Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 88501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
“Hey, are you okay? You look tired,” I said, taking in the dark circles under his eyes.
A small smile rested on his lips, and he squeezed my hand. “I’ve gotten little sleep recently. After Mom’s scare, I’ve been trying to catch up on some work that has piled up. I’m sorry I didn’t call yesterday.”
“Understandable. How’s your mom?”
“Good. They released her from the hospital yesterday, and she’s resting.” He grunted a rough laugh. “She’s grumpy that Dad wouldn’t let her attend tonight.”
“There will be plenty of other parties for her.” I leaned closer and whispered, “You want me to come over tonight after the party? We can cuddle, eat cheese, and listen to your rain recording.”
A long, weary sigh escaped Pierce. “God, that sounds so fucking good.” As my hopes rose that he’d agree to it, he shook his head hard as if trying to free himself from the image. “Can’t. I’ve got an enormous pile of reading ahead of me tonight.”
“I can feed you cheese as you read.”
Pierce smirked and tugged me toward the office party. “This won’t be a late thing. There will be plenty of time for you to head out to grab drinks and pick up someone at a bar. That sounds like a far better night to me.”
Fuck. That.
Tedious nightclub scene or feeding cheese to the sexy man holding my hand? Gee, it’s so fucking hard to choose.
Usually, he put more effort into brushing me off. It had to be the fatigue, or that I’d finally worn his ass down. I liked to think it was the latter.
We walked together through the office space, past a row of offices with glass walls facing a small area filled with cubicles. Pierce murmured that this was where the paralegals and some of the junior lawyers sat. The office building itself was filled with old-fashioned exposed brick walls and dark wood, giving it a different feel from the usual rich, polished office buildings I’d seen. I’d visited Sebastian and Declan at Courtland Enterprises a couple of times for lunch, and that building was filled with glass, polished nickel, and marble, giving it an elegant but very sterile feel. Meanwhile, the Sutton law firm was warm and inviting.
The deeper we moved into the building, the bigger the offices became, along with more gleaming wood and leather seats. Here we were reaching the domain of senior partners. In one boardroom, the long table had been pushed against the wall and the chairs removed. A white tablecloth stretched over it, and food filled silver platters and chafing dishes.
“I thought you mentioned this was going to be little finger foods? Hors d’oeuvres?” I murmured.
Pierce’s smile returned, even brighter. “That was the plan, but Marie realized that since we were holding this directly after regular business hours, people were going to be hungry for dinner. It made sense to do something more substantial, so people wouldn’t be rushing out of here to get dinner.”
“I like Marie. You better be paying her what she’s worth, because she’s a gem.”
“I am. She’s helped keep me sane while setting up this branch of Sutton Law. Do you want to fix a plate now? Are you hungry?”
The food smelled and looked amazing. There was already a line forming as people filled their plates. It was all so tempting, but it was better to wait. “No, I’m good for now. You still have to introduce me to coworkers, and I need to say hi to your dad. I want to get that done before I get spinach stuck in my teeth or something dribbled on my tie.”
Pierce nodded and pulled me in a different direction to what appeared to be a large office where stools and small circular high-top tables had been placed. There were about twenty people in here wearing suits and evening dresses. They chatted and held glasses of wine or mixed drinks they’d gotten from a bar that had been set up in the corner.
“Can I get you a drink?” Pierce inquired.
“Nope. That’ll be my reward for getting through this gauntlet. I can’t wait to show you how charming I can be.”
Pierce laughed, but I soon showed him I was a fucking star when it came to chatting up and charming people. I’d been doing this for most of my life. It wasn’t enough that I could play the violin better than practically everyone in the world; people also expected me to be witty, charming, and a must-have at all their parties. While I didn’t know shit about law or contracts, I could spin incredible stories about my travels around the globe and the interesting people I’d met.
People inevitably asked how Pierce and I met. I always kept it vague so that the whole nonexistent age gap issue that haunted Pierce was glossed over. Childhood friends. That was easy enough.