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 ate boxed macaroni and cheese, watched a movie starring Jim Carrey that I assumed would be funny because, well, Jim Carrey. But I found myself crying at Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which turned out to be about a couple who split up and decide to undergo a medical procedure to have each other erased from their memories, only to realize they didn’t want to forget the bad parts because it meant losing the good, too.
By Monday, I’d decided I was being ridiculous, pulled up my big-girl panties, and dragged myself to work. I went to the early-morning management briefing that was open to all employees. Jack was also there. I hadn’t seen him in a while, and after the meeting let out, he jogged to catch up to me as I reached the elevator.
“Hey. Long time no see.”
I smiled. “I know. Did you give up coffee?”
The elevator doors slid open, and he put his hand out for me to enter first. “Nah. I’ve just been up to my eyeballs with all this DOJ stuff.”
My ears perked up. “Did you go to the meeting in DC on Friday?”
He shook his head. “Not to the DOJ meeting, but my team went to DC to work on the MSL acquisition.”
When the doors opened at my floor, Jack stepped off with me. “We’re in a holding pattern until we know if the DOJ will accept what Langston put together to drop the antitrust case, so today I can enjoy a good cup of coffee that takes a few minutes to make.”
The security globe caught my attention as soon as we rounded the corner to my desk. Good. Maybe this will get him to pick up the phone.
“You need a refresh?” Jack pointed to my cup.
“No, thank you. But stop on the way back if you have time. I want to ask you a few questions about something they said during the briefing.”
“Sure.” He smiled.
I hated playing high-school games, but that’s what I was resorting to now. Jack returned just as I’d figured out some stupid question to ask about the annual prospectuses they’d showed at the morning meeting. He stuck around, forearms leaning on the half-wall of my cubicle, for a solid ten minutes. I waited for my desk phone to ring, as it had the last few times Jagger watched this kind of exchange, but it never did. My attempt to get a reaction had backfired, leaving me feeling even worse than I had yesterday, because now I wondered if he was even watching me anymore.
When Jack finally left, I stared up at the globe for a long time before slouching back into my seat and forcing myself to work on the project I’d been assigned. Thankfully, I loved what I was doing, and before I knew it, it was two o’clock in the afternoon. I hadn’t even eaten anything today, so I grabbed my purse and went to the deli next door to get a salad. My nose was in my phone as I walked through the lobby, and by the time I looked up, I almost walked straight into Jagger. And a woman.
It took a few seconds to go through my mental rolodex and register who she was—Marla, his foster sister who worked in the London office.
The look on Jagger’s face made me wonder if he’d been going to try to walk right past me. Though he didn’t get the chance when I stopped in front of him.
“Hi.”
Jagger nodded. “Hello, Sutton.”
Marla’s head ping-ponged between us. “Sutton? As in…”
Jagger’s jaw flexed. “Yes.” He motioned to Marla. “Marla Emerson, this is Sutton Holland.”
I put my hand out, but Marla went in for a hug. “It’s so nice to meet you.”
The fact that she apparently knew who I was soothed the ache in my chest, at least somewhat. I smiled when she stepped back. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Her eyes gleamed. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
I looked at Jagger. His face was filled with tension and gave away nothing. I attempted to sound casual. “Was I…the topic of lunch conversation today?”
She waved me off. “Unfortunately, not today. We had a boring business lunch. But I heard all about you last week.”
Last week. When things were still going well… I supposed I should see it as a positive sign that he hadn’t said anything negative since then.
Jagger put a hand on her back. “We should get going. The attorneys are waiting for us upstairs.”
Marla rolled her eyes. “He just wants to keep me away from you so I won’t tell you about the time he hotboxed the janitor’s closet at school and tried to blame it on our eighty-year-old math teacher. Or the time he replaced the school song they played over the loudspeaker every morning with recordings of women moaning—I still don’t want to know how he got those.”