Total pages in book: 157
Estimated words: 159208 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 796(@200wpm)___ 637(@250wpm)___ 531(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 159208 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 796(@200wpm)___ 637(@250wpm)___ 531(@300wpm)
“Is she coming?” I hear another voice in the background, high-pitched and concerned.
“Wait. Is Anna in your office with you?” I pause. “Guys, what is going on?”
“We’re having a meeting,” Jane says, clearing her throat.
“Umm—what’s this about? It sounds pretty urgent.”
Silence on the other end of the line. Dread and hope blow through me in equally heady doses.
“Well, will one of you come with me?” I ask.
“She wants us to go with her,” Jane whispers, probably to Anna.
“No, we can’t! Tell her...” Anna’s voice fades out.
“Dakota, I’m confident you won’t need the backup,” Jane says.
I glare at the phone.
“O-kay. Well, tell Anna if I’m being set up, I’ll never speak to her again,” I say sharply.
“Will do. We’ll talk after...you’ll see.” Again, with that cryptic phrase, she hangs up.
I slam the phone down and groan.
Oh, well. I might as well get this over with.
I swear, I’m going to give this colossal bonehead a piece of my mind for dragging me into this. He can’t just drop in and out of my life on a whim.
If he’s returned to mess with me, I may just quit on the spot.
With the payments starting from the wedding line in a few months, I’ll have more savings than I could ever dream of to tide me over until I find another job—or shut myself away from the world in a cave to hack out poems.
My knees feel like cement as I hitch an elevator ride up to the C-level suite.
I storm past Lucy, who’s back from maternity leave, stalk past my old desk, and throw Lincoln’s door open.
It’s—empty?
My breath heaves out of me.
I don’t get it. Why go through this much drama just to get me here if I’m alone?
Wary, I walk in for a closer look. I peek under the desk. I’m not sure why because jumping out of a closet seems a bit much even for him. It’s quiet, though.
Too freaking quiet.
Until a small dark shape moves behind the window and stops on the balcony.
“Holy shit!” I mumble, falling back and catching myself.
My heart races. What was that?
It’s way too small and fast to be a person...
Moving to the glass door in front of the balcony, I push it open cautiously.
“Caw!” A huge raven barrels at me.
I throw my arms up, shielding my face like I just became an extra in Hitchcock’s greatest film. “Aaahh!”
Swoosh.
Something drops near my feet as the bird darts over my shoulder.
Its deafening calls fade as it flies, soaring through the space between a couple tall buildings across the street.
I drop my arms, trying to catch my breath as I see it.
A rolled-up piece of paper, tied with what looks like a gold ribbon, lays beside my feet.
...a scroll?
No way. He had a carrier pigeon—a carrier raven!—deliver a message?
I pick it up, too curious not to read it.
Nevermore,
I realize the bird drop was probably over the top. I’d apologize for the theatrics, but I had to get your attention somehow. Texting wasn’t getting the job done.
I’m sorry I hurt you.
I was an asshole of the highest order. Worse, I was a total fool.
When I said there was nothing between us, I let the past get the best of me. I was rattled because for the first time since shit went down with my ex, I lost control.
I know my mother told you about that.
In the heat of the moment, in self-defense, I became an angry, uncontrollable wreck. A monster I swore I could never be again.
I’m not the sort of man who loses control easily. But when I’m around you, I can’t help it.
You make me feel things I didn’t know I could.
You give me passion, and that scared me at first. Only, now I’ve realized true stupidity is pushing away the only woman I’ve ever loved.
When I stepped away from my position here, it was to protect both of us.
I tried to shield our hearts from the ravages I’ve watched love inflict on so many good people. Let me explain.
Wyatt loved a woman more than his own life. She abandoned him, left him broken, and he descended into chaos.
The only thing my parents ever loved as much as each other was me. When my dad died, my mother lost her spark. She might take no crap from anyone and live an active life, but she’s not the same woman.
Then my own engagement with Regina. Her betrayal savaged me. I beat the man she was fucking within an inch of his life when he goaded me into a fight. It damned near cost me my own life.
This was my fear—a fear I won’t be ruled by anymore.
I also won’t make any grand promises.
If you hear me out, I can’t promise you perfection. I can’t guarantee I won’t screw up.
The only thing I can offer with certainty is all my fucking heart.