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)
Just outside of Sebastian’s office, there were two smaller offices. To the left was mine. It was a modest size, but unlike Kaylan’s area, I had walls and a door, which allowed me to make private calls without anyone overhearing me.
To the right was a partially hidden office for Sebastian’s on-duty bodyguard, which was Carl most days. A push of a button could summon him instantly. There was an emergency call switch that alerted him hidden under my desk, Kaylan’s desk, and Sebastian’s. During my time in Sebastian’s employ, I’d needed to push it only once, and that was when a former employee had lost his shit after being fired for corporate espionage. It had been an ugly scene, and I prayed I’d never have to push it again.
We took turns making coffee at the Keurig machine and doctoring them up with creamer and sugar.
“Did you have a good weekend?” I asked, while wondering if adding more caffeine to my anxious jitters was wise.
Before he even answered, a broad, dreamy smile spread across Kaylan’s lips. Obviously, Kaylan had spent the weekend with his new boyfriend, Arden. “Yeah, Arden and I drove down to Red River Gorge and rented one of those cabins near the Daniel Boone National Forest. We spent our time hiking and checking out the different arches.”
“I’m surprised. From your expression, I thought maybe you spent the weekend in bed.”
“Well…” Kaylan cleared his throat, his smirk returning. “There was plenty of that, too.”
Kaylan had met Arden through a dating app that Sebastian had signed him up for without his knowledge. It was lucky that Kaylan had matched with Arden for Valentine’s Day. The two had been together for just over three months and were still in the hearts-and-rainbows phase of their relationship.
Was I jealous? Maybe a little. I’d gotten to meet Arden once when he’d popped by one afternoon to take Kaylan out to lunch. He was a sweet man who obviously thought Kaylan hung the moon, and I was happy for them both.
But did I have a shot at some of that same happiness with Sebastian?
The idea of dating someone as rich, handsome, and dynamic as Sebastian was mind-boggling. I’d always thought that rich people dated other rich people. They didn’t notice people like me who were scraping by, one bad day away from complete ruin.
“What about you?” Kaylan inquired, breaking into my wandering thoughts. “Do anything exciting this past weekend?”
I’d lifted my coffee to my lips to take a sip as he asked and I was grateful I’d stopped, because I would have choked on the hot beverage.
Oh, nothing too exciting. Just got ripped in the boss’s office, kissed him, puked on him, and then went on a pseudo-date before he proposed this insane bargain that could both fix and destroy my life. You know, nothing too out of the ordinary.
“Umm…no, not really. Slept a lot. Read some.”
“Sounds like a nice, quiet weekend.” Kaylan’s smile was tight and polite. I could almost feel his pity. Yeah, that was a pathetic weekend—not because it was a total lie, but because it was an answer I’d given more than once. I rarely did anything on the weekends besides sleep, read, and prepare for the coming workweek.
What he didn’t know was that my weekends were usually spent checking on my mother, cleaning her house, getting her groceries, and running to Louisville to see my brother. When it was all over, I was glad to be at work because it was less stressful than my weekends.
“We should get to our desks. I’m sure Sebastian will be walking in soon.”
“Yep,” Kaylan said with a nod. He strolled out of our break room ahead of me. “He’s got a long list of meetings today. It’s going to be a busy one. I’ll be ready if you need me to jump on something.”
“Thank you.”
After my chat with Kaylan and a few sips of coffee, my brain was ready to attack the day. I breezed through a stack of emails and sorted through the reports and contracts that were ready to hit Sebastian’s desk. Despite nearly everything going digital, he preferred to read all major reports and contracts on paper. He said it was easier to write on the paper when a thought or concern hit him. It was my responsibility to decipher his handwriting and add the notes to the digital copies for the various departments.
Sebastian breezed through the office as I was getting the last of my notes together. There was no need for Kaylan’s warning text that Sebastian had arrived, because I could hear my boss’s cheery voice echoing across the entire floor.
“Happy Monday, Kaylan! You look like you had a great weekend,” Sebastian called out.
“So do you, sir,” Kaylan replied.
“It was fantastic. Best weekend I’ve had in a long time.”
I steeled myself, fighting the urge to bury my face in my hands even as heat crept into my cheeks. There was no way he was talking about me and our time together. He was insane.