Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 68556 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68556 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Besides, if we spent a month in bed together, maybe this attraction would fizzle out and give me my brain back.
Her lips parted, and heat flared in her eyes before she quickly shuttered them. “Did you find the plat map?”
I openly grinned at her change of subject. “Right here, boss.”
She took the map from my hands with a grateful smile. “Thank Goodness.”
“You can tell the Richardsons that the city already has that easement, which means you can legally build the access road to the reserve.” Or she could send me over to the Richardsons, so I could tell them exactly what I thought about their constant harassment.
“Thank you, Connell. I’ll forward this over to Carson.”
Carson. The city lawyer. The one who was in here every day it seemed. “Do you two have a thing going on?”
“What?” Her eyes shot to mine, wide with surprise. “No. I mean, we’re friends and have been since forever, but no.”
“Right.” Why the hell did I feel instantly better? Oh fuck me, wasn’t I acting like a jealous twit? I had zero say in who this woman was romantically involved with.
The skin between her eyebrows puckered as she glanced back at her screen.
“You’ve got the plat map, so now what’s wrong?” I asked.
“The PR company wants way too much money to work on the announcement for the reserve.” She shook her head and muttered a curse under her breath.
“How much?” I prodded.
“Too much, and don’t you even think about paying for it.” Her lips pursed as she shook her head. “Shit. Shit. Shit. I was hoping they’d come down, and we just can’t afford it.”
“Annabelle, how much is it?” Why wouldn’t the woman let me actually help around here?
“Connell, your money can’t fix everything! I screwed this up, and now I have to figure it out.” She pushed her fingers in at her temples.
“The announcement is supposed to be next week?” I asked, eyeing the professional brochures stacked on her desk. Brochures that featured stock photos of ostriches because the woman had yet to secure her own.
For a bird in need of rescue, they sure were scarce.
“Yeah. That was the earliest they could get the announcement out, and we were really hoping that the announcement would spur partnerships with other wildlife reserves, and now it’s all just...fucked up.”
If I’d been drinking anything, it would have flown out my nose. “Could you say that again?”
“What? That I screwed up?” She rubbed at her temples.
“Fucked up.” It was the strongest language I’d heard out of her.
She rolled her eyes. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”
“Oh baby, yeah, just like that,” I teased, but damn if it didn’t turn me on.
She laughed but shook her head. “Ugh. Don’t make me laugh right now. I don’t deserve to laugh. This is going to be so embarrassing when I have to report to the mayor that I screwed—fucked it up. The whole town will know by morning.” She leaned forward and put her head in her hands.
“Annabelle, what’s so bad about everyone knowing? It’s not your fault that the PR team is a bunch of money-hungry bampots.” I reached for the back of her head but stopped myself before I made contact.
“Bampots?” she questioned, her voice muffled by her hands.
“Aye. Idiots.” My thoughts started churning, and soon I was grinning like a fool. “So you’d actually benefit from announcing a wee bit earlier?”
“Uh-huh,” she answered, still hiding. “Not that it matters. It’s going to take at least a week to interview new firms, and no one local had their reach. We really need to get the donations going so we can finish construction.”
I moved to stand behind her and looked over her shoulder at the quote on the computer screen. Then I looked up the PR firm on social media and snorted.
“Stop laughing at me,” she growled into her hands.
“I’m not,” I assured her as I took one of the brochures from the pile. A few seconds later, I took a selfie with it. By the time I was done with the post, Annabelle had lifted her head, but the absolute devastation on her face caught me off guard and twisted something inside my chest. “Hey, now. It’s not all that bad.”
“No, it really is that bad. This reserve project might sound insane, but it would be a great thing for our little town, and now everyone will know that I set us back months. That’s how long it’s going to take to get everything moving again, and we’ll miss the estimated opening date because we won’t even have the funds to finish it.”
I moved behind her and parked my ass on the small table she kept behind her desk, then pulled her rolling office chair between my thighs. “You’re really upset about what people might think, aren’t you?” Before she could protest her position, I started massaging her temples. She was so bloody tense.