Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 142866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
“You’d help me if I needed it, right?” he persists.
“However I could, yes.”
“I know you would because that’s the kind of person you are. Your big heart, that generosity, is one of my favorite things about you. You always extend it to everyone else. It’s time you let someone do that for you. Let me do that for you.”
“I’ve been doing me for a long time. I pride myself on my independence.”
“I don’t want to take that from you, but I also don’t want you worrying about people thinking you’re using me to get ahead. I’ve learned to block out the noise of other people’s opinions and live my life the way I want to. The way that makes me happy, and you make me happy, Hen.”
The words settle over my anxiety, my frustration, and I can’t suppress the smile that reaches my lips. “You make me happy, too.”
“Good, then block out the noise, and let’s just be us. Inside this relationship, we know why we’re here. Remember, let’s just be good to each other, okay?”
Be good to each other.
It sounds so simple, yet it feels like a new concept. That I would make myself vulnerable to someone this way, and trust that he has my best interest at heart and that he would trust that I feel the same.
“Okay,” I say after a few moments. “Let’s be good to each other.”
CHAPTER 34
MAVERICK
When the phone rings a few minutes after I disconnect with Hendrix, I’m not surprised it’s Zere. I actually thought she’d call sooner.
“Hey, Zee,” I say, sitting on a stool at the countertop in Hendrix’s kitchen.
“Hey, Zee?” She infuses each word with outrage. “Fuck you, Mav.”
“You’re upset that I’m seeing Hendrix.”
“Up… upset? Why would I be upset that you’re seeing one of my friends only three months after we broke up? That would be ridiculous.”
“You barely knew her before Lewks, and your connection is primarily through business. Don’t act like the two of you have been close for years.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It does to me. You’re dating, Zere, and I don’t begrudge you that at all. I’m happy for you.”
“Of course you are because it makes you feel better about this shit with Hendrix.”
“I was happy for you before anything officially happened with Hendrix.”
“Officially? Let’s deal with that word for a moment. When exactly did this begin?”
The moment we met.
I don’t say that because she would hate me for it. She may already hate me. Zere and I were not together when I met Hendrix, but I would have been drawn to her even if we had. I wouldn’t have acted on it, but I don’t believe her laugh, her heart, her beauty and drive would have impacted me any less.
“It wasn’t a start exactly,” I reply after a moment of figuring out how to say this. “When we met in Miami, we connected around our shared passion for venture capital.”
“Passion,” she scoffs. “Go on.”
I give my annoyance a second to abate before continuing.
“And of course, her mother has Alzheimer’s and after what I navigated with my grandfather, I understood what she might be feeling. We became friends.”
“Why her?” Zere’s voice goes shrill with hurt. “She’s not even your type.”
“Driven? Generous? Kind? Funny?” I soften my tone. “Aren’t you that type, Zee?”
“But physically, she’s not your type.”
My face twists into a scowl. “What’s that mean?”
“I was a model, Maverick. I was on People’s Most Beautiful list. How do you go from me to her?”
“Wait a damn minute, Zere. I don’t know who to feel most insulted for. Me, because you think I’m that shallow. Hendrix, because you don’t see how fucking gorgeous she is, inside and out.” I pause and gentle my voice. “Or on your behalf, because you don’t understand the good I saw in you, the beauty I saw in you, outshines your physical appearance. Is that why you thought I was with you?”
“Of course it’s why you were with me. Men like you who can buy and have anything they want add beautiful women to their collection. I’ve understood that all my life. Is this some kind of phase you’re going through? A midlife crisis?”
“Let me be very clear. I think Hendrix has the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen. Her face is art to me. I love her body. I think it’s thick in all the right places and I’ve been physically attracted to her from the moment we met.” Tension creeps across my shoulders and I squeeze the phone more tightly. “I would never be in a relationship with someone solely based on physical appearance, though. I wish in the time we were together you had realized that. For your sake.”
“I’m not body-shaming. Don’t try to put that on me,” Zere says, a defensive note piercing her voice. “I’m just saying a man like you can have anyone he wants.”