Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 89666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
“Tomorrow,” I gritted out as I slipped out the door.
This was going to be the longest twenty-four hours of my life.
7
BYRON GRAHAM
I had never been so happy to be at work in all my life.
The office represented a predictable routine, even when Sebastian was in one of his unpredictable moods and wanted to shake things up. My morning began with coffee and emails. By the time I finished my coffee, Kaylan would be arriving. He would bring some pleasant chitchat and an eagerness to dive into the day that matched my own.
As soon as we had our schedule worked out, Sebastian would arrive. At that point, I’d give him a rundown of his first meetings of the day, calls that needed to be made, and reports that needed his attention. From there, he would either roll with things or completely blow all our plans out of the water.
Routine was what I needed after spending Sunday alternating between denial and panic. Of course, that didn’t include the time I’d needed to jerk off because my insane boss had left me with such a state of blue balls that I couldn’t remember my goddamn name.
So yeah, Sunday was jerking off, panic, anger, temptation, more jerking off, followed by more panic.
What was I supposed to say to him?
Putting aside the fact that it was billboard-on-the-side-of-the-road obvious that I was attracted to him, could I really date him? Even though he’d said it was okay that I accept the bargain simply for the money, wouldn’t that always be in the back of his mind? Would he ever believe me if I professed to care for him?
Who would turn down that kind of life-changing money? I might have integrity, but I wasn’t stupid. It wasn’t just a better life for me, but it would improve things for Ronnie and my mom. The money I would have been spending on Ronnie could be used to get my mom better help. She could finally break free of her alcoholism and live a happier life. Maybe even get a new job or at least volunteer. Something that made her happier than sitting around the house doing nothing other than watching TV and getting drunk.
But what would happen after the ten years were up? How would I pay for Ronnie’s new facility and my mom’s assistance?
Well, if I were still with Sebastian…
No!
I would not think like that. Sebastian was not my personal fix-it-all.
I could do this on my own. Ten years was plenty of time to make improvements in my life, so I could afford Ronnie’s new facility and my mom’s improved support system.
Was I truly considering this?
I was.
God help me, I was.
If I were honest with myself, it wasn’t only about the money. Sebastian was right. If he wasn’t my boss and he had hit on me in the bookstore, I would have been on him in an instant.
But if I did this, no one could ever find out. My reputation would be ruined. People in the business world gossiped. Even after I found a new job, people would find out that I’d fucked the boss.
Plus, I loved working for Courtland Enterprises. I didn’t want to leave. The idea of being the CFO’s assistant didn’t exactly thrill me, but Declan Foster was a good, patient man who worked hard and was dedicated to Courtland Enterprises. I loved being Sebastian’s assistant, but if we were dating, I would still get to see him frequently.
I jerked my head up at a sudden knock on the doorframe of my office to find Kaylan standing in the open doorway, a smile on his lips. Shit! He was here.
“Good morning. Everything okay? You looked pretty lost in thought,” he said.
“Oh, yes. I…yes. Lost in thought.” I wasn’t making any sense. Time had flown by me. I’d managed to get only a fraction of my usual work done prior to Kaylan’s arrival. I hadn’t even gotten my coffee yet or finished compiling my notes for Sebastian’s meetings.
Shaking off my temporary brain fog, I got up from my desk and followed Kaylan to the coffee station in our small break room.
The top floor of the Courtland Enterprises building held a luxurious lobby filled with green leafy plants, colorful bouquets that changed with the seasons, and large comfortable sofas and chairs around coffee tables. At the end nearest the elevators was a large conference room that seated twenty-five people comfortably and two huge flat-screen TVs on the walls for presentations and web conferencing.
At the opposite end, after you walked through the lobby seating, you reached Kaylan’s desk. His job—other than assisting me with various tasks—was to greet anyone who tried to see Sebastian during the day. Even if they had a scheduled meeting or appointment, they had to get through Kaylan first.
Past Kaylan were two large offices—one for Sebastian as the CEO and the other for John Courtland, Sebastian’s father and the company’s chairman.