Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 84670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
I shoved a hand through my hair, not caring how I messed it up, and pushed ahead. “That night at the concert, my boss saw us talking. She knows you’re rich and that you’ve apparently made several sizable donations around the city. She wants me to woo you into donating to the museum—particularly the paleontology department. Federal funding is drying up for all scientific research, and we depend on private donors to keep us operating.”
As I spoke, Rome’s grin returned, but it curled into something so wicked it chilled the blood in my veins. Fuck, I was already regretting this, and he hadn’t spoken a single word yet.
Rome nodded and made a few understanding noises. “I see. I see. Interesting.”
“Rome, this is serious.”
“I know. What number did your boss give you?”
I swallowed hard and blinked at him. “What? Number?”
“Don’t play me for an idiot. I think I’ve proved I’m not stupid. Your boss had to have given you a number to aim for. What kind of goal did she give you?”
Briefly, I thought about playing dumb, but what was the fucking point? This couldn’t have been the first time a charity or some other organization had attempted to milk him for funds. God, I felt so fucking dirty, but I brutally reminded myself that the money was for a good cause. It helped the museum. It helped me and Emily keep our jobs. Any donation would help to fund our upcoming dig.
“Five million,” I mumbled.
“Whoa! That’s a pretty big number!” Rome exclaimed, finishing with another chuckle. “That sounds like keeping-your-job kind of money.”
My fingers balled into fists at my side, and it was a struggle to keep my voice even. “This isn’t about keeping my job. It’s about the entire department and funding future digs within the region so that we can better understand the life that existed here millions of years ago. Not to mention, the natural history section of the museum is one of the most popular for children. A donation of that size would be for all the hundreds of kids you brought here today, plus the hundreds of thousands that come through our doors all year long.”
Rome didn’t appear swayed in the least. If anything, his grin became even more wicked. “But really, this is about keeping your job, isn’t it?”
I was back to wanting to kill him. He was planning to withhold a donation from the museum because he wanted to see me lose my job. What a vile, evil asshole!
Swallowing all my words of hatred, I heaved a giant sigh. “If I promised to hand in my resignation and leave the museum, would you be willing to make a sizable donation to the department?”
“No.” He answered without a breath of hesitation.
“What? I’ve got to leave the city completely to make you happy?” I snapped. The teaching job at the university didn’t pay great because it was only part-time, but it would at least help me scrape by until I could find a full-time position somewhere.
“No, that’s not what I’m saying at all.” Rome shoved away from the wall and took a step toward me. I reflexively matched it by retreating, not trusting him to be within arm’s reach of me. “Shit went down when we were kids, and because of that, we can’t stand each other. I thought I’d moved on, but clearly, I haven’t. Despite what you think of me, I’m not so petty as to want to hurt your job or harm the museum.”
Okay, that was a little surprising. Not so much his lack of desire to hurt the museum, but that he wasn’t out to destroy my life.
“That being said, I still want some payback.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to shout at him. What kind of revenge could he possibly feel he deserved? It was my life that was ruined. I was the one living through hell. Not him. But I held in the words and my rage. It sounded like I was on the cusp of getting the donation Dr. Case was so eager to get her hands on.
Rome strolled closer, and I kept retreating until my shoulders finally hit the opposite wall, and I was trapped. A cold sweat covered my arms and neck, sending a chill through me. This was going to be so fucking bad.
“You see, earlier this year, a friend of mine cooked up this insane idea to date his assistant. He bargained for ten dates. If Byron went on ten dates with him, Sebastian would give him money to pay for all of his brother’s medical expenses. At the time, I thought he was fucking crazy, but it actually worked.”
My mouth went as dry as the desert. Rome had lost his ever-loving mind. “You want to go on dates with me?” I breathed. Each word trembled in horror. It was as if he were obsessed with me.