Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 57407 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57407 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Georgia gripped the steering wheel tighter in her hands. “I wasn’t Elliott’s date. I came to the banquet solo, and you and Dad pushed me off on him. I’m sorry if you or Elliott thought differently. He’s not my type at all.”
“How do you know that?” her mother argued, ignoring all the other points Georgia just made. “You haven’t given him a real chance. He’s called you a few times since the banquet to take you to dinner, and you keep turning him down.”
The fact that her mother was aware of Elliott’s attempts to ask her out shocked Georgia. “How do you even know that?”
“Elliott mentioned it to your father, and your father told me.”
Of course. Georgia turned on the side street leading to her building. “I keep turning Elliott down because I don’t want to date him.”
The interior of Georgia’s car went silent for long, drawn-out seconds. Her stomach twisted in knots because she knew what was coming, and she tried to brace herself for the guilt her mother was about to heap on her conscience.
“Georgia,” she began with feigned patience. “We let you take a job at a non-profit when your father and I always hoped you’d follow in his footsteps and become a lawyer. Since that’s clearly not going to happen, the least you could do is open yourself up to the idea of someone like Elliott, who is a successful attorney in your father’s firm and is showing incredible potential to take his place someday.”
Georgia’s entire mind was still stuck on “we let you take a job at a non-profit,” when in truth, she’d stood up for herself and hadn’t given them a choice. Yes, it had caused contention, but the fact that her mother was now twisting things around for her own purposes grated on Georgia’s nerves. “Mom—”
“I’m not finished, Georgia,” Nina said, cutting her off. “And since it’s so hard to get ahold of you these days because you’re so busy, let me have my say.”
Georgia had never back-talked to either of her parents, mostly out of respect for an authoritative figure, and she had to swallow back the very strong urge to argue now. “Go on, Mother. I’m listening.”
“You know your father’s health is…fragile,” she said, referencing the heart attack and triple bypass he’d gone through shortly after Georgia had made her career decisions, which only compounded her guilt. “He’ll be retiring in the next few years, and he’d always hoped to leave the firm in the family, like his father and grandfather before him. Your father and I really do think you and Elliott would be a good match, so I don’t understand why you’re being so stubborn about the possibility.”
Her head now pounding with tension, Georgia parked her car in her assigned slot and rested her head on the steering wheel. She hated the expectations that always seemed to hang over her as the oldest child. “The fact that you want me to marry Elliott for business reasons is an antiquated concept. You realize that, don’t you?”
“We just want you to give him a chance,” her mother said, her tone more subdued now. “Is that so much to ask? Just…think about it.”
“Fine, I’ll think about it,” Georgia agreed, just to appease her mother and get her off the phone more quickly, but she knew her feelings regarding Elliott wouldn’t change.
At some point, when her life wasn’t so insanely busy, she needed to sit her parents down and make it clear that she had no interest in Elliott and never would. That her life was her own and she wouldn’t force herself to like or God forbid, marry someone for the sake of saving the family business. Which didn’t need saving at all. The firm would survive without a Brooks at the helm.
The call ended, and Georgia dragged herself up to her apartment. Once inside, she kicked off her shoes and then poured herself a glass of wine. Sitting on the couch, she put her feet up, took a nice long drink, and rested her head against the sofa cushion.
She closed her eyes, trying to relax, unwind, and de-stress after her long day and the call with her mother, and instead thought about the man who did make her feel…all sorts of things. Just the image of Drew and his gorgeous face made her body heat with arousal, her breasts tighten against her T-shirt, and her core pulse and ache with desire.
She’d given her battery-operated boyfriend quite a workout since their encounter, while imagining what it would be like to lose all control with a purely masculine man like him, and make up for all the lackluster sex she’d had in the past.
A quiet little groan slipped past her lips as she thought about breaking out of her good girl comfort zone and doing something wild and scandalous for once in her life. It was an exhilarating thought, to do something just for herself…like have a torrid affair with Drew.