Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 84401 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84401 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
“How would you know? Maybe I changed?” I softened the hint of bitterness my words held with a smile.
Fiona paused, then looked away and sighed. “I know it wasn’t fair to leave you to deal with Dad, but I just had to go…”
The past was harder to let rest than we both wanted. I took a sip of water to gather my thoughts. “You never said why you ran.”
“I didn’t run…” Fiona’s eyes found Connor, who was still manning the barbecue, but slanting the occasional curious glance in our direction. “I caught Aiden in bed with Paisley a few weeks after Mom’s funeral.”
I choked on the water in my mouth. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Aiden had been Fiona’s first love, her high school sweetheart since they were fifteen, and Paisley had been Fiona’s best friend.
She shrugged. “I was humiliated. I didn’t want people to find out. And you were grieving Mom.”
“So were you, Fiona.”
“I know,” she admitted.
“You went to prom with him.”
“Like I said, I wanted to keep up appearances. But after that, I just wanted to leave.”
“And you had to round the globe because of one cheating asshole?” I muttered indignantly.
“It was a knee-jerk reaction. I never thought I’d stay for long, definitely not forever, but then Connor came along.”
“And now you’ll stay.”
“Yeah,” she said softly, her eyes finding him again. I was happy for her, and the flicker of resentment that I’d still harbored for her disappearance vanished. Even if my new job didn’t work out, my trip to Sydney was already worth every last penny.
My jet lag had only marginally improved overnight, but I was excited for this day as it marked a new beginning, and what could be more exciting than that? I walked into the kitchen, where Fiona was already eating an Acai breakfast bowl or whatever the current it-breakfast on Instagram was. It was bright purple with a bit of granola sprinkled on top. She snapped a photo, her brows drawn together in concentration.
“Good morning, sunshine,” I said with a smile.
Fiona looked up and shook her head. “Still a morning person.”
“You don’t look as grumpy in the morning as I remember.”
She smiled. “I had to get used to an early schedule to get a workout in before work.”
“Isn’t working out part of your work?” I asked, confused, as I prepared a breakfast of cereal and fruit for myself.
“It is. But I record my morning workout for Instagram. I can’t do that with my other workouts. There’s a no-recording policy in place.”
I sat down. “I checked the internet for Xavier’s previous assistants, and a lot of images popped up. Why did they all run away? Is he a choleric asshole?”
“No, not a choleric one,” Fiona said with pursed lips.
I raised my eyebrows.
“He’s okay. He isn’t an assholey boss if that’s what you’re worried about. He just can’t keep it in his pants.”
I froze. “He’s a groper?”
Fiona laughed. “Oh, no, Evie. I wouldn’t do that to you. Xavier doesn’t grope women who don’t want to be groped, trust me. He’s not that kind of asshole. Women throw themselves at him faster than he can dodge them, not that he’s trying. Every single one of his assistants landed in bed with him, and then either Xavier dumped them because they thought it meant something and turned too needy, or the women quit because they realized they were nothing but his fuck thing and didn’t want to be his assistants anymore.”
“So you think I’m either a lesbian or frigid?”
Fiona snorted. “What?”
“Because I assume you are certain I won’t land in bed with him, or you wouldn’t have asked me to work for him.”
She snapped another picture of her food. “You won’t land in bed with him because you have standards and don’t do casual sex.”
I flushed. I didn’t do any kind of sex, much to my chagrin, but I had every intention of rectifying that. Not with a serial womanizer though.
Fiona put down her phone, her eyes searching. “You never mentioned a boyfriend when we Skyped.”
I ate another spoonful of my cereal, considering what I wanted to tell Fiona. We had been close once and then we hadn’t been, but in the last few months, things had improved. We’d Skyped often and now I was here. “Because there wasn’t anyone.”
“You never…?”
I shook my head, then shrugged. “Don’t give me that pitying look, all right? It’s no big deal.”
She smiled. “We’ll find you a nice guy to date. I could ask Connor if he knows someone.”
“Don’t,” I blurted. “That’s too embarrassing. And I’ve come here to work, not to date.”
“Okay. But keep your eyes open. Only promise me that you’re not going to fall for Xavier.”
“I won’t,” I said firmly. “Did you show Xavier a photo of me before he hired me?”
Fiona shook her head. “No, he should stop choosing his assistants by their looks.”