Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 52699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 263(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 263(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
“Learn how to drive!” “What the hell are you doing?” “Can someone call the police?”
Fellow drivers honked at him every few feet, but he didn’t seem to care; he was determined to make everyone’s morning commute more miserable than usual.
The moment I could switch lanes, I was getting far away from his incompetence.
I turned on my windshield wipers and called my office at the firm.
“Good morning, Mr. Carter!” a woman who was not my secretary answered. “How may I help you on this dreary, drizzling day?”
“Jessica, I’ve told you to stop sneaking behind Michelle’s desk. Put her on the phone.”
“Michelle is taking some personal time off to get over some things,” she said. “Her fiancé dumped her at the altar, remember?”
“I never liked him anyway.”
“They were the perfect couple,” she said. “If they can’t make it, what does that mean for a lonely girl like me?”
“You stalked your last three boyfriends and hid cameras in their bedrooms.”
“It’s like men don’t even try anymore, you know?” she asked. “Every guy I love pushes me away for no reason.”
I held back on telling her that there was no hope for someone like her. She was batshit crazy and she always had been.
“Can you go over my schedule for today?” I asked instead.
“Sure,” she said. “First up, you have an appointment with your therapist.”
“Reschedule it.”
“You’ve been rescheduling this appointment for over a year now. Shouldn’t you just cancel?”
“I’ve already paid for the session.”
“Rescheduling now. After that, you have a block of interviews with first-year lawyers.”
“What?” I honked at the Honda as he swerved again. “Interviews?”
“Yes, interviews. It’s hunting season, remember?”
Shit.
The most dreadful time of the year had somehow circled around without a long enough break from the last occasion. Like locusts, fresh lawyers swarmed every firm in the city, hoping to land new careers with recycled answers and resumes.
“I could’ve sworn I told Michelle to schedule a family emergency, so I wouldn’t have to deal with these.”
“That would’ve worked, except you don’t have a family.” She scoffed. “Nice try, though.”
“How many interviews do I have to suffer through today?”
“Four before lunch and sixteen after. Tomorrow, you have twenty-six.”
“Tomorrow I’ll be suffering from the flu,” I said. “Type that in for me.”
“Never. You have six client calls scheduled in between these sessions, and someone made an emergency appointment this morning. Want me to read their claim?”
“No,” I said. “Save it for when I get there. I’ll see you soon.”
I ended the call, tapping my fingers against the steering wheel.
My partner and I needed to put an end to this torturous ritual after this year, once and for all. Our firm was unlike any other firm in this city, so I didn’t understand why we insisted on recruiting like the others.
Suddenly, the Honda ahead of me slowed, and black smoke unfurled from its tailpipe.
A gap opened on my left, and a truck flashed its lights from behind.
Without hesitation, I switched lanes and sped ahead. Then I moved in front of the idiot Honda driver.
Through my rearview mirror, I looked back at him and realized it wasn’t a ‘he’ after all.
The visor concealed her face, but I could make out bright red bow-shaped lips.
She threw up a middle finger and honked at me.
Eeeewl! Eeeewl! EEEWL!
Her car squealed from behind as I pulled onto the exit ramp, and black smoke suddenly covered my rear windshield.
What the hell?
ABANDONMENT (N.)
THE ACT OF INTENTIONALLY AND PERMANENTLY GIVING UP, SURRENDERING, DESERTING OR RELINQUISHING PROPERTY, AND/OR PREMISES
ELIZABETH
“It was just a tap, asshole,” I muttered, holding up my middle finger again. “Just a tap.”
The guy in the sports car thought he owned this road. All morning, he’d been riding my ass so closely, that I’m shocked we didn’t touch sooner.
His license plate read NTGUILTY, and I just knew he was a tech bro or some CEO of a company who thought he was untouchable.
Frustrated, I focused on the exit light ahead. This morning was already careening toward the brink of disaster, and I couldn’t let it get any worse.
I was on my way to Hamilton & Associates, the most successful firm in the city, and I needed this job.
As soon as the light flashed red, I slammed my foot on the brakes.
Oh, shit that’s the gas.
My car jolted forward. Thick black smoke billowed from under my hood and clogged the windshield.
“What the hell, lady?” “Is she alive?” “Someone help to get her out!”
I unbuckled my seatbelt and pushed on my door, but it didn’t budge.
I leaned into it with my shoulder as hard as I could, and it finally gave in with a sickening squeal. I stepped out into the rain, and my knees buckled.
Someone wrapped arms around me from behind and pulled me against something hard and chiseled.
“You are a fucking terrible driver,” the stranger tightened his hold on me, and I inhaled his woodsy, intoxicating scent.