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)
Before I could ask if I could walk around the block for a while, the man we were looking for—our client’s husband—stepped out of the hotel.
Sitting up, I watched him pace out front, and then he waved at someone in the distance. A woman in a red dress ran toward him, and he pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply, instantly giving our client five million dollars per the infidelity clause in their brutal divorce.
Damien called one of our team members, and I picked up the camera and snapped photos.
“I don’t understand how you can say ‘I do’ to someone one day,” I said, “and then years later, you hate this person and want to see them burn in hell.”
“That’s literally the definition of marriage.”
“Is that why you’re not married?”
“No.” He looked over at me. “But if I ever feel the urge to propose to someone, I’ll just withdraw every dollar from my bank account and set it on fire. That’s pretty much the same thing.”
I held back a laugh. “Can I ask you something personal?”
“No.”
“Are we supposed to pretend like nothing happened between us in your office the other day?”
“I could’ve sworn I said no.”
“I just need to know if you’ve thought about the incident that occurred during the afternoon hours.”
“Incident?”
“Yes, the inappropriate incident in your office.”
“You’re referring to when we had sex?”
“Yes. That.”
“Are you having regrets?”
“No.”
“Then why do we need to talk about it?”
“Because I…” I looked at him. “I would like to know if that’s how you typically operate when it comes to being at this firm.”
He arched his brow. “What do you mean?”
“Sleeping with whoever you’re working with.”
He stared at me for a while, looking confused.
“Forget I mentioned it.” I picked up the camera and took a few more photos.
When the couple disappeared, Damien cupped my chin and turned my head to face him.
“I’ve never slept with anyone who worked at this firm,” he said, “and between you and me, I’ve never slept with a fellow lawyer either. But yes, let’s pretend that didn’t happen because I can promise you it’ll never happen again.”
“Good, because I’m dating someone else and I would hate to be conflicted.”
“In that case, does he know about the incident?” He dropped his hand.
“No.”
“Good.” He pulled onto the street. “Don’t ever tell him.”
“Why?”
“Because he doesn’t need to know that he’ll never be the best guy you’ve ever had.”
IMPOSSIBILITY (N.)
WHEN AN ACT CANNOT BE PERFORMED DUE TO NATURE, PHYSICAL IMPEDIMENTS OR UNFORESEEN EVENTS
DAMIEN
There’s no way she’s considering sleeping with someone else.
I shut my eyes as I stood under hot shower streams, trying not to let Elizabeth’s words slip under my skin.
It was no use, though.
Ever since “the incident,” my brain defaulted to thoughts of me pounding in her again whenever I wasn’t doing any work.
Shit.
I turned off the water and quickly dressed before driving to the office.
A box was waiting for me with a return address that belonged to my therapist.
Carrying it upstairs to my floor, I paused as I overheard pear music floating down the halls.
For some reason, Elizabeth played this when she worked late at night: that, or some strange monologue.
She wasn’t there, so I turned off the music and noticed a note on her desk.
Per my employment agreement, I will be out of town for the next two days this weekend.
Thank you.
I’d never agreed to that, but I didn’t bother challenging it this time.
I needed a break from seeing her anyway.
Opening the box from my therapist, I spotted a huge white bottle.
Mr. Carter,
This drug just passed the trial phase with a 99.9% success rate for insomniacs. Every user reported sleeping twice their regular hours after the first dose.
Please try this as soon as possible and let me know if it helps.
Sincerely,
Dr. J. Mathis
I immediately took one and headed to my bedroom suite on our top floor.
Hitting the lights, I shut my eyes and waited.
I woke up thirty minutes later.
And I struggled to sleep longer than that for the rest of the weekend.
SETTLE (V.)
TO RESOLVE A LAWSUIT WITHOUT A FINAL COURT JUDGMENT BY NEGOTIATION BETWEEN THE PARTIES, USUALLY WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF ATTORNEYS AND/OR INSURANCE ADJUSTER
ELIZABETH
Ireturned from Seattle to New York City amid a hailstorm. As always, my heart hung heavy in my chest with guilt, and I had to force myself to hold back tears.
You’re a lawyer, Elizabeth. Focus on being a lawyer.
Since there were no new emails or text messages from Damien and no voicemails from work, I decided to delay reporting to the firm.
I headed to a Broadway theater instead.
It was the perfect night to watch someone else live out my ultimate dream, to pretend that it was me.
Years ago, I’d clamored to play Glinda the Good Witch in Wicked. I wanted the role so badly that I ditched school for shows, snuck into college theater rehearsals, and made friends with anyone who shared the same aspiration.