Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 64704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
“Whoa.” I looked up sharply and pointed to the boxes of files sitting in the corner of my office. “Who’s going to digitize those if you’re leaving? I want them done before Monday.”
“Are the cardboard boxes messing up your posh decor?” Julia mocked as she uncrossed her legs and stood. “Relax. I delegated. Guy should be here in…”
Just then there was a knock on the door. A satisfied smile crossed her face as she walked to the door and opened it. A pasty-faced twenty-something walked in with a cocky smile on his face. He immediately pissed me off, and he made it worse by opening his mouth and speaking to me unprompted. “Mr. Langston, I just wanted you to know how thrilled I am that you chose me to help you. I’ve studied your career path. You were a huge influence on my studies at school.”
“I didn’t choose you,” I told him crossly. “My assistant did. You should be thanking her.”
“This is Ralph Cook,” Julia said before giving me a smirk. “So about my weekend...”
Ralph didn’t even bother giving my assistant a second look. Instead, he had the audacity to stride towards my desk and stretch his hand out. “The merger with Gaynor Investments was the most pivotal and critical move of your career. The way you edged out the president and installed your own men on the board gave you complete control. Brilliant. Cold and calculated.”
“I know. I was there.” I refused to shake his hand, but it didn’t deter the little jerk. Wanting him out of my office immediately, I nodded to the boxes. “Get started.”
“Yes! I don’t mind working on the weekend at all. Your assistant’s call could not have come at a better time. My girlfriend actually thinks that she’s going to move in with me. Can you believe it? Anyway, this was the perfect opportunity for me to get away from her. Women, am I right?”
“The boxes are right over there,” I reminded him with the nod of my head.
Ralph didn’t seem to get the message. “I mean, we’ve only been going out for a few months. She’s hot as hell, but I can’t have her around all the time. Women start to get ideas at that point, and I’m too young to be tied down. Besides, how am I going to get any strange on the side if she’s hanging around all the time. Am I right?” he laughed.
If he said am I right one more time, I was going to strangle him.
Julia opened her mouth to tear the guy a new one, but I held up my hand to stop her. I didn’t believe this guy’s story for a second. There was no way in hell that he had a hot girlfriend, and if he did, he certainly wasn’t tossing her aside for any strange. It was time to take him down a peg or two and remind him of his place. “Let’s see a picture of this hot girl of yours,” I said mildly.
I was expecting him to bluster some excuse for not having a picture, but instead, he pulled out his phone, tapped on the screen, and handed it to me.
The picture on the phone wasn’t of just a hot woman. She was breathtaking. Wide, dark eyes with specks of caramel peaked out from a fringe of black lashes and were filled with innocence and kindness. Long, dark tresses that curled and swept over her shoulders begged for my touch. Her skin was smooth and creamy and glowed with just a hint of the sun’s kiss. I was mesmerized by the gentle slope of her shoulder and the inch of her exposed abdomen. Her hips flared in those tight jeans, and there was no denying those luscious curves that swelled beneath the thin white fabric of her shirt.
Her unpainted, full and kissable lips were parted just ever so slightly, and God knows, I wanted to see if she tasted as sweet as she looked.
She was young. Too young. Other than my dalliance with the intern, I usually stayed away from young women. They, of all people, had ideas about their future. Still believed in white knights and Prince Charming. Thought a single night in my bed meant forever. But this woman here, she was glorious, and I desperately wanted to feel that skin beneath my fingers. To sink my teeth into that shoulder.
To tease and torment her until she was begging for more.
My sudden obsession surprised me, but it only egged me on. It had been so long since I’d had such a visceral reaction to a woman. It was an opportunity I wasn’t about to let pass between my fingers.
“How old is she?” I said roughly. Please say eighteen. Please say eighteen.
“Eighteen. She’s about as good as it gets when it comes to picking out bitches from the Bronx,” Ralph sniggered. “She’s a little innocent for my taste, but I can’t wait to break her in.”