Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
She nodded. “Yes. I sold it a few months ago.”
“Why? Was it not doing well?”
She smiled. “It did well, but I was tired of working the grind. There early in the morning, staying until late in the evening. Then I’d go home, rinse and repeat. I had no life.”
I couldn’t help but smile. I had said the same thing describing my burnout.
“One day, I decided I didn’t want to be the boss. So, I sold it, took the money, invested some of it, and used the rest to make my move and start a new life.”
She chewed nervously on her lower lip, almost like she was worried I wouldn’t believe her.
Nodding, I replied, “Good for you, Cadie.”
“Thanks,” she said with a smile. “If you could do me a favor and not tell Opal. I like that she doesn’t know I’m even more experienced than I said I was.”
“If that’s what you want.”
“Yes, please.”
I had a feeling Opal already knew Cadie was more experienced than she let on.
The waitress came back over and took our drink and food order. When she left, Cadie exhaled and looked directly at me. If I was a betting man, I would say she felt relieved to get that off her chest.
Clearing her throat, she asked, “So, what are your plans now that you have a fresh start and aren’t working nonstop as an attorney?”
“Write.”
Her eyes widened. “Okay, I wasn’t expecting that! Write what?” she asked. “Like a law book, fiction? Non-fiction?”
“God, not a law book,” I said with a shiver. “I’d like to write a fictional book. Mystery novel.”
The waitress brought Cadie’s Diet Pepsi and my lemonade. We both thanked her, and Cadie asked her next question.
“Have you always wanted to write a book?”
I nodded and moved uneasily in my seat. I wasn’t sure if I should share the experience I had with the guy on the subway. I still was wondering if it was all my imagination. My inner self manifesting a change of destiny all on its own.
“I have. That’s what I wanted to do with my career before my parents pretty much guilted me into law.”
“I’m sorry, Kian. It has to be hard when your parents don’t support your goals and dreams in life.”
“If I’m honest, I could have followed my dream, attended school, and got an English or creative writing degree.”
“Why didn’t you?”
I felt the heat of embarrassment creep up my neck. “Money. My parents told me if I didn’t go to school for law, I would be cut off. And as ugly and spoiled as it sounds, I liked having money at my disposal. My mother and father threw anything and everything at us growing up just to keep us happy and out of their hair. I got so used to having what I wanted that the idea of losing it all and making it on my own…well…it scared me.” I sighed at the audacity of what I just said. “The life of privilege, I know, poor rich kid.”
“I’m not thinking that at all. I’m thinking how sad it is that you grew up that way.”
“Trust me, I wanted for nothing. For my sixteenth birthday, my father gave me a Porsche, Cadie. A sixteen-year-old boy with a sports car.”
“But you did want something other than all the material things.”
I raised a brow. “How do you figure?”
“I would bet anything that sixteen-year-old Kian would have traded that Porsche for time with his mother and father. For a family vacation to Disney World or the beach.”
A strange tug hit me right in the chest. She was absolutely right. All I could do was nod. Our food was brought, and we ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Cadie spoke again.
“So, you said I need to check out the city website?”
Wiping my mouth, I replied, “Yes, the town website has everything you need on there. When we were little, there was even a monthly coloring contest. For adults and kids. It was fun.”
I gave her the website, and she typed it into her phone and pulled it up. “Wow, this is amazing that the town does so much! There is also a spring dance the weekend after next, the same weekend as the scavenger hunt.”
“They’ll shut down Main Street, and it will be held there.”
Her eyes lit up. “How fun is that!”
“We can go together if you want.” She looked surprised and a bit taken aback, so I added, “I’m sure Opal will want me to go with her, and my sister Macy will most likely bring the kids in for it. She wants her kiddos to experience the things we got to as kids, even if our parents weren’t the ones to take us.”
A look of relief crossed her face. “Thank you for the invite, but I don’t want to barge in on your family time.”