Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 32776 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32776 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
“Would you like me to buy you a bottle?” His deep voice made me look up.
“A bottle of what?”
“My cologne,” he said, smirking. “That way you won’t have to keep wondering what it would smell like if I leaned any closer to you…”
My cheeks burned, and I kept my gaze straight ahead.
Ding!
The elevator sounded, and I swear the doors were trying to embarrass me further by opening at an inch per hour.
When they finally gave way, Mr. Hudson cleared his throat.
“This is the only stop, Miss Sterling,” he said. “You can get off now.”
Nodding, I stepped into a marbled hallway and was lured to keep walking toward the panoramic windows that gave a stunning view of New York’s skyline.
“Wow.” I couldn’t help but say, “I would never leave if I lived here…”
“I’m sure you wouldn’t.” Mr. Hudson walked up behind me. “Thankfully, this one isn’t for sale.”
“For the record, I’m really sorry about what I did,” I said. “Like, using a luxury for personal reasons was wrong, and I’ll never do it again.”
“Are we talking about the shower part or the promising potential customers things you weren’t supposed to offer part?”
“Um, just that first one.”
“Oh?” He narrowed his eyes. “I think you mean both.”
“Yes. Sorry for both…”
“Since you seem to be on edge, let’s just handle this unfortunate situation now.” He pointed to a cream chaise, but I didn’t move to sit.
“I’d like to lay out your punishment,” he said. “It’s a more than fair way for you to pay me back for all the damages you caused.”
“What damages?”
“Let me finish.” He held up his hand. “Lucky for you, the man you sell properties under is one of the most generous men in this city.”
Since when? I bit my tongue.
“He’s decided not to press charges in exchange for your help with a project he’s pursuing,” he said. “How does that sound?”
“Sounds like he’s suddenly speaking in the third person.”
“You have one strike of sarcasm left with me…” He moved closer. “When I was looking through your background, I noticed you worked for a hometown candidate who was running for mayor. Is this true?”
“Yes.” I nodded. “I was his campaign manager.”
“And somehow you helped him win, despite his sordid past and dating history, yes?”
“Yes.”
“Why aren’t you still working under him now?”
Because he lied about hiring me and left me hanging out to dry. And he still owes me a month’s worth of salary…
“I just decided to move on to something else,” I lied. “I’d rather bet on myself.”
“Hmmm.” He looked as if he didn’t believe me at all. “Well, luckily for you, I’m starting a much smaller campaign for something that’s not political, and I don’t have a sordid history.”
Just a cruel and ruthless one. I nearly yelped, biting my lip on that line.
He walked over to a stunning glass bookshelf and pulled out a leather folder. Then he handed it to me.
Engraved on its front was the outline of a building I knew all too well, and under it—in cursive—was its name: The Holden.
“I want to buy this building, and I need resident approval since I can’t get it directly from the mayor.”
That’s never happening…
“You’ll need to do whatever you did before on a much grander scale and make me come off kindhearted and like I actually care about people’s feelings so I can finally have it to myself.”
I blinked. “Don’t you have a million-dollar public relations team for this?”
“They’ve tried and failed for the past year,” he said. “I’m tired of waiting on them to fix my image.”
“Have you tried being a nicer person?” I asked. “Maybe going in that direction?”
“I’ll give you all the numbers to local leaders and influential people—” He waved off my questions as if they were beneath him. “You’ll wine and dine them for a few months and say whatever you have to say so they vote yes.”
“So, in exchange for me stealing one shower and making a few crazy offers to a very rich client, you want me to buy people’s votes?”
“First of all,” he said, his voice low, “you didn’t steal just one shower. We went through security footage at all my listings for the past year, and you were sneaking into my best condos at least three times a week.”
“I’m still very sorry…”
“Bullshit.” He rolled his eyes. “And second of all, I’m not interested in buying anyone’s vote. I just want you to influence it.”
“You’ll draw out a plan for me, and then I’ll make sure you have the proper team and resources to execute it. If all goes well over the next six months, I’ll pretend like we never crossed paths. Any questions?”
“Yes, actually.” I stammered. “Quite a few.”
“I’ll settle for three.”
“How much are you going to pay me for helping you?” I asked. “I don’t make enough to do things for free.”