Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 102560 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 513(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102560 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 513(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
With a shake and turn of his head, he breaks the spell. Severing our connection, he drops his hand and leaves me staring at his profile.
“I’ll see you tomorrow at eight o’clock. I’ll be here to pick you up.” His words are like a bucket of ice-cold water being poured over my head, leaving me a little irate for a second.
Here I am imagining him kissing me, and to him, I’m probably just an annoying little reporter he can’t wait to part ways with.
I’m pathetic and obviously hard up, too, because a rational woman who’s getting laid on a regular basis would have never fallen into the line of thinking I just did.
With nothing to say and my pride hurt, I nod and swing the door open. Stepping out, I can’t help but feel off-kilter.
Moving away from the car, I head to the entrance. Once I unlock the door, I step inside and slam it closed, then begin the short slide down to the floor. Shaking my head in disbelief, I place my head in my hands and try to take a deep breath.
I am the biggest idiot ever. Who is dumb enough to think the source of her next article would want her?
Me. That’s who.
And even worse, I showed him I’m nothing but a girl with a schoolgirl crush on the millionaire.
Dumb.
Dumb.
Dumb.
I sit on the floor for a few more minutes and berate myself.
With a huff of annoyance, I reach into my bag and dial Mara’s number.
She always makes me feel better.
“You get killed by a mountain lion yet?” she answers.
That makes me laugh right off the bat, instantly making me forget my earlier self-loathing.
“Nope. Still alive. But if you ask me, I have died and gone to heaven in these houses.”
“That amazing?” Mara asks.
I give a dramatic, content sigh. “There are no words.”
“Well, that sucks.” She laughs, and I have no idea what she’s talking about.
“What do you mean?” My foot taps on the floor, waiting for her to fill me in. This is what Mara does. She likes to dangle fruit in front of me, but she doesn’t give in right away. She likes to make me work for it.
A few seconds pass before she giggles. “Without words, how will you write the article? From what I heard, you’ll need thousands of them. This is going to be a major spread.”
“I think I’ll figure it out. This place, though, Mara. It’s insane. It will take me weeks and then probably years to sort it out and make sure it’s perfect.”
“Too bad boss man will only give you one week to research and maybe another two weeks once you’re back in the office to write it up.”
I groan loudly. “Pain in my ass.”
“Don’t I know it.”
“How are things without me today? Everything good?” I ask.
“It’s quiet. Annoyingly so, to be honest.” She’s overdramatic, but I love her for it.
“Good to know I’m missed for my witty commentary,” I deadpan.
“Among other things . . .” Mara trails off for emphasis.
I jerk up to my feet and make my way into the bathroom. “What other things?”
“Aw. Are you needing a confidence boost?” Her mocking laugh should piss me off, but it’s the main reason she’s my best friend.
“Never met a compliment I didn’t like.” A laugh escapes my mouth. Now standing in front of the sink, I turn the lever. Water pours out of the spout.
“Everything okay over there, other than being speechless? Are you showering?”
“It’s heaven. If heaven on earth had a zip code, this would be it. I almost never want to leave.” I look around the room. Yep, never going. “And nope. Just about to brush my teeth and wash my face.”
“And the people?”
“I haven’t met anyone really but Mr. Archer and his assistant.” I try to keep my voice neutral because Mara knows me better than anyone.
“And?”
“He’s so different. I didn’t expect him to be like . . . this.” My cheeks feel warm as I think about his smile. “He’s brilliant, and I have barely even touched the surface, and so kind and—”
“Damn, someone sounds giddy.” Just as I suspected, she busted me.
“I’m just excited.” Good excuse, but she will read through it.
“Excited about the location or Mr. Archer . . . ?” she draws out.
“I knew nothing about him or this place, and now I’m in love.” Pressing the button to put the phone on speaker, I then place it on the counter and splash some water on my face. All while she continues to talk.
“Yet who was the lady who didn’t like her job? Let me guess, you got the coolest gig, but I bet you bitched, moaned, and complained the whole drive up.”
Reaching out, I grab the towel hanging beside the sink and blot at my face, then set it back down. “Not the whole drive . . .”