Total pages in book: 166
Estimated words: 156145 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 781(@200wpm)___ 625(@250wpm)___ 520(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 156145 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 781(@200wpm)___ 625(@250wpm)___ 520(@300wpm)
I’m making progress. Slowly, but surely.
He kept his body language as casual as his tone. “You free tonight?”
“Tonight?” She took another bite and chewed slowly. “I could make tonight work.”
“Why don’t you bring an extra set of clothes and shower at the gym? I can pick you up at...five?”
“Sure...” She grabbed her phone off the counter and backed away. “That sounds nice. Let’s do that. ’Bye.”
Aaron watched her run from him, but there was none of the frustration he’d grown accustomed to when it came to dealing with Becka. They’d taken a big step last night, whether she wanted to admit it or not. If she needed to retreat a little in response, he’d allow it.
But she wouldn’t get far if she tried to bolt for real.
He shook his head and used a spatula to move the pancakes from the pan to a square of tinfoil he’d laid out when he started cooking. A few seconds to cool, and then he carefully rolled them up and grabbed the mini jar of peanut butter he’d picked up yesterday. The jar and the tinfoil wraps went into the lunch bag he’d found in the back of his pantry. He could hear Becka getting dressed in her room, so he poured her a cup of coffee into a thermos. Ten to one, she was about to rush out of the penthouse without worrying about her coffee or her lunch, and he didn’t need her going without because he’d spooked her.
He stepped into the hallway and caught her midsneak. Her blue eyes went wide. “I’m going to work now.”
“I see that.” He passed over the bag and the thermos, and her jaw dropped when she took them. Aaron used a single finger to close her mouth and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “I’ll pick you up at five.”
“At five,” she parroted.
He stepped back so she had a clear escape path. Becka blinked at him one last time and nearly sprinted to the front door. It slammed behind her, and Aaron chuckled. That went well. The woman obviously had been taking care of herself for a very long time. From what he knew of both her and Lucy—and what she had and hadn’t said—he suspected Becka went without to ensure her big sister didn’t feel any unnecessary guilt about their parents being shitty. He respected the hell out of that, even if he wanted to go back in time and wrap her younger self up and protect her from the ugliness she’d lived through.
He couldn’t fix her past. He wouldn’t even know where to start.
But if he was careful, Aaron could maneuver around her thorns to take care of her in the future.
He cleaned up the kitchen, changed and headed out for work. Becka had him entirely too distracted, but work with his new client went over well enough. The client wanted an audit of their existing computer systems and a comprehensive risk-assessment report. It was a simpler job than he normally handled. Cameron much preferred the clients who wanted cybersecurity set up from the ground up, but this particular job was a referral and not one they could subcontract.
Even though it was something he could put together in his sleep, that didn’t mean he could get away without giving it all of his attention. They were paying him for the best, and that was what he needed to provide.
Cameron stood in the lobby, a scowl on his face, as Aaron walked through the door. He stopped short. “What’s wrong?”
“Kim Jones walked.” Cameron glared at the phone as if it was the sole responsible party. “I told her that cutting corners would undermine the integrity of our work and if she wanted a cheap option, she should have gone with one of our half-assed competitors.” He glared harder. “She said that’s exactly what she planned to do.”
“Fuck,” Aaron breathed. “I had her in the bag. Why the hell would you tell her that? We’d already agreed on the package she wanted. Our job is to give it to her—not rip her a new one because we think it’s the wrong choice. That’s not your call to make, Cameron.”
He strode past the lobby and into his office, Cameron hot on his heels. The man’s agitation rolled off him in waves. “I told you I can’t do this shit, Aaron. They ask me a question and I’m not going to pussyfoot around with the answer. Honesty is supposed to be an asset.”
He held on to his patience through sheer force of will. “Yes, but your brand of honesty has also driven off every single person we’ve hired to help manage the workload. I don’t have a problem being the client-facing part of the company, but I can’t do both. So, if we can’t find suitable admin support, we either need to hire another tech expert or we need someone who can work under me to consult with the clients. I don’t care which way we go on things, but something has to give.”