s at least fifteen years older than me. Vaughn was much older too. I shudder at that thought.
“I wanted you to take a look at this property. Tell me what you think,” he says, his voice gruff as he scratches at his jawline. I’m mesmerized by the way his long finger absently scrapes along the hair that’s just beginning to grow in there.
He hands me the file, and I blink away my daze. “This is the Collins property. I thought you already acquired it yesterday.”
He nods but his brows pinch together. “I did. It’s a resort a little up north. Do you think it was a good purchase?”
I feel like this is a trick question. Or maybe he’s just toying with me. Either way, I don’t like how he suddenly feels the need to include me in on business. Maybe it’s about Mr. Collins. What if he’s here to gripe at me for pushing the old man into selling?
“Sales price was fair for the market value,” I say slowly as I scan the documents. “It’s quite beautiful actually.” I stare at the picture of the ocean view.
“Very beautiful,” he agrees.
When I glance at him, his penetrating gaze is on me and not the picture. It sends a quiver of excitement rushing through me. I quickly scold myself internally and drag my eyes back to the file. “Everything looks fine to me. Looks to be a good investment.”
He lets out a sigh that has me glancing at him again. “I agree. How did you learn all of this? You’re working as my assistant and yet you know all of these things. I was searching for a document and the IT department granted me access into your computer. You have so many emails…”
Horror washes over me. And shame. As much as he pisses me off, I never intended for him to see my drafts in my inbox. Some of those emails I typed up were when I was angry. Not just at him but at the entire world. He always bore the brunt of my fury. Thankfully, I was smart enough to never send them. I never dreamed he’d ever read them.
“I’m sorry—” I start, my voice but a whisper. I wonder if he’s come to tell me I can just quit without working my last two weeks. That stresses me out, considering I just mailed out my most recent paycheck—well most of it—back home. I’m sure Sean would let me start early, but I already feel humiliated by how I acted around him last night.
“Don’t be. I know I’m difficult to understand and apparently difficult to work for.” He turns his sharp gaze on mine. I see the way his eyes dart over my face, inspecting every feature closely as if I’m on display under a microscope. It unnerves me, yet I find my body heat rising from his close inspection. “Tell me how you know these things, Violet.”
I stiffen my back and let out a small sigh. “I’m perceptive. One of those watch-and-learn personalities. Also, I research a lot of things. If I’m interested, I try to learn more about it. I even took some night classes. Most of them were business related. Some touched on the economy and investments. I can’t really say I learned it all from one place. It was more or less a culmination of many things.” His eyes are on my mouth as I speak. I like how focused on me he is but at the same time, I’m disgusted.
Vaughn kept a close eye on me and I hated it.
I sip my coffee, directing my attention to the window. The rain pours outside. I should send Gray out in it and hope he gets drenched for being such a prick earlier. As if in tune with my thoughts, he speaks.
“I’m sorry about breakfast. I didn’t mean to pry…”
“But?” There’s always a but.
He scrubs his face and regards me with a vulnerability I’ve yet to see from the powerful Grayson Maxwell. “But I’m just so curious about you right now.”
His honest answer has me regarding him with gentler eyes. I know I can be a cold, hard bitch sometimes. Maybe part of the reason I don’t have any friends is because I refuse to let anyone in. My walls are always erect and impenetrable.