Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 48632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 243(@200wpm)___ 195(@250wpm)___ 162(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 243(@200wpm)___ 195(@250wpm)___ 162(@300wpm)
“What? No way. That’s incredible.” I should question the how or when this all took place, but I won’t. You don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.
“It is. I’m going to add one of them to your rotation. Now, the downside to this.” With good news, there’s always bad that comes along with it.
“Uh-oh.” I make some mental calculations in my head. Maybe I’ll have to work Saturday, which would throw a kink in working at Twisted Oak, except that would be more on my tired body. Fridays make for a longer day, going from one gig to the next and not getting home till close to one o’clock in the morning. I crash hard the minute my head hits the pillow. Once I wake up, I’ll have a few hours to myself, and even then, I'll go about doing cleaning of my own. I’d have to push that to Sundays. Shit, this is going to be a headache.
“Well, since it’s a referral bonus, it’s taxed, too much for my taste, and I hate that it’s set up this way. Sadly, it’s out of my hands. Anyway, it’ll come on your next paycheck. I wanted to give you a heads-up in case you notice it’s not the exact amount you expected.” Ophelia goes above and beyond for anyone. She’s one of the best people I’ve ever met, and while the news she gave me was great in the beginning and not so great in the end, it’ll still help me out.
“No problem at all. I appreciate you giving me a warning. I probably would have thought something was wrong. I’ve never received a bonus before, but maybe I can get a few more again,” I tell her, finally relaxing now that my stomach is no longer revolting. I’m still hot even though the air conditioner is blowing, my tank top still clinging to my skin, sweat-soaked from the day and the hottest show of my lifetime.
“I have no doubt you will. Now, I’ll let you go. I know tonight is your last night off before the heavy days start.” Ophelia’s cleaning company is not small by any means. There are close to fifteen employees, yet she takes the time to listen, work around our schedules, and will even dive in if one of us gets behind or someone can’t come in because of an emergency.
“Thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“You’re welcome. See you then.” We end the call, I put my device in the cupholder, and go about finishing getting ready to put my car in Reverse to head home, where I know I’ll be reliving the moment from earlier on repeat while I get myself off.
4
MATTHEW
Iwalk into Twisted Oak to meet Crew there for dinner. All of the other guys are busy with their families. Asher and Lennie’s twin daughters are giving them fits and not sleeping through the night. Trent and Kennedy have their hands full with Briar and another one on the way. Johnny and Winnie are in the same boat with Sebastian and her being pregnant as well.
Tysen and Macie are nearing the end of her pregnancy, which means she’s in full-on nesting mode, according to Tys. It's part of the process the further along she gets in her pregnancy. Jagger and Lyric are in a similar situation. She initially thought kids wouldn’t be in her future, but being with Jagger changed things. He’s got his business, she is doing stuff with his parents, and finalizing projects after her dad passed away has been a kick in the dick, from what Jagger says. Shae and Luke are always up to their eyeballs with work as entrepreneurs, like everyone else in our group. It’s making family get-togethers almost impossible, which has been rough on us all.
Then there’s Jude and Ronnie being thrown into parenthood of sorts with his sister, Rory. Shit went down fast, and we're all still reeling from the multitude of trauma she’s faced and more that’s brought up the past for Jude, too. Through it all, Ronnie has been rock fucking solid and in his corner the entire time.
That leaves Crew and me, the last two standing, but if I have my way, Letty and I will be together before too long. Christ, I can still feel her presence all around me, her soft scent I attempt to smell whenever I get so much as a lingering sensation swirling around me. As for Crew, I’m not sure what he’s got going on. It used to be the others who kept to themselves, but now it seems more and more that Crew is doing it, and it's up to me to pull it out of him, or at the very least let him know we’ve got his back. It’ll be up to him if he actually brings the conversation up to begin with. Maybe he’ll talk about it tonight, but if not, the ball is in his fucking court.