Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 43239 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 216(@200wpm)___ 173(@250wpm)___ 144(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43239 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 216(@200wpm)___ 173(@250wpm)___ 144(@300wpm)
She printed these out?
My hands are shaking before I realize it. My chest tightens with heavy guilt.
I’ve been drinking too much, working too little, and canceling most of my client calls because none of it matters anymore.
Eliza didn’t just change the trajectory of her life. She changed mine. Made me care again. Made me want something.
And I walked away from it.
“Because of Jackson…” I mutter to myself. “To not fuck up the longest-running friendship you have left.”
I carry her manifestation board to my bedroom and grab my keys. I have one final client to handle, and then I’ll come back and reassess how to un-fuck what I’ve done…
I scan the seating area in a sleek, overpriced Midtown lounge, looking for my last target, but I don’t see her.
As I turn around, a redhead settles into the seat next to me at the bar.
“You waiting on a date, too?” she asks, looking nervous.
“Something like that.” I nod toward the gift bag in her lap. “What are you celebrating?”
“My boyfriend’s birthday is next week, but I’m surprising him with an all-expenses-paid vacation to Bora Bora next month.”
“Let me guess,” I say. “You two one-up each other every occasion in the gift department?”
“No, this is my first attempt at giving him something grand.” She beams. “He usually goes over the top, but between his birthday and him getting a huge promotion at S&HP, I figured I should finally splurge, you know?”
“S&HP?” I set my drink down.
“Yeah, he’s going to be the new president.” She pulls out her phone proudly. “They already updated the website with his picture. See?”
Fuck.
The man on the screen is the same one who hired me tonight.
“People thought I was crazy for helping him pay for business school,” she adds, still smiling. “But look how that turned out.”
“Wait, back that up,” I say. “You helped pay for him to go to business school?”
“Yeah.” She beams. “I know he’ll pay me back, but I was just so inspired by his work ethic and I love him so much, you know?”
Jesus… I raise my hand just as the bartender passes. “I need two more whiskeys, please. Actually… make it three.”
“I’m cutting you off after one more,” the bartender mutters before walking away.
“Tell me how well you think your relationship is going with this guy,” I say to the redhead. “I’m curious…”
“Why is that any of your business?”
“Because I’m trying to figure out if I’ve been unwittingly aiding villains this entire time, and I need to know.”
“Um…” She waves down the bartender. “I don’t think you should give this guy another ounce. He’s losing it.”
“I’m not.”
“What’s her name?” She smiles, knowingly. “How long has it been since she dumped you?”
“I’ve never been dumped by anyone.”
“She must’ve really had a hold on you.” She presses a hand against my shoulder. “It’s going to be alright. It took me twenty relationships to get with the guy I’m with now, and we love and cherish each other like you wouldn’t believe.”
So I have been the villain this entire time…
“Want to talk about what makes a great relationship?” she says.
“No.” I pull out the contract from my pocket and grab her drink, downing it for myself. “I want to talk about how you need to run fast as hell from this guy and file a claim to get everything that you’ve paid for back.”
“Huh?”
“Just hear me out…”
FORTY-ONE
HARRISON
Afew hours later, I step out of my car and walk into the shiny building that houses S&HP. Taking the elevator to the fiftieth floor, I step inside my client’s office.
“Did you break up with my girlfriend yet?” he asks, barely looking up from his phone. “She’s still bugging me about Bora Bora, so let me know if I need to file a restraining order.”
“I’m here to give you a refund.” I drop the envelope—and the unsigned contract—on his desk. “You’ll need to end things with her yourself.”
He blinks. “What?” He shuts the door. “That’s literally why I keep you on retainer.”
“You can take me off now,” I say. “I’m letting you go as a client—effective immediately.”
“It better be because you’re going out of business.”
“No. It’s because you’re a terrible fucking person.” I level my gaze at him. “And I’m just now seeing the light.”
He scoffs. “Today must be April Fool’s Day. That’s the only reason you’d be standing in here, lecturing me about morality.”
I don’t respond. I don’t need to.
I’ve already decided the next call I make won’t be to a client.
It’ll be to someone who still deserves to hear the truth.
Even if she never wants to hear it from me again.
FORTY-TWO
ELIZA
“Might I just say—this is the most beautiful resort I’ve ever had the pleasure of staying in,” a woman gushes at the front desk.
I don’t even bother looking up. I’d recognize her accent anywhere—West Side, New York.
I stay tucked in the back office. The last thing I need is another reminder of Harrison. I’ve done enough crying over him.