Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
“I don’t want to get into this.”
“Too bad. You need to. Did you ever tell him why you left?”
Haisley winced. “No.”
“How is anything supposed to work out if you don’t level with him?”
“He gave up on me, Gracie. Whatever he felt is gone.”
“It didn’t look like that on New Year’s Eve.”
“That was tequila, and things have changed. What would be the point of telling him I love him now, when he’s so clearly moved on?”
“Because that’s not clear. And you need to get this off your chest. Put the ball in his court. Make him think.”
“Charli did that once upon a time with Daniel, and look how that isn’t working out.”
“Apples to oranges. Nash is hardly Daniel.”
“Thank god.”
“You never thought he was good enough for Charli.”
“Because he’s not. Rat bastard.”
“What I’m trying to say is, we’re all different people in different situations. Just because it might not work out for them doesn’t mean it can’t for me. Or for you…”
Haisley shifted in her seat, hot discomfort prickling her skin. She was being a coward; she knew that. Was it possible that, all this time, Nash had been harboring feelings, too? That he’d been reluctant to tell her and risk his heart?
The thought tilted her world on its axis. Her head spun.
“But even if Nash has moved on—which I don’t think he has—wouldn’t you rather know instead of angsting about it?”
“You…might be onto something. I have to think. But this conversation isn’t about me. Tell me all about Kane. What’s going on?”
“Besides the fact he makes me laugh and he’s upped my orgasm quotient by about a million?” Gracelyn flashed her a lopsided smile, complete with dimples.
By the time they left the bistro, Haisley was cautiously optimistic for her friend. But when it came to Nash, she was still reeling. What if she was missing out on something deeper with him, something that could make her profoundly happy, all because she was too afraid to risk her heart again?
As she pulled away from the restaurant to head home, her phone rang. Seeing Nash’s name on her display made her heart leap and race. Did he want to see her tonight?
“Hey.” She tried to sound casual, not like she was freaking out. Not like she was eager to lay eyes—and anything else she could—on him. Definitely not like she was on the verge of blurting I love you. “What’s up?”
“Did you get the chance to talk to Benedict this afternoon?”
So he didn’t want to see her. Yes, she’d asked for professionalism…but she still felt let down.
“No. He was in another shitty mood. About four, he tore out of his office, marched down the hall, and yelled at Mila. Then he screamed some more at a few of the accounting folks. He kept tearing through the office like a tornado before he unloaded his temper on me about negative press from some independent journalist on YouTube before he slammed out of the office. Mila crept out a few minutes later, looking shaken, and left, too. I doubt she went home.” At least Haisley wouldn’t have if she’d been Benedict’s wife.
“Any chance anyone is still at the office?”
“There’s always a chance, but I doubt it. Most of those people… When five o’clock rolls around, they blaze a path to the parking lot. What’s going on?”
“I need to search your boss’s office.”
“Tonight?”
“I don’t think this can wait. Ethan intercepted a new communication on the laptop he swiped. Apparently, someone wasn’t aware that Yuslav quit his job because they sent him an urgent message. It’s encoded, but between Ethan and my brother, they figured out the cipher. Whoever reached out says they have another buyer, and they need fresh product—fast. The request was for someone younger than usual.”
“Younger than sixteen?” That made Haisley sick. “Ugh. You’re right; we can’t waste a moment.”
“My bosses will be pissed that I’m going behind their backs, but I have to take the investigation where it leads me. I’ll fill them in once I’m sure this is the right path, but I think we have to give Benedict a hard look.”
“He’s looking awfully suspicious.”
“It’s possible he’s guilty. Plausible, even. You said yourself this is an inside job. He personally hired Yuslav to manage the mall. His sudden resignation seems to have pissed your boss way the hell off and sent him scrambling to find a replacement.”
“But we have to acknowledge that he could be scrambling simply because replacing any employee with mall-management experience will be difficult, not to mention time-consuming and costly.” She wasn’t defending Benedict as much as she was playing devil’s advocate.
“True, but he could also be worried that his partner in crime got exposed and is now hanging in the wind with his dick flapping around.”
“You’re right. So…let’s try to figure out what’s up with my boss.”
“There’s no ‘we.’ You’re not going.”