Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 104471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 522(@200wpm)___ 418(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 522(@200wpm)___ 418(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
Normally, I’d comment on the quality and cut of the suit, but not today. I’m in the middle of the biggest crisis I’ve ever faced, and need advice.
“Who did you fuck over?” he repeats. “Did you say something to hurt Melody? Did you piss Vance off again? If that’s it, don’t sweat it. You know he’ll forgive you by lunch.”
“It’s Evangeline,” I say her name with a crack in my voice. “Evie. I fucked over Evie.”
“You fired her?” he asks, jumping to the obvious conclusion. “Tell me you didn’t fire her because she asked for extra days off this week, Reid. That’s on me. I approved it.”
“I think I’m in love with her.”
His mouth drops open. “What?”
I shake my head and correct my last statement to reflect my truth, “I am in love with her. I know it deep in my bones. I fucking love her, Baden.”
“No shit?” He chuckles. “Does she even know you like her? Sending a woman on daily scavenger hunts around Manhattan to collect postage stamps and library books is not the way to win her heart.”
I ignore that because he’s right. I haven’t shown her the respect she deserves, but those errand runs were a way to get her out of my sight. I may not have fallen in love with her at first sight, but it was lust. That’s changed to love. I’ve never experienced it before, but I know what it is. My grandfather always told me my heart would know before my brain did. He was right.
Jesus. I wish Buzzy were here to talk me through this. I was too naïve to know how much I’d need him until it was too late.
“We’ve been together for weeks,” I tell him, keeping my gaze locked on his so he knows how serious this is. “I’ve spent almost all of my off time with her.”
He nods. “You do love her. How does she feel about you?”
I wish I knew. Judging by what I saw in her eyes at her apartment the other night, disappointment tops the list of what she’s feeling for me. I suspect there’s some anger there and confusion, too. I don’t know if love, or even like, cracks the top ten emotions she’s feeling at the moment.
“I don’t know.” I scrub a hand over my forehead. “Evie is the maid of honor in Randall’s wedding.”
“Since when?”
“Since right around when he asked me to be the best man.”
His eyes widen. “So, she’s close with Charlotte Rushing? You were keeping that fact in your back pocket to surprise us, weren’t you? You knew you could use that to secure a deal for Emmel’s.”
Every word out of his mouth reminds me of what Evie must have inferred after overhearing the conversation I was having with Baden and Vance earlier this week.
“They’re becoming close,” I clarify. “I did see her as an in to get a deal done with Emmel’s, but I was wrong. I was so fucking wrong to think that. I was an idiot to use my position as Randall’s best man to think I could get control of Azelius.”
Baden leans closer to my desk to tap the corner of it. “You’re not making any sense. That was always the plan. You’d get your hands on Azelius when he was ready to sell. Emmel’s was the icing on the cake.”
“Evie thought I was a good man.” Closing my eyes briefly, I rest the back of my head against my chair. “She thought I was the best man because I’m a good man. She thought I viewed Randall as an old friend; as a brother. She saw a side of me that she now thinks doesn’t exist.”
“What are you talking about? You are a good man.”
“She overheard us talking the other day,” I get to the point. “It was the first she heard of us wanting Azelius and Emmel’s. In her eyes, I’m a ruthless bastard who was using Randall and Charlotte to pad my bank account.”
“Fuck.” He sighs. “I’m sorry, Reid.”
“I should have told her we were interested in both companies,” I say. “She had a right to know. Randall and Charlotte did, too. I should have said something to Randall the second I realized he owned Azelius.”
“That’s the thing, Reid.” He plucks a piece of lint off his dark gray pants. “You agreed to be his best man before you knew he owned the spa chain. You did that for a reason. Don’t beat yourself up because you think you’re an asshole. You may be in business, but you’ve been a good friend to Vance and me. You’re a solid guy who has been through the wringer.”
“Everyone’s past has a few hurdles.”
“You lost your parents when you were a kid,” he points out. “Then your grandfather and your grandma. Putting your trust in Winston fucked things up for you. You never talk about it, but I know.”