Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 115833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
That was fine. In fact, I was preparing myself mentally to not be disappointed by it. The last thing I’d expected was for him to stick to only sleeping with me . . . but then I’d see the look in his eyes—the longing, as if he wanted more than just brunch and kisses.
It was as if he wanted me to wrap him in my arms so I could caress the flat waves in his hair while he listened to my heartbeat. Both of us would be in complete silence, enjoying one another’s company. Holding on tight because it would feel safe . . .
I shook my head and sat up in my chair. It was a nice thought, but it wouldn’t happen. It couldn’t . . . could it? I was nowhere near prepared for something that deep. What we had now was good. It was safe—one foot in and one foot out, just in case.
There was a knock at my office door, and Tish popped her head in. “Don’t forget about that meeting with Cassie Lee.”
My brows dipped. “Who?”
Tish stepped deeper into the office, checking her phone. “Says here you have a meeting with Cassie Lee. She’s a rep for a small storefront. You said it was fine to see her today at eleven.”
“Oh. Right.” I remembered now and also remembered thinking it was very strange that anyone wanted to schedule a meeting with me. The only in-person meetings I ever had were with Chester or, on the rare occasion, Deke. The rest were done via Zoom, or I had to travel for them.
“She’ll likely be here in the next couple of minutes,” Tish added before she left the office.
I glanced at the time on my computer screen. Shit. Time was flying. I straightened my desk and stuffed my feet back into my shoes, and right on cue, there was another knock at the door.
This time, Tish walked in without a trace of a smile. Her eyes were wide—panicked, almost—and my smile collapsed as a tall bronzed woman sauntered in behind her.
She wore high heels and a tan blazer over a skintight white dress, and her hair was so polished and silky it seemed unreal. But it wasn’t. That hair was hers, and this was no Cassie Lee. This was Giselle Grace, Deke’s past fling.
“Should I cancel this appointment?” Tish asked, looking between us with her arms folded. Her defensive side was coming out.
“No,” I murmured, standing taller and raising my chin. “I’ll take it.”
Tish cleared her throat and walked past Giselle, who pressed her lips as my best friend went by. “Let me know if you need me,” Tish called, and when she left, she didn’t close the door like she often did. She left it cracked open.
I inhaled through my nose and released the air through my mouth as Giselle’s almond-green eyes looked me up and down. She walked in the opposite direction of me, her heels clicking with each step, her gaze sweeping the area thoroughly. What was up with people bringing beef to my office?
“I assume you know who I am,” Giselle said, facing me again. She had a mild accent. Caribbean.
I folded my arms, keeping my chin raised. “I do.”
“Yeah, I bet Deke’s told you all about me.”
I held back a grimace when she said his name, and by the smirk on her lips and the fierceness in her eyes, I knew exactly what this was. She wasn’t just here to see the woman who now had Deke’s attention. She was here to strike discouragement, to intimidate.
I almost choked on a laugh at the thought. If only she knew I was hardly ever intimidated by anyone. She had no idea the shit I’d gone through in my life to be where I was.
“What do you want?” I asked, keeping my voice level.
“I keep seeing news on BOBBLE. Everyone has been trying to figure out what it is about this new woman Deke Bishop has been seen with on multiple occasions. First at a restaurant and then at a hotel bar.” She trailed the pad of a manicured finger over one of my lamps. “I had to see this woman for myself. In person.”
“So you booked an appointment under a fake name just to see me?”
She didn’t answer that and instead peered out the windows. “All of this is very nice, what you have here. Why risk letting it drown for him?”
“You don’t know what kind of relationship I have with him.”
“Hmm . . . well, he broke it off with me without much of a reason and lost complete interest way before that. I could only assume another woman had stolen that from me.”
I scoffed, my brows shooting to my forehead. “Stolen?”
“I can also assume he’s fucking you now.” She narrowed her eyes at me, and I sighed.