Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 69018 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69018 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
She mutters something under her breath, grabs an apple off the bag on the counter, and starts chopping that wildly too. She should be more careful. At this rate, she’s bound to take off a finger, and then we’d for sure have to go to the hospital, and if there’s anywhere I hate more than that, I’d be hard-pressed to name it.
“While we’re talking about hard truths, you need to start looking after your own safety. Watch your stupid drinks. Anyone could put something into them.”
She turns, a beautiful fire-breathing, apple-chopping dragon with green snapping eyes. “Don’t turn this around. I told you to stand back, and you agreed to the rules. I care about Peach Lips’ fans more than anything, but you just had to interfere. With a child, no less. What were you going to do? Tackle him?”
“He was pissing on your booth.”
“Yes, I do realize what he was doing, but there are mops and such, and no harm would have been done in the end.”
“No harm?” I splutter. “Tell that to my groin.”
“Do you want a family?”
“Never. That’s not the point.”
“You were the one who wouldn’t go to the hospital, so don’t tell me that you’re worried about long-lasting implications.”
“I’m…” Speechless. Just…wow. “Peeing. Kid. Your booth. The others, tearing it apart. What did you expect me to do?”
“Stand there and let me deal with it because little peeing kids are not a security threat to anyone. They’re an annoyance at most.”
For the record, even in my aching nuts state, I barely managed to control myself from knocking heads together of all the people taking photos, pointing, talking, making up stupid shit, and posting videos with ridiculous accusations. I wanted to smash every phone in that group.
“If that’s how the people who supposedly adore Peach Lips treat your cat and you, I’d reevaluate my life plans if I were you.”
Technically, it was how they treated me, and yeah, maybe I’m not okay with that. The point is, they were not nice, and those are her fans.
“Stop it.” She holds up a hand, which pushes out her chest. Her dress is already tight there but cut high, so not even a hint of her lovely breasts show. They’re very finely outlined, I’ll give them that. Her waist is so freaking tiny, especially in that dress. “I never asked you to come into my life. This was important to you. You. Not me.”
“First of all, that’s not true. Secondly, this is all my fault then?”
She rolls her eyes. “It’s not about fault. I’m just saying I didn’t ask for this. I had set rules, and you broke them the first chance you got. This isn’t what I signed up for. I didn’t want to sign up, period, but you wouldn’t leave me alone. I’m too nice. That’s my problem. I need to learn how to say no and mean no.”
“You’re firing me then.”
She stands there, silently seething or silently thinking, I’m not sure.
This is another thing I don’t do. Fuck-up 2.0.
First, it was the Senior Cat Burglar Incident, and now it’s Pissgate. Maybe I’m getting old. Slipping. My hip did give out today, but that’s nothing new. It just hasn’t happened in a long time because all the good physio I’ve been doing has made a huge difference. I had no idea what life would be like after special ops, but I thought I had it covered. What if I can’t do this any longer?
That’s a notion so horrible that I can’t even begin to entertain it.
I do realize I should have done some things differently.
I should have listened and stood still, even if it went against all my instincts, instead of assuming my client would be pleased with my proactive, common sense. I researched her, but I should have remembered I’m technically her cat’s bodyguard, which means researching the cat.
I don’t have the first idea whether Peach Lips likes tuna or chicken or the taste of her own cat bottom best. Or that mush from a can. Maybe all of the above? Fresh grass? Ephemeral said the cat likes peach-flavored catnip best. How the hell does it come in flavors? Who is marketing this shit, and where can I get a piece of it? It should not be this painfully easy to get ahead in business and in life, but clearly, someone’s doing it.
That someone is not me.
No, instead of going ahead with our merger, which is still in the works but currently in a slog of legal holdups, and I’m not sure if it’s intentional on the other side of things or not, I’m here, sitting in a tiny little bus and contemplating a sorry ass future that involves busted nuts and a cat who likes to nip out on peach flavored herbs.
Where the actual fuck did I go so wrong?