Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 78631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
I get online, find a car rental place within walking distance, and reserve a sedan to pick up within an hour. I go to my room and throw some things in my duffel—I only need enough for a couple days—and bring it back to the door.
Should I leave Diana a note?
She’ll no doubt wonder where I am. But she’s so busy with work.
I send her a quick text.
Hey, I have to take off for a few days. I’ll be back by Thursday afternoon. I start my job that night.
I hit Send, shove my phone in my pocket, put on my black leather jacket, grab the duffle, and open the door—
Only to run into Diana Steel.
She gasps.
God, she’s gorgeous. Today she’s wearing a black skirt and gray silk blouse. A few hairs have come loose from her ponytail, and all I can think about is grabbing her and plundering that succulent mouth.
“Where are you going?” she demands, her tone laced with anger.
“What are you doing home?”
She shakes her head. “You wouldn’t even believe it if I told you.”
“I just sent you a text.” I pat my phone inside my pants pocket. “I’m taking off for a few days.”
“Why?”
“It’s…personal.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“Yeah, I’ll be back by Thursday afternoon. I have to be. Your friend Antonio called and said that’s when I’ll be starting my lessons. That evening.”
“Oh. I see.”
I cock my head at her. “Are you going to answer me?”
“Sorry, what?”
“Why aren’t you at work?”
She shrugs. “Seems I don’t have a position there anymore.”
I stop my jaw from dropping.
“What the hell happened, Diana?”
“Like I said, you wouldn’t believe it. Where are you going, anyway?”
“Taos. It’s in New Mexico.”
She exhales sharply through her nose. “I know where Taos is, Dragon. It’s a cute little town. Very artsy.”
“Great. I’ll check out some galleries.” Except I won’t. I don’t give a shit about art. I’ll be checking out my parents.
“How are you going to get there?”
“I rented a car. Jesse loaned me some money.”
“You know what?” She lets out a sigh and puts her hands on her hips. “Give me about five minutes to get out of these stupid work clothes, and I’ll go with you. We’ll take my car. You don’t need to rent a car.”
I shake my head. “Diana… I said it’s personal.”
“And I suddenly find myself with a car on my hands and nothing better to do. So I’m going with you, Dragon.”
I open my mouth to argue, but then I close it.
It will be nice to have her company. Being with her makes things better. God knows I’ll need something to keep my spirits up during this trip.
The only problem?
It may mean leveling with her.
But I don’t have to level with her yet. I’ll still need some of the money Jesse wired me for a hotel room, but I’ll be able to give most of it back.
While Diana is changing and packing a bag, I pull up my map app. A little under five hours to Taos.
Five hours in a car with Diana Steel.
I don’t hate the idea.
Chapter Eight
Diana
As I was walking back to my penthouse, I thought about calling Marcus. I decided against it because he will eventually find out what happened anyway, and he’s going to think what he’s going to think.
He’ll hate me. He’ll think I’m some spoiled rich brat who can just go around telling the truth with no fallout.
I laugh out loud at that last thought.
Telling the truth should always be a good thing, shouldn’t it?
Still, after my talk with my father, I had decided not to send that email. I had decided to put Marcus and everyone else who was depending on this contract ahead of what I knew was right, even though I knew in my heart it was the wrong decision.
In a way, Rod did me a favor. By snooping through my computer files and finding the draft email, he gave me an excuse to do the right thing. He made it so clear in that moment that he was not a person I wanted to work for and that his firm was not a company I needed to associate my name with. I no longer had any qualms about blowing the whistle on him.
It was the right thing.
No matter what the fallout is.
The client should always come first. The safety of visitors to that mountaintop resort should definitely come first.
And you never know. Maybe the client will see it the firm’s way. Maybe they won’t want to spend the extra money to fix the pipeline issue.
But I’m pretty sure that’s not the problem. The problem, most likely, is that the firm was paid a flat rate for these designs based on expenses, and adding to the expenses would be a loss not for the client but only for the firm.
I should call my father and let him know what happened, but I don’t really want to deal with that right now either.