Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 50828 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50828 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
Nothing I want to share with a coworker until my wife and I are ready. “Stuff I picked up at the drugstore for Isabella.”
“Ah.” He nods as he starts the coffee. “Find as many mugs as you can, then round up some cream and sugar, will you? Kate is ordering pizza for everyone and—”
“What’s the emergency? And why didn’t anyone call me?”
“I’ll let Chad fill you in. Everything erupted in Asia shortly after you left the office and…” He sighs. “It’s a shit show.”
Not what I wanted to hear. “Shit.”
“Would you stay and watch the coffee? I need to hit the head.”
“Sure. I’m just going to say hi to Isabella and—”
“Wait. They’re on a call. Negotiating. It’s tense.”
“Chad usually handles those issues.”
“He is, but it’s taking someone with a much sweeter disposition to get the job done.”
That’s definitely not Chad—or his wife, Savannah. She’s ruthlessness in stilettos. Same with Kate Hennessey-Hunt. Marcus is a bull in a china shop. That really only leaves Isabella to sugarcoat the negotiations, whatever they’re about. “Gotcha.”
“They’ll let us know when to come back.”
“So you’ve been relegated to Boy Friday and coffee fetcher, huh?” I grin.
“Fuck you.” He laughs before he dashes out of the break room.
Since it’s all hands on deck, I quickly gather and wash up a dozen coffee cups. Finally, Josh returns and lifts the steaming carafe, along with a few mugs, before gesturing me to gather the rest of the stuff. “Let’s go.”
“What does Chad need my help with?”
“I don’t know. The boss man and his bride run the show…”
And everyone knows it. Lucky for us, they do a great job. They’re both shrewd, honest, and generous. I know the Hennessey-Hunt family has benefited from working closely with the Forces. So have I. Since coming on board, Isabella has been admitted into the inner circle, and she’s thriving, too, professionally and personally.
“Hang on.” Josh shoves me back as we approach Chad’s door. “Let me see how quiet we have to be.”
I hang back while he sticks his head inside. Then he turns back with a grin. This is an emergency, but he’s smiling about it? I’m getting suspicious. My birthday was last week. Isabella and I celebrated, but…
“All clear. Looks like they’re ready for us.” Josh enters the room and sets the coffee on a table near Chad and Savannah.
As I fall in behind him, I stop. The office is covered in streamers and balloons. And why do I see bottles of champagne everywhere?
“Surprise!” everyone shouts.
“Happy birthday!” Isabella all but bounces up to me, full of excitement. “We got you, didn’t we?”
Grousing, I set the coffee cups aside and send her a gruff smile. “Yeah, baby girl, you did.” I drop my voice and whisper in her ear. “We agreed we weren’t making a big deal out of my birthday. I’ll punish you for this later.”
Her grin widens. Yeah, she’s not afraid of me at all. Minx. “I’ll look forward to that. For now, everyone is here to celebrate you, except Steve and Laurel.”
“It’s been a cold as fuck winter. Maybe should have taken the Caribbean cruise with them.”
“And miss this?” Isabella shakes her head. “Surprising you was priceless.”
Chad shakes my hand and wraps an arm around his wife. They look so fucking happy, and good for them. I used to be jealous, but now…
I drag Isabella to my side and kiss her temple. “Thank you all for thinking of me.”
“Oh, this isn’t just my doing,” she says.
Josh claps me on the back. “Gotcha.”
“Bastard. You should have been an actor.”
“Go to Hollywood when I can stay here and yank your chain? Never.”
Marcus crosses the room with Kate. Despite being a big bastard, he moves almost silently and sticks out his hand. “Happy birthday, man. You twenty-nine again?”
I laugh. “The twelfth anniversary of twenty-nine, sure.”
“Josh and Marcus understand,” Kate swears. “They’ve been celebrating the anniversaries of their twenty-ninth birthdays, too.”
“You’ll be doing that soon, too,” Marcus points out.
Kate bats him away with a roll of her eyes, but she smiles when he brings her in for a kiss while Josh swats her ass playfully.
Suddenly, Doug and Julia appear in the doorway. Instinct makes me stiffen, but I have to give my old pal credit. He’s bent over backward to make amends with Isabella. They’ve had some hard conversations. After a lot of tears on both sides, they’ve been healing and rebuilding their father-daughter relationship. Accepting our marriage has taken Doug some time, but he’s come a long way.
Even Julia and I have had some brutally honest talks and realized we were better as friends. As spouses, we wanted different lives, and both of us kept hoping the other would bend, despite the fact we’re stubborn. Since we’ve cleared the air, things are better. Being around these two has gone from something I did my best to avoid to actually pleasant.