Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 84401 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84401 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
I cringed. “And he told you?”
“He asked if you were the no-strings-attached kind of girl. I threw my purse at him.”
She stroked my head, then she reached over, grabbing the ice cream bucket and stealing my spoon before shoving a spoonful into her mouth. My eyebrows shot up. She took another spoon before offering a spoonful to me.
“I must be a pitiful sight if you’ll forget about carbs and risk your size zero,” I said jokingly. My voice was scratchy from crying for hours.
Fiona shoved another spoonful into her mouth, almost defiantly, then spoke with ice cream in her mouth. I couldn’t remember the last time Fiona had displayed such an unladylike behavior. “Who cares about carbs?”
And then the tears came again. “I’m such a stupid cow, Fiona.”
“I know,” Fiona said quietly, putting the bucket aside and wrapping her arm around my shoulder.
I gave her a look.
“You are,” she said affectionately. “How could you let that dickhead get so close, and worse, his dick?”
“I don’t know. It just happened. He can be so funny and caring and gentle.”
“But he can also be the biggest womanizing egocentric asshole in the world, Evie. And you know it. Hell, you’ve seen him do all kind of assholey things. You complained to me about all of them.”
“I know.” But he’d never been like that to me. Until now. For some reason I’d thought things could be different between us.
“It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have asked you to become his assistant. But I didn’t think he’d make a move toward you.”
I pulled back, realizing something. “You thought he wouldn’t make a move because he didn’t do fat girls, right?”
Guilt flashed across Fiona’s face. “You aren’t fat,” she said.
“Don’t sugarcoat it. I’m nowhere near a size zero.”
Not for lack of trying, by God. Deep down I wondered why Xavier had slept with me at all. I couldn’t blame it on an alcohol-induced slip in judgment because we had only drunk non-alcoholic beer. Maybe he’d wanted to find out how it was to bang a curvy girl.
“I’m sorry, Evie. I’m a bitch.”
I nodded. She hugged me. “Do me a favor: forget him. Move on. There are so many decent men out there that will treat you right.”
As if it was that easy. “I don’t think I can,” I said miserably. “And I’m his personal assistant. I have to face him every day. I don’t think I can bear seeing him with another girl again.”
“Then quit. You’ll find a new job. Give him your three-week notice and let him continue his shitty life. With a little luck, he’ll get a bad case of syphilis and his dick falls off.”
“There’s a clause in my contract that I can’t leave until I’ve found him a suitable assistant or six months have passed.”
“It can’t be that hard to find a new assistant for him.”
“Last time you had to get me from the States because all the respectable assistants wanted nothing to do with him.”
“Well, then he’ll have to settle for a lousy assistant. That’s not your problem.”
I sighed. If this had been only sex, maybe then it could have worked but for me at least, emotions had been involved.
“Come on, let’s watch one of the horrible splatter movies you’re into,” she said, turning on the TV. “Just let me put the ice cream in the freezer since you already have two buckets.”
I nodded and leaned back. Fiona returned, wrapping an arm around me. Turning on the TV, we watched in silence for a long time until I got tired of the itchiness of my skin that reminded me too much of last night. “I should grab a shower. I didn’t want to do it in Xavier’s penthouse this morning.”
Fiona wrinkled her nose. “You should have told me that you still have Xavier all over you, then I would have put on gloves hugging you,” she said teasingly. I shoved her and she fell back with a smile.
My own lips pulled into a small grin. Trust Fiona to make me feel better. She’d always been good at consoling me. When people had teased me for my weight in school, she’d let me cry on her shoulder, and later kicked their asses.
I got up and winced. God, it hurt like a bitch. Fiona gave me an understanding look. “Sore?”
“Yeah,” I said, embarrassed.
Fiona got up. “I can’t believe you lost your V-card to that asshole.”
“I’m already in pain, do you need to add fuel to the fire?”
“That bad?” she asked, then shrugged. “I mean you kind of deserve it.”
I rolled my eyes.
Her eyes hardened, turning protective. “Was he being an inconsiderate asshole?”
“He didn’t know.”
“Yeah well, doesn’t mean he has to act like a caveman.”
“Fiona, I really don’t want to talk about it, but he was really careful after he figured it out.”
“Then why are you so sore?”