Total pages in book: 15
Estimated words: 13683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 68(@200wpm)___ 55(@250wpm)___ 46(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 13683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 68(@200wpm)___ 55(@250wpm)___ 46(@300wpm)
I want to be so in love that I don’t have any idea what’s going on around me. I want to be so in love that my kids, while I’ll love them and kill for them if need be, are second thoughts to my husband, as fucked up as that sounds. I want to be so destroyed by a man that only he can put me back together. I want that to be consumed. I want to be devoured. I want to be owned. Okay, Okay, I may be reading too many smut-tastic books, but I can’t help it. I want what I want.
While I wait for that, though, I’ve got to work, so I don’t drive myself crazy. I expect to work after I meet the man of my dreams as well. I won’t be a kept woman like that. I want a partner in this life and the next. I’ve got to stop watching Lord of the Rings…
There are a million things I could be doing for The Fisher Group, my parent's company, but I don’t want to do that. I want to strike out on my own and do something for myself… no matter what the future holds for me, it's important to me that I don’t ride my parent’s coattails forever.
My dad is a big-time chef, while my mom is the quintessential stay-at-home mom. She raised my older brothers, Daniel, Jason, and me while helping my dad start his restaurant empire. Daniel and Jason are helping with that. I should be too, but running a group of restaurants isn’t all that appealing to me. Fashion, specifically designing size-inclusive lingerie, is what I want to be doing. I’m forever drawing my ideas on whatever I can get my hands on; napkins, paper towels, and menus mostly. I know I should go to college and learn how to make this happen, but I barely made it through high school. The thought of going through another four years of schooling makes me physically ill.
Why can’t there be a magic genie on standby ready to grant me my wishes? I only want these two things. I swear I’d use the third one for world peace.
“Belle Fisher?” a man calls my name, and I look up from my Kindle. I’ve been waiting for this job interview for about an hour now. My dad knows the owner, Mr. Baker. He did the renovation on Dad’s latest restaurant Annika, named after my mom.
“Yes. Thank you for meeting with me, Mr. Baker.” I shake his outstretched hand.
“Of course, but please call me Jonathan. Your father is our best client.”
“I’m sure he keeps you busy,” I say, laughing along with him.
“For sure, come on in. Dana, would you grab me a coffee when you have a second? Would you like something, Belle?”
“No, thank you,” I say, anxious to get this show on the road.
I sit in his office in a chair opposite his messy desk.
“So, we desperately need a Girl Friday around here. Do you know what that is? I might be aging myself a bit,” he says, chuckling. I join in. He’s probably sixty years old in that adorable old-man way. Now that Dana is standing, I can see that she’s heavily pregnant as she brings in a coffee for Jonathan and sets it on his desk, ignoring the six empty paper cups scattered around.
“I do. Anything that needs to be done, I’m your gal, as long as it's not construction related. I’m afraid I have no skills in that area, but anything else.”
“That’s great. Just office work and some light cleaning. As you can see, we need the help.”
“Sure. That’s no problem.” I actually love to clean, so this works out.
“I’m about to go on maternity leave,” Dana says, rubbing her big belly. A pang of jealousy hits me. At nineteen, babies should be the furthest thing from my mind, but they are never far from my thoughts. Fashion and babies go hand in hand, right? That’s why it’s always been a bit of a pipe dream because if I had to choose between a job in fashion and being a mom, being a mom would win, hands down.
“So we need you to start right away. Can you do that? We can start at twenty dollars an hour, with room for a raise after ninety days. Monday through Friday, eight to four. Does that sound good?”
“That sounds great. Do you want me to start today?”
“Can you?”
“Yes. I’ve got nothing to do. I could start with cleaning.”
“That sounds amazing. I just haven’t felt like it. This man’s baby is sapping all the energy out of me,” she says, gesturing to Jonathan.
“Oh, you’re married?” I ask, a little surprised. That’s quite an age gap. I’ve never seen one so large in real life. Books, for sure. It’s kind of cool.