Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 69456 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69456 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
And that’s exactly what I did.
I never even noticed if she was wearing a wedding ring. As far as I knew back then, she was just a beautiful woman who had awakened that primal side of me. She only broke it to me after sex, when we were both lying together in silence, drenched in sweat. “I’m married,” she said out of the blue, looking up at the ceiling. I said nothing, and decided, right then and there, to let the chips fall where they may. Wanda left Derek a few weeks later and, just a few months after that, I was proposing to her. Yeah, can’t say that I was thinking that clearly at the time.
That was a bitter pill for Derek to swallow. He’s competitive as hell and, if there’s one thing I know about him, it's that he hates to lose more than anything in life. And to lose his wife to another man … I guess that was a blow too strong for him to take. I don’t even think he got heartbroken about Wanda leaving; he just hated the fact that he lost to another man.
But Wanda left me soon afterwards as well. So, yeah, karma worked out the whole situation and balanced things out. Of course, after all this, Derek and I never saw eye-to-eye. The whole thing left a bad taste in both of our mouths.
Now, I know I deserve some of his hate, sure. But Derek has always been an asshole, and I sure as hell won’t give him a free pass just because we both have the same ex-wife. As tough as it is to say it, I won’t let a sob story make me forget about the kind of man he is.
“Derek, why don’t you do yourself a favor and leave before you embarrass yourself any further?” I tell him, trying to keep myself calm. “You probably mean well by offering Eliza your help, but you’re way in over your head in this one.”
“Is that so, uh? And I bet you’re the one who's going to help her invest all that money, right?” he shoots right back, his smart eyes trying to pierce my very soul. I grit my teeth, looking at him in silence, electricity crackling between the two of us.
It’s true what he said, there’s no denying it. I came to visit Eliza because my company is in dire need of money but, unlike whatever proposal Derek has on his mind, I know that Eliza will make money with me. If that weren’t the case, I would've never have come looking for her and try to convince her to invest with me. After all, she’s my stepdaughter, even if we aren’t close, I would never screw with her.
“She’ll make money with me,” I simply tell Derek, peeling my eyes off from his and focusing on Eliza. She’s looking at us both with an amused look on her face, her hands on her hips. “Like I told you, Eliza, I --”
Without caring for my words, she steps between Derek and I and places her hands on both of our chests. More than amused now, she looks bored and slightly pissed, as if the show we've been putting on has dragged on for too long.
“Enough,” she simply sighs, looking from me to him. “I’ve heard you talk for too long and, to be honest, you’re boring the hell out of me.” Opening up into a smile, she then continues. “It’s clear that you’re both interested in … helping me out, right? Well, why don’t you give me some time to think it over? Let’s meet, the three of us, three days from now.”
I’m about to reply when I realize that she isn’t asking a question. She’s making a statement.
“Fair enough,” Derek grunts, once again looking at me with that pissed off expression of his.
“Now, get out,” Eliza says, turning her back to us and taking a glass of wine from my hands. She takes her lips to the glass and then continues in a casual tone. “I gotta masturbate, I need to clear my head.”
My jaw almost drops to the floor as I hear her say it.
Eliza is one of a kind—that much is for sure.
Chapter Eight
Good Day, USA
Margie:
Welcome to Good Day USA. I’m your host, Margie Preston.
Juliette:
And I’m Juliette Bar.
Margie:
Well, Operation Eliza Watch is in full swing. It’s been one week, and Eliza Seymour is already creating quite the stir in New York City.
Margie:
That’s right Juliette. The young heiress has been out and about in the glittering world of New York's glamorous elite. But something seems different this time according to those who know her.
Juliette:
That’s right Margie. If anyone watches this program, or keeps up with the New York City social scene, they’ll know that Eliza Seymour has always been rather … what’s the word? Unconventional? Unorthodox? Uninhibited?