Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 110802 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110802 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Knox sat close, combing his fingers through her hair. “How was your day?” he asked her as Levi pulled out onto the road.
“Good,” she said. “Yours?”
“Busy.” He kissed her. “Boring.” Another kiss. “Better now.” Also extremely frustrating, but he’d wait a little longer before he broke the bad news to her. He wanted them to enjoy some time together first.
“So, does taking me to dinner have anything to do with you wanting to make sure I was okay after the dolphin paid me a visit?”
“Must we refer to her as ‘the dolphin’?” he asked; it made him feel like he’d partaken in bestiality or something.
“We? No. Me? Yes.”
Sighing inwardly, he stroked her pulse with his thumb. “I’m angry at Alethea. I very nearly called her. But then I considered that I would be rewarding her behavior with attention. That could encourage her to do it again.”
“Just ignore her. That will annoy her more than anything else could.”
“There was never anything serious between me and Alethea. The picture she painted was very much false.”
“I know that,” Harper assured him.
“Good.” He circled her pulse again, liking the way it spiked. “If your business was located in the Underground, you would have better security. Not only would that make it more difficult for people to bother you, it would mean I wouldn’t have to rely solely on Tanner to inform me of any problems.”
“Is that a fact?”
“I’m just pointing it out.”
“Hm.”
Resting his hand possessively on her thigh, he asked, “What are your co-workers’ feelings on relocating the business?”
“They’re open to the idea. At this point, it’s just me who’s unsure.”
He rubbed her thigh. “What’s holding you back?”
“You’ll think it’s weird.”
“I often find your responses weird.” It was something that didn’t bother him, though. “Tell me. I want to understand.”
“I lived in a shitty flat, and then I moved into a mansion. I used to get the subway to work, and now I get a ride there in a Bentley – by a chauffeur/bodyguard, no less. My wardrobe used to be small and filled with vintage stuff from thrift shops. Now I have a walk-in closet that’s bigger than my old room and is full of designer clothes that I pretend are from thrift shops. I have a housekeeper. And a butler. I co-run a lair. I’m adjusting as best I can to all this, but I worry I’ll become…”
“A snob?” he supplied.
“I worry I’ll change and become someone who takes stuff for granted. My business has always grounded me.”
“But now I ground you, just like you ground me,” he said, watching as her face softened. “I understand the business is your baby and you’re protective of it. But I’m not asking you to close it down. I’m just asking you to relocate it. In the Underground, it would be safer, it would have less costs, and it would gain more profits. Let me show you the little building I think would be ideal for you. Check out the location and see what you think of it. There’s no harm in that.”
She let out a long, put-out groan. “Okay.”
“Good girl.” He didn’t bother to hide his satisfaction. “We’ll take a look at it tomorrow.”
“Fine.” She crossed one leg over the other. “So, where are we going?”
“I told you, we’re going for dinner.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Harper wasn’t exactly surprised when Levi stopped the car outside one of the classiest hotels on the Las Vegas strip – a hotel Knox owned, but not one she’d been to before.
Knox often took her to fancy places, not caring that she was only in jeans and a T-shirt and would stick out like a sore thumb. Harper didn’t like to stand out, but the reality was that she’d stand out for the simple reason that she was with Knox Thorne – it wouldn’t matter how she was dressed. So she figured she might as well be wearing comfortable clothes than an elegant get-up she didn’t feel right in.
He kept his hand possessively locked around her wrist as they entered the grand, luxurious hotel and the cool air-conditioned air hit her face. A few of the staff rushed to him; he answered their questions without breaking stride. It was a usual thing, whichever of his hotels they went to. He led her past the elevator doors and toward the casino.
As the automatic doors swished open, the smells of tobacco, perfume, cologne, and air deodorizer surrounded her. They walked along the soft, patterned carpet; passing roulette wheels, card tables, and people who were swearing or cursing at backlit gambling machines. Alarms dinged and players cheered, overriding the music filtering in from another room.
The security guards patrolling the floor nodded at Knox as he led her to the exit, through a boutique store, and over to a restaurant. He swung open the glass door and said, “After you, baby.”