Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 35111 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 140(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35111 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 140(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
She tried to be very professional about it, prepared to work whatever kind of notice Rose needed because she did like her job, but all thoughts of being nice and accommodating fled when Rose started calling her several names.
Velvet started mentally counting sheep.
But then Rose made the mistake of mentioning Mairi.
Mykolas knew the exact moment Velvet lost her composure. She didn’t shout or scowl, but the flash of pain in her eyes told him the other person must have said something that hit her on the raw. In a perfectly sweet voice, Velvet began weaving a tale.
“Thank you for the sermon about my loose morals. It would have been so much more believable if I didn’t know that you’ve also accepted bribes from parents to get students in your oh-so-highly-esteemed school. It would have been so much more believable if I didn’t know for a fact that you want a Greek billionaire for yourself. At least I want mine for the super-hot, mind-blowing, earth-shattering sex. You just want one so you can finally stop working...”
Mykolas didn’t know whether to laugh or grimace when Velvet ended with “...and let me tell you this. While you’re having fun with your vibrator, I’m having sex twenty times a day because my fiancé can get it on anytime!”
Chest heaving, Velvet pressed the button to end the call with relish. When she looked back at Mykolas, he raised an eyebrow at her. No more lies or exaggerations, eh?
“It was not an exaggeration. We can do it twenty times, right?”
He just looked at her.
She said defensively, “It’s her fault, really. I hated how she made Mairi sound like a scheming gold-digging bitch when she’s not one at all! Just because she dreamt of marrying a Greek billionaire doesn’t make her a gold-digger!”
He said truthfully, “I’m sure what you say is true but from where I’m standing, that does sound a trifle suspect.”
“You’ll know what I’m saying is true when you get to know Mairi,” Velvet said dismissively, used to everyone’s initial misconceptions of her friend. “And you know,” Velvet added hotly, “she even refused to give Mairi a proper reference—-”
“But she had a right to do so, agape mou,” he pointed out gently. “What Leventis and his new fiancée—-”
“His only fiancée,” she corrected sharply, bristling. She didn’t like the insinuation that her friend was a momentary infatuation and the other Greek billionaire could very well replace Mairi for another woman just as quickly as he had dumped his first fiancée.
She had seen how much Mairi loved Damen. It would be heartbreaking for Velvet if the two were to break up. Especially now, Velvet thought. If those two didn’t make it, then it was like a bad omen for her and Mykolas as well.
“Let’s not argue about them,” Mykolas was saying. “I’d rather we concentrate on our own upcoming marriage.”
His serious tone had her looking up at him. She still felt a little awkward sitting on his lap. It felt too wanton, but Mykolas seemed to consider this as a favorite position for them so Velvet tried to be blasé about it.
“You have seen how people have reacted to our engagement. It won’t get any easier or better when we do marry. Do you think you would be able to handle it?”
Mykolas tried not to hold himself too stiffly as he waited for her answer. His father’s third wife, Chantal, had been unable to. Chantal had been like a second mother to him – the only one of his father’s wives who had truly treated him like a son. But in the end, she had been unable to handle all the snide and backbiting remarks that had gone with the territory of being Mrs. Sallis No.3. When she had left, she never looked back – never attempted to contact him even once, and that had been one of the most painful things Mykolas had ever experienced.
Mykolas’ tension was palpable, and knowing a little of his background now, she had a good guess why he remained wary of her ability to handle their marriage of convenience. Her heart ached as she imagined Mykolas as a young ten-year-old, waiting every day for just one message from Chantal until his father had brusquely told him that none would come since Chantal was too busy having fun spending her divorce money.
“It won’t end like that between us, Mykolas,” she said, swallowing. The fact that he cared this much to make sure she was not another Chantal was proof that he was well on his way to loving her, wasn’t it?
At that moment, her heart was overflowing with so much love for him it was pure torture not to tell him. She tried to find the right words to comfort Mykolas without blurting out her feelings, but none came to mind.
Mykolas was still tense.