Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 78085 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78085 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
And with that, he turned and walked toward the elevator, leaving me speechless at the entrance of the newspaper office.
Twenty minutes later and I was still pacing outside my father’s office. Brax had been in there the entire time. Once or twice, I’d heard faint male laughter.
The door opened, and I turned to see Brax shaking my father’s hand. “I’m honored you’ve given me this opportunity, Mr. Tilson.”
With his free hand, my father slapped Brax on the shoulder. “No need to be formal here, Braxton. You can call me Mike.”
I balled my hands up into fists, and it was only when my nails cut into my skin that I realized I was about to draw blood.
“Dad, are you free?” I asked.
My father gave me a once-over. “Didn’t you have that outfit on yesterday?”
I looked down and frowned. Shit. Deciding it was best to ignore that, I asked, “I have a question about a marketing campaign that’s starting tomorrow. Do you have a minute to talk?”
Brax winked at me. “I was leaving. He’s all yours.”
My father turned to look at him. “Good talking to you, Braxton. Tell Keegan and Barbara I said hello.”
“I will, Mike.”
There was no way I could miss the satisfied expression on Brax’s face as he walked past me.
My father’s receptionist, Beth, quickly stood. She was my age and had an appealing girl-next-door look. “Did you need anything, Mr. Bradley? Breakfast? Coffee?”
“Coffee sounds nice, but only if you’re free.”
She giggled and looked down at the floor as she moved her shoe around at nothing.
I stared at her in disbelief. “Did she offer him breakfast and then giggle?”
My father grinned. “This is going to be great.”
Turning to him, I asked, “What is?”
Beth went on. “It’s too early for me to take a break, but we do have a café down on the second floor I can show you.”
“Beth, go ahead and take a break,” my father said. “And show Braxton around the paper as well. He’ll be working for us soon.”
When I looked back at Beth, I swore she was going to burst from excitement at any moment. And when I swung my gaze to Brax, he had a shit-eating grin on his face.
After she grabbed her cell phone, Beth took Brax’s offered arm. As they started toward the elevator, he asked, “Beth, how do you sleep at night? Any trouble sleeping?”
I stepped toward them, my head feeling like it was going to explode from the blood rushing to it, but my father gently took me by the arm. “Harlee.”
His voice pulled me back down from my anger-induced craziness. Spinning on my heels, I marched into his office. Once I heard the door shut, I got right to it.
“How could you let him publish a response to my article, Dad?”
He made his way around his desk and sat. He motioned for me to sit too, but I shook my head.
“When I got the call from Brax yesterday evening, I told him to write something up and email it to me. An hour later, I had it in my inbox. Once I was sure it would get to press on time, I gave him a call to let him know that I loved the idea the moment I heard it.”
“Never mind, I think I will sit.” I flopped into the oversized chair. That was a mistake, because the smell of Brax immediately surrounded me. I tried my best to ignore it. “You actually think that was a good idea?”
He laughed. “Harlee Tilson, you’re in marketing. You know it was a good idea. You’re letting your feelings for the boy cloud your judgment.”
My mouth dropped open for the third time that morning. “I beg your pardon?”
He rolled his eyes. “You forget that I know it’s you writing those articles. You also forget I was there the day you came home crying your eyes out, telling your mother and me that you hoped Braxton Bradley fell off his boat and broke both his legs. It wasn’t hard for us to figure out that he somehow broke your heart.”
“He didn’t break my heart,” I scoffed.
Dad raised a single brow, silently asking me if I wanted to stick by that statement.
“Fine, he broke my heart.”
Leaning back in his chair, he said, “Now, whether you want to believe it or not, you’ve opened up a can of worms by declaring to the whole town that Brax is looking for love. Why did you do that, by the way?”
I shrugged. “I dunno. I thought it might be kind of funny to watch all the women in town try to get his attention.”
He lifted his hands and made a tent with them while resting his chin on his index fingers. “And you didn’t think, if that happened, he might actually meet someone he’s interested in?”
“Ha! He’s most likely slept with all of Seaside. If he hasn’t found anyone yet, I doubt he will.”