Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24027 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24027 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
So what the hell do I do now?
I’ve got business to attend to today, but I want to check in on her first, so I throw on some clothes and head down the hall to the bedroom she picked out for her own and knock. There’s no answer from inside, so I open the door to find the room empty and the bed made. For a brief instant, there’s a moment of worry in my chest, but then I remind myself that the house is staffed with my men, and nothing could have happened to her overnight. I head downstairs and find one of my men, who tells me that Evie is out back in the jacuzzi.
Already treating herself like a queen, I think as I make my way outside, where I find her lounging in a tiny bikini in the bubbling water. As there should be, one of my men is standing by watching over her, but I quickly dismiss him. The fact that he probably saw her get into the water in whatever skimpy outfit she’s wearing even threatens to send me into a rage.
“You’re up finally,” Evie says with a devilish little smirk as I approach the edge of the water. “Good morning.”
“I see you’ve made yourself quite at home,” I reply.
“Am I not allowed to?” she counters, stretching her arms out on either side of her. She senses my anger. She’s a smart one. “This is my home now, isn’t it?”
Her words pull a smile from my lips. She’s deliberately provoking me, testing me, seeing what I’ll do. And maybe I deserve that too. Maybe she thinks this will upset me more than it does. But as I stand there looking down upon her, something about the way she holds herself impresses me.
She no longer looks like a visitor to this home; she looks like a co-owner. And what’s stranger is that I can already see a future where I hand over some of the responsibility of this place to her.
“Yes.” I nod. “Yes, it is.”
“Then what’s the problem, honey?”
Honey? “No problem.” I smile. “Would you like some breakfast, baby cakes?” Instead of arguing, I play right into her charade. I see a flicker of surprise in her eyes, but she puts it down immediately.
“Oh, I’d love that. What do we have?”
“What do we have?” I repeat. “I am Callum Alister, have you forgotten? We have anything and everything.”
Evie’s eyes light up unmistakably at this, and she readjusts herself beneath the water, causing her breasts to rise to a more pronounced position. Christ, there’s nothing I’d like more than to strip down and slide into those bubbles with her right now.
“I just adore blueberry pancakes,” she says, really hamming it up. “But I also like scrambled eggs with chives and strawberries and whipped cream for dessert. Oh, and champagne.”
Does she think this will be hard? Does she think she’s being a pain in the ass or something?
“I’ll have that all brought out,” I reply. “And that way you can choose. How’s that sound?”
Evie takes a moment to react—as though she thought I was going to give her a hard time about her request. But then she smiles and nods.
“Yes, that would be nice, thank you.”
“As a matter of fact, I think I’ll join you,” I tell her before turning and heading inside to give the order to one of my men. To it, I add bacon and a slice of French toast for myself, as well as a glass of sparkling orange juice. Then I head back outside to join Evie by the jacuzzi.
“Join me in the water?” she asks.
“No,” I reply. “I have work to get done today. But I will join you for a bite to eat.”
“Ah, the working man.” Evie smiles with a nod. “What do you have on the agenda for today, Mr. Boss Man?”
“Well, I…” I trail off, stopping short as I realize I was just about to divulge my plans for the day without even thinking twice. Christ, this girl really has me twisted. Even Geoffrey doesn’t know the full extent of how I run my organization, and letting Evie in on my day felt as natural as discussing the weather with her. “I have a great many things to do today. I’m sure they would bore you.”
“Oh, you are, are you?” she replies, tilting her chin up, accentuating the lines of her neck, drawing my eyes down to the delicate angles of her collarbone that pull my gaze to her cleavage peeking out from above the bubbling waters of the jacuzzi. It’s like having my own personal goddess bathing on my property.
“Do you really want to hear about real estate, product inventory, political influence, spies and other rival organizations—”
“That sounds interesting,” Evie interrupts. “Spies and rival organizations? Sounds like the Godfather.”