Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 102479 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 512(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102479 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 512(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
“I want to be rich.”
He chuckled. “Don’t we all, kid. Are you interested in anything specific?”
I shrugged. “I like picking stocks and seeing how much money I could’ve made if I had any to buy them.”
“That’s not exactly one of our areas. But I’ll tell you what… I’m going to pencil you in for infantry rifleman. It’s the most highly regarded specialty in the Marines. You’ll learn leadership, discipline, and tactical skills—three things that will help you succeed in whatever business you figure out interests you.” He pointed to me. “But I’m going to keep my eye on you, see how you do in basic training. If you prove you can be tamed, I’ll make it happen. If not, get ready for four years of food service. You’ll be slinging slop in a hot kitchen to the men who can control themselves.” He looked down and started to write, waving me off with his other hand. “Now get out of here.”
I stood and walked to the door. “Thank you, sir.”
CHAPTER 13
* * *
Sutton
Knock, knock.
“Hang on a second.” I slipped out of bed, continuing to talk on the phone. “I think someone is at my door.”
“Are you expecting someone?” Miles asked.
“Not that I’m aware of.”
“Then it’s probably Mia.”
My steps faltered. Ugh. I loved my mother, but she was the absolute last person I needed to see this morning. It was bad enough that my head was pounding. I didn’t need a lecture about getting drunk at a work event. Lord knows I’d been berating myself all morning for the way I’d acted last night. I held the cell up to my face so Miles could see me again. “God, I hope not. She’ll take one look at my puffy eyes and know I did something stupid.”
“Who else would it be? We’ve been on the phone for fifteen minutes, and the doorman didn’t call up to clear anyone.”
I sighed. He was right, so I stopped at the hallway mirror and attempted to fix myself. But smoothing out my messy hair wasn’t going to cure my puffy face and the dark circles under my eyes. Crap. This isn’t going to be fun.
To my surprise, when I peeked through the peephole, it wasn’t my mother standing on the other side. It was the building’s doorman.
I opened with a relieved smile. “Hi, Nestor.”
He tipped his hat with a nod. “Morning, Ms. Holland.”
“I told you, it’s Sutton, please.”
He nodded and held out a brown paper bag. “This came for you this morning.”
“What is it?”
“Not sure. A gentleman dropped it by and asked that I see that you got it.”
“A gentleman? You mean a messenger?”
He shrugged. “I was on the phone with the company that services the elevators when he came in, so I missed having him sign in like I usually would. But he didn’t look like the typical delivery guy. If he was, I’m in the wrong line of work because the gentleman had a fancy Maybach waiting out front for him.”
A Maybach. “Thank you.”
“Have a good day.”
I closed the door. Inside the brown paper bag, I found two items: a bottle of Tylenol and an envelope. The latter wasn’t sealed, so I slipped out the thick piece of stationery inside to read the slashy, bold handwriting.
Figured you might need what’s in the bottle before using the other.
Jagger
I unfolded a second piece of paper from inside the envelope—a free, one-month gym pass to Equinox.
The rush of excitement that pulsed through me because Jagger had stopped at my building was positively ridiculous. I sucked in my bottom lip, forgetting all about my pounding head. And apparently also forgetting that I was still on FaceTime with Miles.
“Well…” he called. “What was delivered?”
I held the phone back up to my face. “Tylenol and a gym pass.”
“From who?”
“Jagger.”
“Whoa. That’s above and beyond CEO duties to an intern. What the hell happened between you two last night?”
“Just what I told you.” I went into the kitchen and propped the phone up on the counter so I could make espresso. “He saved me from making a fool of myself, fed me, and sent me packing.”
“This guy is into you, Sutton.”
I didn’t have a ton of experience with men, and none with someone even remotely like Jagger Langston, but I felt in my bones that Miles was right. It was in the way he looked at me, the way he wanted to take care of me. Though none of that mattered.
I sighed. “Even if he is, he’s not going to cross the line. He’s the boss, and I’m an intern. Not to mention, he’s totally hung up on me being a virgin. And then there’s the Edmund situation.”
“Remember Hugh Kempner, the editor at the magazine where I interned?”
“Hugh Kempner? The guy you renamed Huge Member?”
Miles laughed. “That’s the one.”
“What about him? You’re not going to try to tell me my situation is the same, are you? You threw yourself at the guy. If I remember correctly, you walked into his office, locked the door, and gave him a blow job while he was on a conference call.”