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)
“Afterward, we went to his place. That was my idea.”
Emily perked up, her eyes wide as she wiggled on her stool. She pushed over, using her toes like a duck paddling across a pond. “And? And? And? What happened? Tell me every dirty detail!”
“No!”
“Liam,” she whined. “Give me something. This is the best tea I’ve lucked into in sooooo long.”
She was killing me with her adorableness. I couldn’t imagine how her girlfriend handled her.
“No,” I repeated, booping her on the tip of her nose. “I’ll say that I experienced some new things and thoroughly enjoyed all of it. I slept at his place—” I leaned in and whispered. “—in his bed.”
Emily squealed and clapped.
He’d taken me home early this morning, but I’d still been late. Only because he’d made the mistake of following me into my house to give me good-bye kisses that had stretched for a ridiculously long time.
Just sitting around and making out with a person had never held much interest to me, but with Rome, it was different. I didn’t ever want to stop kissing him.
“Swoon!” Emily cried. She kicked off and spun to her workstation. She’d barely landed in her spot when she swung to face me. “Your last date! Do you know what it’s going to be? It has to be super romantic, right? Do you have a plan?”
I frowned. “Not yet.” But she was right. It was the last date in our agreement, yet I felt like it could mark a big moment for us. Rome had created the arrangement in the name of getting even after suffering pain and betrayal as a child. Since then, we’d cleared the air, become friends, and now we were on the cusp of becoming even more. I wanted to do something big to show that the past was closed and over. We were moving forward together, happier and free of old shackles.
This date needed fire.
Fireworks? Or maybe a bonfire?
I tossed the idea about as I logged in to my computer. Nothing seemed right, but there was still time to come up with something.
Unfortunately, my date planning was put on pause. I had a message from my boss waiting for me. I was to report to her office the second I made it to work. Thankfully, the message had arrived just a minute ago. This couldn’t be good. I was supposed to have until Christmas to get the donation. Was she going to pressure me again?
After giving Emily a heads-up that I had to meet with Dr. Case, I headed down the hall. Her office was on the second floor with a bunch of other executives, mostly because she would meet with rich donors, and everything had to look polished.
She summoned me as soon as I knocked. Pale winter sunlight poured in through the windows, bringing out the shine in all the dark woods and warm brass fixtures. There was an old touch to the room, as if the head of fossils had to summon up a feeling of dusty old libraries from the late-nineteenth century. She had a tall bookshelf filled with leather copies of well-known books, while a glass case displayed several exquisite fossils.
Dr. Case glanced up as I approached, her welcoming smile tense. “Liam. Good. Thank you for coming up so quickly.” She motioned to the chairs in front of her desk.
“No problem. What can I help with?” I inquired as I sat. My hand smoothed my tie out of nervous habit. I’d shed my blazer but hadn’t pulled on my white lab coat yet.
“I noticed that I still haven’t heard from Mr. Ashbridge yet. Our department also hasn’t received a lovely donation from him either,” Dr. Case began. She closed a file that was open on her desk, her long nails clicking on the wood surface.
“As I promised, I’m working on it. I still have a little time before the deadline.” But even as I said the words, my stomach soured. Could I still ask Rome for a donation? Wouldn’t he think I was using him for his money?
No, maybe not, but this all felt so dirty and disgusting. My skin crawled at the idea of trying to broach the subject with him now. It would be better if I handed the entire thing off to my boss. Let her make phone calls and shmooze these people until the money faucet turned on. That was one of the key components of her job. Not mine.
“Well, if you’re still attempting tackle the topic of a donation, I think it would be a good idea to make an adjustment to the number you’re trying to achieve.”
“What?” I gasped. All the words I’d been cobbling together to make my argument flew away like dry leaves on an icy wind.
“Mr. Wagoner, the owner of the land we want to dig into for the next fossil exploration project, is attempting to rescind his agreement to allow us onto the property. We’ve tried polite negotiations, but I am getting the impression that he wants more money.”