Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 129084 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 645(@200wpm)___ 516(@250wpm)___ 430(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129084 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 645(@200wpm)___ 516(@250wpm)___ 430(@300wpm)
“It’s a good lesson. Regarding the Torres’s, it sounds like they’re expecting guarantees we won’t be able to give them. So am I being set up for failure?”
“Leslie wasn’t a good fit for them or Bancroft & Lowe. She left them in a lurch when she quit, causing them to miss their second-quarter launch date. They’re giving us another chance to accommodate the changes on our end but want a new game plan before they renew their contract.”
“What happens if they don’t renew?”
“They’ll be suing for the one point five million they’ve invested over the past year and a half.”
“No pressure.”
Leanna laughs. “None at all.” She connects with Mr. Lowe’s assistant, the two of them whispering conspiratorially.
I give them privacy and turn just in time to catch eyes on Liv near the other end of the hall.
Despite our confrontation, her expression is neutral, masking her combativeness toward me. I have a hunch that hiding her genuine emotions is an area where she’s quite skilled. Based on an old theory, she wouldn’t bother with me if she didn’t care. Underneath the spite, there’s still a spark, and I know that pisses her off the most.
When she disappears behind a closed door, I return my attention to Leanna when she calls my name. She says, “Mr. Lowe can meet with us tomorrow at eleven. I don’t have anything on your schedule for that time. Should I take it?”
“Yes, it will give us time to get a plan together before meeting with him. I won’t be the guy who loses the Torres account. We’ll come in strong and get their account renewed.”
“I like the enthusiasm. We’ve been lacking that in the office.” She sets the meeting, and then we spend the last hour of the day brainstorming because it’s not just the Torres’s I want to win over.
Once I reach the bar, the tension building in my shoulders from the first two days of work begins to fade. I know it’s not the work, though. My job has been easy and enjoyable.
I can’t say the same about the five-foot-just-shy-of-my-shoulder woman throwing a wrench into every aspect of my workday. Liv’s got some fine-ass nerve expecting me to quit to make her life easier. She seems to believe I’m only here for the opposite.
The last-minute text to meet my brothers for drinks is a welcome reprieve from that tension.
The pub is dark, pool tables and the bar giving light to the wood-paneled walls. Much like I do, Loch and Harbor stand out in a crowd, so they’re easy to spot. “I’m late. I know.” Holding my hands up in surrender, I stand at the edge of the pool table.
“Glad you could fit us in,” Loch teases before I have a chance to shake his hand. Pulling me in, he ruffles my hair like I’m still eight years old.
“Fucker,” I grumble, half teasing. Half not. I try to smooth my hair back into place.
“It’s hair. You’ll lose it soon enough anyway.”
My brothers have given me a hard time since the day I was born. That comes with the territory of being the youngest of three. I have no problem serving it right back any chance I’m given.
Thank God the last to be born was a girl, though. I’d hate to be kicking ass from the middle. I leveled the field by matching Loch and Harbor’s height, then growing taller than both. I’ll take six-three, but I have a hunch they still won’t let the “little” brother stuff go.
“Speak for yourself, old man.” He’s only six years older, but it’s enough of an age gap to properly tease him. Otherwise, he gets an attitude like we’re expected to respect our elders, aka him. He’s thirty-one, not eighty.
Loch and I harden our stance at the end of the table, crossing our arms over our chests and watching Harbor line up the shot. He takes forever, so I finally ask, “You gonna hit that ball or just fondle it with your tip all night?”
Harbor cracks the balls, sending them flying and sinking two stripes into the pockets.
His eyes shift to mine as he stands proudly on the other side of the table. “It’s been what? Two days of having a job, and you’re already talking shit like you own the company?”
“All in due time, brother.”
Shaking his head, he chalks the pool cue as he comes around. Holding his hand out, I slap mine against it. A solid handshake brings us together, chuckling. “How’s the new job?”
“Good.” Liv would probably be happy to debate that response because it seems she loves to argue about everything with me, even a salad, apparently. But otherwise, I haven’t lied. “How long are you in town?”
“The team and I fly out on Sunday. I’m meeting with the commission again on Monday in Geneva.”
“You’re really going to do it?”