Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 63854 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63854 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
I hold my breath as the guy approaches a patch of asphalt that’s well-lit by the yellow street lights.
It is Joseph.
I walk up to him, grab him by the shoulder, and hit him in the face—twice.
I observe him as he tumbles backward, shock and fear in his eyes. Falling down to his ass on the ground, he wipes the blood on his face with the back of his hand.
Then, before he sees my face, I walk away.
“Hey!” Joseph yells from behind me.
Come up here and fight me if you want, asshole. I’m raring for a fight here.
But, of course, he does nothing. All talk and nothing to back it up.
Figures. He’s only a big bad bully to those weaker than him because he needs to hide what a fucking weak little bitch he really is inside.
“Seems like you and Sally were discussing something important,” Ava says when she joins me in my office.
We’ve been in Ashbourne for a little over a month, and we’ve just decided to rent a little office space for the business temporarily because we were cluttering up Ava’s place with our laptops and documents.
It’s nice to be able to spread out. This place is just the right size for the seven of us—Ava, me and my brothers, and Sally.
Ava doesn’t go to work at the high school anymore now. They fired her, those idiots.
But whatever. It’s their loss because Ava’s turning out to be quite an important asset to our business. And, of course, I love having her here, and so do my brothers.
The only problem with having Ava work with us in an office? Sally.
Not that Sally is hostile toward Ava, or the other way around. They’re perfectly civil and professional to each other. They work well together, actually.
But even though Ava said they were friends, she seems to keep Sally at arm’s length, and sometimes I get the feeling she does that out of jealousy.
Like right now, for example.
“Of course,” I say. “I wouldn’t have asked Sally to see me here if it wasn’t important.”
“Right.” Ava puts a folder on my desk and takes a seat across from me.
“Are you jealous, beautiful?” I tease her.
“Not at all.” Ava smiles, although I can see the speck of turmoil in her otherwise-serene eyes.
I know Ava feels uneasy about Sally, but she has no reason to worry.
I don’t blame her, though, because even my brothers think Sally’s got a crush on me. But they can’t be more wrong. I’ve just never felt the need to correct them, especially when it’s not my secret to reveal, but Sally’s.
If Ava’s going to continue working here—and I hope she will—we need to straighten things out. That’s why I had a long talk with Sally. As awkward as it was, I needed her permission to tell Ava the truth.
“Other than Sally, do you like everything else about working here?” I ask.
“I do like Sally,” Ava insists. “We’ve known each other for ages. We went to the same high school, and we met up for drinks. We’re friends.”
“Okay.” I flash Ava a smile. “Do you like working here?”
“Yes,” she says quickly. “I like everything about it—including Sally.”
“Ava, I’ve got your contract right here. Just like we discussed, Liam’s drafted your document so you get the same clearance and authority level as any one of us. That means you get to make executive-level decisions.”
“I still don’t think I deserve that kind of power right out of the gate,” Ava says, looking nervous.
“And I hope you won’t use it for at least one year, until you get used to all aspects of the business and understand how one little decision can affect the different parts of the system. But it’s written right there in black and white so you can sign stuff and whatever in the future.”
“Yeah.” She nods as her fingertips land on the thin stack of paper. She pulls it toward her, sliding it over the smooth surface of the desk.
“And before you sign that, I want to say something about Sally.”
“Mason, really, there’s no need.” Holding a pen, Ava’s hand hovers over the contract. “She’s just your assistant and I don’t really have any reason to be jealous. Whenever you communicate with her, it’s always about work. I feel silly for feeling this way.”
“You can’t help the way you feel.” I lean forward in my chair and clasp my hands on the desk in front of me. “Listen, I’ve never told any of my brothers this, so I hope you’ll keep this a secret.”
“What is it?” Ava stares at me, her eyes dulled with worry.
“Don’t worry. Nothing bad’s happened,” I say. “The only reason I’ve never told them is because they don’t need to know. But you do. And Sally agrees.”
“Wait a minute; you told Sally you were going to tell me whatever you’re about to tell me?”