Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 89674 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89674 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Maybe whatever trouble he landed in for my appearance today might help him remember to abide by his promises next time. I’m not sure when I’d become that petty, but I couldn’t help myself either. Those broken promises had included more than the ride to the airport. There were also all the rescheduled dinners every night for the last two months, and the missed pledges of blow jobs he’d given to make amends for his breaking our plans.
Yeah. My resentment was coming in hard. I couldn’t see where this would change in the future.
“Do you have the girls’ gifts?” Dash asked.
“Yeah. The Taylor Swift gear. It was genius.” Though I was even more shocked that he’d found the time to think of anyone but himself, and second, that he’d actually ordered the gifts and not farmed it out to Penny.
“Penny came up with it. She steered me to the right things,” Dash said, grinning out the glass to where Penny sat. His smile was my favorite one, but it didn’t hit me the same way. Hmm. I took another hearty bite of my burger.
“Hey, Beau.” Time stood still as the recognizable refined voice sent stunned shockwaves through my system. My mind short-circuited. The microscopic particles in the air became vivid details slowly floating by. Turning my head, I saw Chandler, Dash’s longtime friend with whom I shared an unfavorable past. He looked immaculate and stylish, blending seamlessly into the surroundings, holding a document of some sort.
I inhaled suddenly, taking the bite and lodging it in my throat. As I choked and coughed, the world sling-shotted back in place. How in the fuck had Chandler gotten hired here?
“Dasham,” Chandler continued as if I hadn’t just suffered a major medical emergency at his arrival. “Here are the photos printed for court.” He came fully into the office without an invitation, interrupting our lunch. Dash popped forward in his chair, getting to his feet. His entire demeanor changed. A calculated, devious joy lit his face. Chandler handed him several eight by ten photos. He sifted through them, his gaze quickly scanned each one.
“Excellent job, Chandler. I knew you’d be a valuable hire.” Dash lifted his gaze, sharing a private moment with Chandler. I didn’t fucking like it at all. “His wife should have taken the settlement offer. Now, she’ll likely have nothing. The prenup will hold. Excellent work.”
Chandler’s playful, flirty smile raised my hackles. “All in a night’s work. It took me staying at the hotel bar from two in the afternoon to two this morning to capture her in a compromising position. Along with the man who compromised her,” he teased, laughing at his joke. When Dash gave Chandler an exaggerated wink, steam blew from the top of my head. “Dasham’s so fucking clever,” Chandler refocused on me for the moment. “I don’t think anyone works as many hours as he does. I’m thankful to be his apprentice.”
With the napkin at my mouth, I gave a final clear of my throat. “When did you start working here?”
Chandler slapped a hand against Dash’s upper arm. Dash, who’d been so lost in the pictures, hadn’t been paying attention to our conversation. “You didn’t tell him about me?” Chandler asked incredulously. That was the first time I agreed with the son of a bitch, which pissed me off that much more. “I feel like that’s a relationship foul.”
Dash barely glanced at me before lowering his gaze again to the photos. “Beau knows I’ve been searching for an associate. We’ve been burning it at opposite ends for the last few months. We haven’t had time for anything more than the important things.”
“You and I need to start over,” Chandler said. Out of obligation and that was only due to the manners my mother had instilled in me, I rose from my seat and took his extended hand. I didn’t want to touch him at all. My gut said the pleasant expression on his dumb face wasn’t real and neither was the handshake. I hoped my silence told him I didn’t believe his bullshit. And fucking Dash should have told me. If he kept this secret, then what else wasn’t he sharing?
Now that Dash had “outstanding support” at his side, why was he spending more time away from home than ever before? Jealousy slashed a painful gash into my heart. The fact that Dash wasn’t picking up on any of my tension spoke volumes too.
Dash pivoted around, straightening the photos as he went to his doorway. “Penny, will you take Chandler to Lon’s office and let him explain these photos? I’ll be finished in a few minutes and join you.” He handed the pictures over to his assistant, not Chandler.
“Well, come on, Chandler. It’s time to meet the other partners,” she said cheekily, twirling around on her high heels. Like everyone employed here, she exuded confidence, strutting away as if she were on a runway. Chandler waggled his eyebrows at me, whatever that meant, and jogged the few steps by her side. Dash shut the door behind him, giving us privacy.