Total pages in book: 210
Estimated words: 200837 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1004(@200wpm)___ 803(@250wpm)___ 669(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 200837 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1004(@200wpm)___ 803(@250wpm)___ 669(@300wpm)
But a moment later, and without a word, or even asking, his arms wrap around me and he tugs me up close to him.
That’s it.
That’s all that happens.
And I fall asleep calling him a liar in my head.
Because he actually is a gentleman.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
The out-city politician Stayn asked me to follow leaves just after lunch, so I get off early. I’m just about to shove my city-issued patrol phone through the little gap under the glass in logistics when a text buzzes in. I hold up a finger for the clerk. “One sec.” Then I take the phone back and check the message.
It’s from Stayn. See you tonight.
Tonight?
I shove the phone back through check-in, sign my name, and then go find Stayn to see what the hell he’s talking about.
Logistics is in the basement because of security, and Stayn is a top-floor kind of guy these days, so I have to ride the elevator all the way up to the seventy-fourth floor of the skyscraper to see him. But I haven’t ever been to his office, so stepping out facing those western floor-to-ceiling windows is kinda worth the trouble.
Fucking hell. So this is why guys do it. The view.
I turn away, make my way to reception, then wait as I’m announced, then directed through a buzzing door and told to turn left.
I find Stayn behind not one, but two sets of double doors, at the end of the hall. His office is… well, let’s just say my room could fit in here ten times, easily.
Stayn gets up from his desk when I’m let in. “Well. I wasn’t expecting to see you up here. Ever.”
I grin, get a little lost in his eastern view on the opposite side of the office, then turn back to him, my gawking under control. “I got your message as I was turning in my phone. I thought the job was done.”
“It is.”
“So… why are you expecting to see me tonight?”
He laughs, claps me on the back, and points to his bar. “Do you want a drink?”
“No. Just an explanation.”
“You got big plans tonight, or what? Because you said raincheck on dinner last week, remember?”
“Oh, shit. I forgot. Did we say that was tonight?”
“We didn’t. But you’re already in town. And now that you’re here, you might as well come home with me. I’ll leave early. We can go now. Janice and the girls are dying to see you again. It’s been months since you’ve come by.”
“Ah, I can’t, Stayn.”
His face furrows up into confusion, but then he turns to make me a drink I don’t want. “Why the hell not?”
“I’ve got… well, I got a girl. Waitin’ at home.”
“What?” He actually spills some of the drink when he turns around to face me again. “You… you’re… in some kind of… relationship?”
“Are you surprised?”
He bursts out laughing. “Oh, my god. You’re in a relationship. When did this happen? Who is this woman? Better question”—he points at me with the drink—“why is she dating you?”
I don’t have a backstory prepared for Clara, so I have to make up something general on the spot. “She’s one of those vagabond girls. A traveler. Just came in from…” I falter here. “I don’t know. One of the median cities.”
“And you found her… how?” He’s not suspicious. It’s genuine curiosity. Because he’s never seen me with a woman. Well, not one I’d take home.
“We bumped into each other last weekend.”
“Last weekend? Things are moving fast if she’s living at your place.”
“It’s a temporary thing. She’s outta here in a couple days. That’s why I can’t come tonight. Maybe next week, when she’s gone.”
Stayn claps me on the back again. And he might be wearing the widest smile I’ve ever seen. “Well, you just bring her along.”
“Oh—”
“No.” He shakes his head. “No. Janice will not forgive me if I don’t make you come. You’re coming. Seven. You’ve got plenty of time, so… don’t forget to take a shower. And here. Your drink.”
I want to protest, but… it might be fun to take Clara over there. Stayn, regardless of his sell-out political job, is a friend. And his family is big, and good, and his home is one of the few places where I feel comfortable outside the tower. So I give in, take the drink, down it, and leave.
All the way down to the ground floor I picture this night. Clara and me sitting in Stayn’s dining room. The walk there, the walk home. The sudden realization that this is a date. And not only that, it’s a good date. A good second introduction for us. One that paints me in a slightly better picture, if only because of the company I keep.
By the time I get up all the steps and I’m pulling my door open, it’s nearly four. But I’m still a couple hours early, so I walk in on a party.