Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 29586 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 148(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29586 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 148(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
So instead, I stand and get dressed in jeans and a nicer sweater. This outfit should be enough to appease my parents, and I head downstairs even though dinner won’t be ready for a couple hours. My dad is in the living room watching something on the History Channel. His laptop is on the table in front of him, and of course, there’s a real estate listing open on the screen. I sigh. This isn’t my idea of a fun Saturday night, but maybe if I show my parents that I care somewhat, they’ll stop pushing me to get my real estate license.
“Hey, kiddo, want to learn about Ancient Greece with me?” Ben invites. His hair is dyed brown, but I can see slight gray roots at his forehead.
I laugh and sit down on the couch. “Of course! You know I love Greece.”
He grins.
“You don’t, but I’ll accept the lie for now.”
Surprisingly, Dad closes his computer and turns his focus to the TV. Apparently, work can wait, at least for now. Mom joins us a little while later and the three of us enjoy the History Channel while chatting about this and that. Thankfully, we talk everything but their work. We chat about our neighbors, the Corinthian Fair, and even Leslie. It’s only at the last moment that they decide to press their case about my job prospects again. But I just listen this time. I know that Maryanne and Ben are very serious about me joining their business. I just don’t want to! Why is that so hard to understand?
With a smile plastered on my face, I listen as we eat dinner. But my mind is elsewhere because I’m thinking about Travis the entire time. What is he doing now? What will we say when we see each other next? Fortunately, he distracts me from the agony that is Maryanne and Ben, and I manage to finish the meal in peace.
5
Travis
I’m twenty minutes early, but I’d rather be early than late. Pepper should be meeting me here soon and I can hardly wait. Images of the beautiful woman keep appearing to me at the most inopportune moments: at the office, when I’m working out, or even when I’m grabbing a beer with my buddies. To say she’s on my mind is putting it lightly.
I suggested we meet at the Ferris Wheel because it’s a nice, central location and easy to find, but where is she? I crane my neck, looking around. I could have picked her up at her house, but she said no. That’s okay. We just met, and besides I had a meeting at the Corinthian Fair this morning. It’s just more of the same old shit. The Corinthian Fair board wants to lock Keystone in as their sponsor again next year. That’s fine. I don’t mind putting money into the fair since it’s such an important part of the local town’s economy. However, I’m not the only person in charge of making that decision, and my board has to determine if it’s worth the expenditure.
A few people shoot me odd looks as they stroll by because I’m a handsome single man standing by myself near the Ferris Wheel. There’s hope and longing on my face, and I bet I look like a lovesick Casanova. Oh god. I’m already forty, and a little too old to be doing the Romeo bit.
Then again, I have been daydreaming about the curvy girl a lot, and the thought of Pepper brings a smile to my face. We’ve been texting on and off all week, but I’m excited to see her in-person once more. What will she be wearing? Will her hair be up or down? What can I say that will make her laugh?
Quickly, I turn my phone off. As a CEO, I’m not usually unreachable, but today is a special occasion. I want Pepper to have my full attention without any distractions. That’s how much she means to me after just one time together.
“Hey, my man!” another man says, approaching me. “Trav?”
I furrow my brow. “Dom?”
“Yeah! It’s been a long time, damn. Good to see you, brother.”
“Seriously! How have you been?”
Dom and I graduated from college together years ago, and I’ve seen him around a few times since. He’s a good-looking son of a bitch with dark hair and dark eyes. I heard he runs a tech company somewhere in the next town over, but I’m not sure.
“I’m good,” he says, clasping my hand in a friendly shake. “I’m in the software business, and I’m actually here doing research. A few fairs like this want to try and incorporate a line time app so people know how long they’ll wait for their favorite rides.”
I nod.
“That’s a great idea. You probably have some baseline tech already, right? Because I heard that Disney already has something like that.”