Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 94546 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94546 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
“Jack… ah, Mr. Carson—”
“Which means you will no longer be sheltered under Global Ten’s umbrella.”
“Mr. Carson—”
“Good day, Mr. Potts.”
“But—”
“I said… good day.” I’ve been walked over, spat on, and ridiculed while building my company into a global sensation, but you can sure as hell be confident that I will not be spoken down to by a man as weak as Mr. Potts. If it isn’t already frustrating that he disobeyed a direct order, it is infuriating that he watches staff members be harassed and not do anything about it.
Workplace harassment laws were brought in for a reason, and I uphold them at every available opportunity.
“Except perhaps when it comes to her,” I murmur to myself when Mr. Potts’s storm for the closest exit sees Octavia’s curious gaze locking with mine.
Just like when she peered at me when I slid my finger inside her, I’ve got her on the hook.
Now I just need to reel her in.
CHAPTER 3
OCTAVIA
“If his stares get any hotter, I will have to check you for burns.”
I bump Jess with my hip before swiveling away from Jack. He’s been liaising with the who’s who of media for the past thirty minutes, but he’s barely taken his eyes off me for a second—not even while scaring Mr. Potts away from festivities with hushed words. “He’s remorseful for the mess he made of my outfit.”
“Ah… but wasn’t it you who took a shortcut through Dung Valley?”
I grin to hide my gag. “Yeah, but I’m not talking about that mess.” Jess giggles like a schoolgirl when I lean in close and mutter, “It’s the travesty he caused my panties that I’m referencing.”
I love Jess like a sister. She took me under her wing when I arrived in Seattle with barely a penny to my name and an attitude in desperate need of an overhaul, but I want to stab her with a blunt instrument when she murmurs, “I can understand why. He sure is pretty.”
“Maybe you should let Caleb hear that, then he might stop playing the friend card.”
That snaps her back from her Jack dreamscape. For months, she and Caleb have been tiptoeing around their feelings, and the tension is thick enough to cut.
Almost like it was between Jack and me in what I suspect was his office.
It gives credit to him being where he was at the time of our meeting. Only staff and crew are allowed back there, and although his suit is designer, it isn’t pompous like many of the uber-rich Seattleites wear. It is suave and cool—even when dotted with horse poo.
I drift my eyes back to Jess when she mutters with a groan, “I tried the whole jealousy thing when we went out drinking last month. All it got me was a guy’s number I didn’t want and a severely bruised ego.”
My second hip bump almost knocks her over. I’m not tall compared to men like Jack, but I’m not tiny like Jess either. I’m average height for a girl, standing a little over five-eight. “I’ve seen the haunts you frequent, Jess. That wouldn’t be close to the response you’d get if you took Mr. Devastating home for the night. More than Caleb’s ego would get bruised.” I snap my mouth shut when determination fortifies in Jess’s enormous hazel eyes, then I try to act as if Jack’s face is as ugly as a gorilla’s rear end. “But then you’d need Jack to slum it with the rest of the South Park gang. I don’t like your chances, especially since he mentioned his tailor twice during our brief conversation. Once is a purposeful slip, but two times exposes an affluent edge we South Park girls aren’t seeking.”
“Who says we don’t want affluent? I want affluent.” Her nostrils flare when she leans in close. “It is effluent you want to avoid.”
After a frisky wink that has me two seconds away from yanking off her wig, she thrusts out her moderately sized breasts, then moseys over to Jack and his bevy of suit-clad companions for a last-minute punt.
Her three-to-one odds tumble to triple digits when Jack sidesteps her partway across the catering tent. He shuts down one man’s attempt to speak to him with a stern finger point before deflecting JJ from Accounting by directing him to a man with a belittling one-finger summons before he eventually stops to stand in front of me. “Are you ready?”
“For?” A one-word sentence should be nowhere near as breathy as mine just came out. You’d swear his finger was back inside my vagina for how needy it is.
“For…” He pauses to build the suspense. I don’t know what industry he works in, but he should consider moving to Hollywood. He’d win an Oscar in no time. “Our adventurous day.” Before I can tell him I’m not dressed for a day out nor known to venture into the wilderness with strangers, he squashes his dismissing finger to my lip. It is the same finger he stuffed into my vagina only an hour ago. “Elaine has a selection of clothes for you in the car. Fitz activated the tracking feature on your phone, so your family and friends can find you if you go missing, and if you’re still worried about spending time alone with me, you can always invite Jess to come with us.”