Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 77016 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77016 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
“Have you forgotten the deals that we have on the table? In the UK? China? Not to mention here in the good old US of A.”
“You can handle things until I return. Fuck, Ben, it’s not like I’m leaving the country. I’ll be gone a day or two at most, and I set up a meeting with Beauregard Textiles in Kansas City on Monday, so there’s reason for the visit.”
“Since when are you interested in textiles?”
“I’m interested in making money. Sam Beauregard contacted our mergers and acquisitions department a couple months ago, and—”
Ben holds up his hand. “Please. Spare me the details. I guarantee you none of this interests me.”
“Fine. I’m not leaving until Sunday anyway, and I won’t be gone long. I’ll spend today tying up loose ends and bringing you up to speed. Anything else I can get done tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow’s Saturday.”
“Yeah? What’s your point?” He knows I work weekends.
He huffs. “I don’t need to be brought up to speed. I know everything inside out.”
“Yeah, you do. That’s my point. No one will miss me.”
“Except that you never take time off. Claire won’t know what to do with herself.”
“I’m at the New York office about a third of the time anyway. What the hell is this about, Ben?”
He sighs and wipes his lips with his napkin. “You’re just not yourself, Bray. It’s freaky.”
“You’re the one who told me I need Skye.”
“I did. But not at the cost of everything else.”
“The business will be fine—”
He holds up a hand. “That’s not what I mean. Of course the business will be fine. But the fact that you’re talking about going off to some farm to meet your girlfriend’s parents without checking with her is not fine. And you know what else isn’t fine? This isn’t you, Braden. You never leave the business. You’re a micromanager if I ever saw one.”
My brother is exaggerating a little. I’m hardly a micromanager. I have two people in New York who I trust with everything, and here in Boston I have Ben and my father. What my brother means is that I don’t relinquish control easily.
And he’s right.
But for the first time in my life, I feel like there may be more than work. More than this life I’ve come to know and love.
While Skye isn’t ready for what I want, I still want her.
I still love her.
“You sure about this?” Ben continues.
I draw in a breath, ready to say, “Yes, of course I’m sure,” because that’s what I always say.
Braden Black is always sure.
The truth?
I’m not sure.
I’m so far from sure that I can’t see it in my rearview mirror.
And that feels…not good, exactly, but interesting.
Intriguing.
Even kind of exhilarating.
I’m curious.
Curious to see where this remarkable woman grew up. Curious to meet the two people who raised her.
Once I’m in the office, I tell Claire to cancel any appointments I have in Boston Sunday through Tuesday.
Skye’s home is where everything began for her, and it’s where I’ll begin this journey.
Chapter Six
By Sunday, though, my plans have changed. One of our international suppliers is coming to the States and wants a meeting with me Tuesday in New York. I’m meeting with Dimitri and Lizzie first thing tomorrow morning, so the impromptu trip to Kansas is off, and I canceled the meeting with Beauregard.
Ben was thrilled when I told him. That supplier just saved you from making a huge mistake, were his exact words.
I’m going to New York instead. I’ll be working most of today before the meeting tomorrow, but tonight? An evening at Black Rose Underground is what I need. I’ll find a sub, do a scene, get back to who I truly am.
Who I was before Skye Manning catapulted herself into my life.
Flying in my private jet never gets old. The hum of the engines, the serene isolation of cruising at thirty-seven thousand feet, and the luxurious comfort of the leather seats provide an unparalleled sense of freedom. The flight attendants are well trained to serve me my preferred meals and drinks as I pore over business reports.
It’s early, and there’s nothing like a sunrise in the air. As dawn breaks, the soft hues of orange and pink lace themselves around the edges of the cloud clusters outside. I take a sip of my freshly brewed coffee, its warmth spreading throughout my body as I gaze out the window at the world below.
But even the beauty of the air doesn’t keep Skye from my mind.
I never should have begun a relationship with Skye. I knew it at the time, and I know it now.
However, that changes nothing.
She’s become a part of me, and I want to know more. I want to know what makes her tick. Why she is the way she is. I’ve never had such a drive to know someone, and frankly, it pisses me off.