Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 129676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 519(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 519(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Her body anyway.
Not that I ever gave her the slightest indication I was attracted to her.
Gia downed her entire cocktail in one go, winced, and joined me in the back seat of the car, still wearing the stupid sash under her unbuttoned coat. She knew better than to ask if she could say goodbye to her friends inside.
I scanned her face for emotions. As usual, there were none.
“Office,” I ordered the driver.
I yanked out my pocket book of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and scowled at one of my favorite lines to soothe my anger.
“I am not crazy; my reality is just different from yours.”
Thierry winced. “I’m sorry, Gia.”
She reached to pat his shoulder, a regal smile painting those luscious lips. “Please, Thierry. I’ll hear none of that. It’s not your fault.”
“Did you get something nice for your birthday?” he sniffled.
“A few hours without my boss,” she provided cheerfully. “Oh, and I got your flowers too. Cheers for that.”
“Of course,” he spluttered. “After you managed to help Annette with that insurance claim, it’s the least we could do for you.”
Ah yes. I almost forgot.
Gia Bennett’s ice thawed when it came to other people.
Unless those people were me.
“How old are you anyway?” Tate impaled the silence that grew and pulsated between us like a quiet, hulking beast.
Electricity raced through me at the sudden sound of his voice.
Low. Rough. Raspy.
I’d always harbored a slight, uninhibited infatuation with my boss, against my better judgment.
He reminded me of the Smiths’ song “Handsome Devil.” For every time I walked into a scholarly room with him, I wondered who would swallow whom whole.
He swallows you every time. Leaving no crumbs behind.
I didn’t trust myself to open my mouth without screaming. He tore me away from my birthday party because of a filing mishap. This could have waited until tomorrow. I always worked on weekends anyway.
“Twenty-six,” I managed to retort calmly, staring straight ahead at the back of Thierry’s seat as the Rover weaved through the dusky streets of London. I graduated young from college, as I skipped a grade in secondary school.
“You don’t smoke.” Tate skipped to another subject, eyes still trained on his book.
He’d been reading Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland since I started working for him. Either he was the slowest reader on earth, or he had an unhealthy fascination with the story.
Also, who on earth was he kidding? No one could read in the pitch black.
Anyway, it wasn’t a question, so I did not respond.
“Why did you take the cigarette he offered you?” Tate slammed the softcover shut, refusing to drop the subject.
“Sometimes I socially smoke,” I responded finally. “Not that it’s any of your bloody business.”
“And that boyfriend of yours, he lives here?” he poked bluntly.
A few years ago, I’d be astonished by my boss’s arrogant breach of privacy.
Now, I had become desensitized to his antics. If I didn’t answer him, someone else would.
Tatum Blackthorn always got what he wanted and made sure to leave a string of casualties behind.
“Yes, Ashley lives here in London,” I ground out.
“Shame we’re returning to New York on Monday.” He sounded quite chirpy.
My boss wasn’t usually a mercurial creature, but he did love seeing me suffer.
“I’m thinking we’ll stay there at least through April. We’re breaking ground in the Hamptons for that gated community project,” he added.
“I will need to return to London the week after next for Mum’s appointment,” I said matter-of-factly. “And will probably visit here every weekend to help her carers.”
My mother had early onset dementia. The first signs appeared shortly after The Accident. She was not doing well. Luckily, I could pay for the best aides and carers, thanks to my mammoth salary.
The company also allotted me a medical allowance for relatives, which paid for occupational therapy. The perks and salary were the only things that kept me here.
“Bring your mother to the States.” A demand, not an offer.
“I’m not changing her environment and caregivers so you can call me at two a.m. on a Friday asking me to fetch you condoms.”
File under things that actually happened in my second year of employment.
“You’re taking too much time off work.” His voice, like his face, was neutral and indifferent.
“Let me stop you right there.” I raised my palm. “Do not make me choose between my mother and my job. You will not like the answer.”
“Very well.” Tate returned his attention to the Victorian book. “Have your Centurion card returned to the bank. You just lost your shopping privileges.”
I shrugged. I never used it anyway.
“I will. Can I ask you a question?”
His lips curled in annoyance. “Clearly. You just did.”
“What’s your fascination with this book?” I cleared my throat, wanting to break the ice. At least some of it. It always appeared as though the entire continent of Antarctica was wedged between me and my boss.
“It is the first children’s book in the world without a lesson or a moral.”