Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 105846 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105846 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
“Hell no,” Lillian replies like I just asked the most ridiculous question in the world. “I don’t care if she shows up at my office with one of those singing telegrams. I don’t owe her anything, and you don’t owe her anything either.”
“Have you…uh…heard anything about Thomas?”
“I saw an article about him in the paper a few days ago. Just some boring coverage of that charity his family owns. They hosted some kind of event at the Met, and I honestly can’t even tell you the details because who cares about that asshole,” she rambles. “I mean, screw that guy. I still can’t believe he showed up in Vermont and tried to physically force you to talk to him. Like, he manhandled you, Norah. He was abusive. I wish you’d put him in the clink. He deserves to have a shiv or two rammed up his ass by strangers.”
Obviously, Lillian knows all about The Red Bridge Scuffle. She didn’t take it too well the first time I told her. It was a day or two after it happened, and it took some effort to convince her that showing up at his apartment with a baseball bat was a really bad idea.
“Let’s not get too worked up over this again, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. I know.” She groans. “I know why you didn’t press charges—sort of. But that asshole should be sitting in a cell, rotting.”
She isn’t the only one who feels that way—for as gentle as she’s been with me, Josie’s made her opinion abundantly clear.
“Oh!” Lillian exclaims. “But one thing that’s kind of good news is that in that dumb article I read, he had a date with him at that event. She’s a French supermodel or something. She barely looked eighteen, but that probably shouldn’t be a surprise, you know? Thomas King has a thing for barely legal. But maybe that means he’s moving on and won’t be bothered with you anymore.”
A thing for barely legal. Ugh. It’s moments like this that make me wonder how in the hell I could’ve been so naïve about that man.
“Anyway, enough about your asshole ex. Tell me more about this job.”
“I’m an artist’s assistant,” I tell her. “And it actually pays really well. Thank God. The arrival of your moving truck really ramped up my sister’s impatience with my squatting. I need to find a place of my own soon.”
“Wait…” She pauses. “An artist’s assistant? Who is the artist? Don’t tell me you have someone famous hiding in that tiny town up there.”
“Um…” I mash my lips together and pop them open with uncertainty.
“Norah, I swear to baby Jesus, if you’re keeping something from me…”
I sigh. “The artist is Bennett Bishop.”
“Bennett Bishop, as in the broody, rude-y, grumpy-ass macho man who punched Thomas and kissed you in a grocery store parking lot?”
“That’s the one.” I sigh again, mulling over whether I should give her the latest updates. Unfortunately for me, she sniffs out my hesitancy like a dog.
“Why do I get the sense there’s more to this story?”
“Because there probably is…”
“Norah.”
“It’s quite possible that something of a similar nature happened Friday night at a bar…” I shut my eyes and force myself to ramble out the rest as quick as my mouth will let me. “I might’ve slapped him again for being a jerk again and that led to more kissing and now I’m on edge about going to work today because I haven’t seen him since then and I have no idea how things are going to go.”
“Norah Rose Ellis!” Lillian shouts into the receiver so loud my AirPods vibrate inside my ears. “Oh my God! I cannot believe this! With as much as the two of you fight and kiss, you might as well be horny UFC members!”
“It’s not a big deal. And it’s not going to happen again.”
“Not a big deal?” she retorts. “Norah, get real! This feels like a really big freaking deal.”
“It’s no big deal,” I repeat. “Seriously. From here on out, I’m solely his employee, and everything is going to stay professional.” That is, if he doesn’t change his mind and give me the axe.
She laughs. And laughs some more. And when it feels like she isn’t going to stop, I mutter, “You’re kind of a bitch right now, you know that?”
“Sorry.” More laughs. “But I honestly thought your life in Red Bridge would be so damn boring, but it’s like the opposite of boring! Hell, it’s more exciting than mine, and I’m in the city that doesn’t sleep. Not surrounded by farms and cow shit.”
“There’s not that much cow shit in Red Bridge.”
“Whatever you say, friend,” Lil responds, but her amusement is evident in the rasp of her voice. “Anyway, I have to get going or else I’m going to be late for my early meeting. But now you have to promise to tell me more about your job with Mr. Hot and Broody. You think you’ll kiss him again today?”