Total pages in book: 224
Estimated words: 215705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1079(@200wpm)___ 863(@250wpm)___ 719(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 215705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1079(@200wpm)___ 863(@250wpm)___ 719(@300wpm)
And so, I watch the floors tick by, which is quick since I live on the third floor and for a reason. It was cheaper. It’s what my first three bonus checks with the company allowed me to buy and three seemed a lucky combination. I thought it was and yet I’ve now put my place up for sale. Just the thought knots my belly, but it’s the right move. It’s what I need to do before I get in over my head.
The elevator dings and it’s only seconds later when I exit the car, walking left and sticking my key into the lock of my first home purchase, wondering if I will ever feel secure enough to buy in a building in Battery Park ever again. Shoving aside that negativity, I enter my little place, its dark hardwoods beneath my feet, and toss my keys on the table to my right. I walk down the hallway and through my living room without dwelling on the three oval windows that line the front wall that I completely adore, and the realtor assures me will help the place sell quickly, even despite the fact that my view is of the walkway, rather than the water, and the apartment is small with a rather compact kitchen to my left. It’s a beautiful space and location.
I head up the stairs and into my bedroom, the only other room in the apartment, and set my purse on the teal-covered bed. I then walk to the lounge chair in the same color, which is by a drape-covered window, kick off my shoes, and stare at the envelope with dread in my belly. It’s possible that Reid wanted me to say good things about him to the staff before he gave me my walking papers. I know this, though I don’t think that’s something Reid would do in such a cowardly way. He’s hard, arrogant, and impossible, but not a coward. I seem to be, though, since I haven’t opened the stupid thing.
I rip the seal and quickly scan the document inside. It’s a promise to double my pay at the six-month mark from the date of the takeover, in a lump sum. Part of me revels in this promise he has kept. The other part fears that he knows my demise will eventually be confirmed. Of course, this idea assumes he has a heart. Does he? I go back to the case he took for free, for the families of murder victims and the word “save.” He chooses takeovers that save everyone involved. If he does have a beating heart in his chest, is this payment his way of ensuring I leave with more, not less, but I still leave?
My stomach knots all over. I need to know. Straight up. Head on. Tell me how it is. I stand up and walk to the bed, grab my phone and return to the chair where I snuggle back down, ready to take whatever is thrown my way. I don’t hesitate. I dial Reid. “Decide you want to be owned tonight?” he asks, answering on the first ring.
“Reid,” I say softly, skipping all the games.
He knows what I want immediately. “It’s a testament to my confidence in you,” he promises. “Don’t read more into it. I say what I mean. I do what I say.”
“But the board doesn’t believe in me.”
“They will,” he says.
“That’s a no. They do not.”
“Did you find the card inside the envelope?”
“I didn’t see it. Hold on.” I dig for it and find his business card. I flip it over to find the words: Call-in number, stockholders’ meeting, nine am. “You’re letting me listen in on the meeting in real time?”
“Yes. I am. It won’t be easy to hear what is said about your father.”
“I’m not in denial over my father,” I say. “I can handle it.” I soften my voice. “Thank you, Reid.”
He’s silent several beats and I almost think he’s hung up when he speaks. “The case I’m managing, with the murder victims’ families. The brother of one of the victims attacked my client’s wife. He was under mental evaluation. We were supposed to be told before he was released. We weren’t, and he went after her again.”
“Oh God. Is she okay?”
“Yes, but I’m going to need to deal with this after the stockholders’ meeting tomorrow.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Take a piece of the DA’s ass. I think he did this on purpose, just to show us who has control, and it backfired when the guy came back at my client.”
“But you’re not a good guy taking care of people who need you for free, right?” I tease.
His response is hard and fast. “No, Carrie. I am not a good guy. Don’t forget that either.” He hangs up. It’s a real Reid move. I get it. He doesn’t want a thank you and me looking beneath his skin. He doesn’t even care about me and his brother. He just doesn’t want me distracted. In fact, his need to own me and my focus is probably why he gave me that money. Now I don’t have to worry about finding another job, in case this one ends. In other words, this is his way of reminding me that he might want to fuck me, he might need me for financial reasons, but he doesn’t really like me, and he doesn’t even want me to like him.