Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 96454 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 482(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96454 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 482(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
That should have been a big old red flag.
I stop, hoping he’ll keep walking up those stairs. It’s a big place, and CeCe will have several rooms open, so I might be able to completely avoid him if I’m careful.
All I really need to do is get about ten minutes with CeCe to lay out my plans and get on her radar. She might have a line on a job in case this whole thing with Heath goes nowhere. I’ll show Heath around so investors know there’s a guy behind the scenes and, sadly, feel more comfortable giving us money.
It’s still a big old sexist world out there.
I’m about to try to hide behind a tree where a Goldendoodle is currently doing his business when disaster happens.
“Ivy?” Nick stops just short of ringing CeCe’s bell.
Damn it. I blame the dog. He’s overgrown and taking up all of the tree.
There’s nothing to do except hold up a hand. “Hey.”
“Is that his ex?” one of the bros asks.
So he’s new. Or he could have been around for years and this is the amount of interest he has in a woman he’s not actively trying to drag to bed. Not that I recognize him, but the other I do. Brad Langford the Third. Or Fourth. I don’t know. His father owns one of the world’s largest social media networks, not that he developed it. Rumor is he stole the idea from a group of coders who worked for him back in the nineties and then had their visas pulled so they couldn’t sue him.
Brad is trying to grow up to be his daddy.
“Yeah, surely you’ve heard,” he begins and then leans in, and I can’t hear the rest.
Though I know what he’s saying. She wrecked her company. She couldn’t hack it.
It’s not a thing I haven’t heard before, but somehow it hits me differently, probably because I’m wearing this stupid pink dress and I did my makeup and I look like a girl on her way to prom.
“Wow.” Nick jogs down the stairs, his brows raised as he looks me over. “I’ve never seen you wear pink.”
“Hey, Elle Woods. How’s it going?” Brad asks, checking out my boobs.
I frown up at him. “I’m not a blonde, and you do know she was the smart one in that film. The whole point of that film was how she brought down the asshole men around her.”
Nick shakes his head. “Don’t mind him. That’s just the way he is. It’s good to see you. I almost forgot you were here in New York until someone mentioned CeCe invited you.”
He only knows CeCe because I introduced him. And he lived with me for two years so he should have known I came from here. “Well, I knew where you were since you sent out the announcement you took the CFO job with Golden Tech. Congratulations.”
I happen to know Brad’s dad got him that job, and I have to wonder if he’s looking to take over Golden since it’s highly likely Nick will drive them to the brink of bankruptcy.
His veneered teeth shine in the lamplight. “Thanks. It’s a good place to land. I hear you’re still looking for a gig. You know we’ve got some coding jobs. They’re a little below your level, but I can get you an interview. You would be in management in no time at all.”
Humiliation threatens to swamp me, but I keep my head high. “Thanks, but I’m working on something big.”
“Ah, that’s why you’re here. I was surprised you were on the list,” he admits. “Listen, Ivy, we didn’t get much of a chance to talk.”
“We don’t need to talk.”
He ignores me. “I know we were close, and that’s why I should tell you I’ve been seeing Brad’s sister, Veronica. I didn’t want you to be surprised.”
“Hey, babe. Who’s the guy?” a deep voice asks.
I turn and Heath Marino is walking up the street. He’s in a not-designer suit and sneakers and looks so adorable I kind of want to cry because he blows past Nick and stands in front of me. He leans in as though kissing my cheek.
“You need a save, partner?” he whispers.
I should be bigger than this. I should tell him I can save myself. I can. Hearing that Nick has moved on doesn’t bother me. Good for him.
It’s the idea that I haven’t that bothers me.
“Please,” I whisper back.
And he kisses me for the first time. He’s a good head taller than me, even in the heels I forced myself to wear. It’s not a passionate kiss. It’s a brief brushing of lips.
And it is the most electric my body has ever felt.
He shifts to my side, one arm going around my shoulders as he holds the other out toward Nick. “Heath Marino. I’m Ivy’s… What are we calling me? Sorry, it’s pretty new and we’ve got a couple of things going. You know Ivy. She’s a multitasker.”