Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94279 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94279 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
A minute later, my phone lit up with a response.
Melanie: Of course. Best of luck with the team. We can celebrate next week when it’s a done deal.
I exhaled a little relief, at least for now. But then my phone vibrated again.
“Fuck my life.” I scrubbed my hands over my face.
Melanie had sent another photo. She was standing now, just outside the bathtub—completely naked, except for a few beads of glistening water sliding down her perfect body, and she held a small vibrator in one hand.
Melanie: I’m around the entire month, if you find an hour or two of free time. Until then, I’ll take care of myself;)
I was still staring down at the screen, questioning my sanity, when my assistant, Margot, buzzed in through our intercom system. “Andrew needs to meet with you this morning. He said it’s important.”
Andrew Emerson was in-house legal counsel for all of my holdings, but lately his time had been almost exclusively dedicated to the expansion team, as was the case with most of the people who worked here. He was also my childhood best friend, more like a brother to me than an employee.
I pressed the button. “Tell him to come by whenever he’s ready.”
Lord knows I wasn’t getting shit accomplished bouncing back and forth between the temptation on my phone and thinking about Sloane. But I forced my nose back to the grindstone, opening my electronic calendar to see what had to be done before I left again tomorrow morning. Less than three minutes later, there was a knock at my door, and Andrew opened it without waiting.
“Guess it’s important…” I said.
“Yeah, it is.” He closed the door. As he came in, I got a good look at him, and my stomach dropped. Oh fuck. Whatever it was was bad. Andrew was the professional-looking one in our twosome—always clean-shaven, suit pressed razor-sharp, shoes buffed … But now he had a face full of scruff, his clothes were wrinkled like he’d slept in them, and I couldn’t see myself in his shoe shine.
“What happened? Did we lose one of the committee members we needed for the vote?”
He slumped into my chair and ran a hand through his chaotic hair. “Worse.”
“What the hell could be worse than that?”
Andrew looked me in the eyes. “I cheated on Camille.”
I froze. This was the last thing I’d expected him to say. “What the hell happened?”
His head fell into his hands, and he yanked at his hair from the roots. “I was out with some of the guys from the advertising department and went to a bar. Had a little too much to drink and started talking to this woman. I’ve been here for a few weeks, so I guess I was just lonely. None of that is an excuse. I freaking love Camille.”
I sat back in my chair, speechless. “Have you ever cheated before?”
He looked offended that I’d even asked. “No, of course not.”
“How do you feel about the woman you slept with now? After?”
He frowned. “Well, I feel like shit because I didn’t even tell her, at least not that I can remember. But I don’t have any feelings for her, if that’s what you’re asking. It was just a drunken mistake.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I picked up the ring a few days ago. I’m supposed to be proposing on our anniversary in two weeks.”
I leaned back into my chair. “Oh, man.”
“What would you do? Would you tell her or try to pretend it never happened? The woman lives in England, so it’s not like Camille’s likely to find out.”
“I think you’re asking the wrong person. You know how I feel about that shit.”
Andrew closed his eyes. “Jesus Christ, I’m not even thinking straight. I’m sorry. Of course you’d feel like I should come clean.”
“How do you think Camille would take the news if you told her?”
“She’d chop my balls off.”
Andrew’s girlfriend of four years was an assistant district attorney. I’d seen her in action in court once. She was pretty scary for a five-foot-nothing lady.
I shook my head. “I’m sorry, man.”
“I made a mistake, a giant one. She’s going to leave me if I tell her.”
He wanted me to tell him to forget it ever happened, but that wasn’t easy for me. “Did you use protection at least?”
“She had to give me a condom because I didn’t even have one. Camille and I haven’t used them in years.” His eyes grew wide. “What if it was expired? They expire, right? What if I got her pregnant? What if she gave me a fucking disease?”
“Take a deep breath. You don’t look so good.”
His eyes darted around the room, seemingly as fast as his thoughts. “I don’t even have a place to live in New York if she kicks me out.”
“That’s the least of your worries.”
“I’m supposed to fly back in two days. How am I going to face her?”