Total pages in book: 166
Estimated words: 169305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 847(@200wpm)___ 677(@250wpm)___ 564(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 169305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 847(@200wpm)___ 677(@250wpm)___ 564(@300wpm)
The simple black-and-white maid dress clung to her curves, highlighting every arch and bend. Her hair, like molten gold, framed her shoulders and face.
She wore earbuds in her ears, bobbing her head back and forth as she took scissors to my well-tended flowers. She didn’t hear me coming, even when I stood about a foot away from her.
Her scent drifted to my nose. She smelled of summer and sin; of the sun kissing a flower in bloom.
Since she wore clothes, I didn’t think twice before tapping her shoulder to grab her attention.
She jumped a little, staggering from the bushes, and plucked her earbuds out of her ears. “Jesus, Zach. You scared me.”
Right back at you. I am fucking terrified of you, Octi.
Instead of saying this, I knotted my fingers behind my back and pinned her with a dissatisfied glare. “May I ask you a question?”
“No.”
“I’ll ask one anyway. Why am I getting the silent treatment?”
“What silent treatment?” She dumped a pile of roses into a bucket, wiping her hands over her apron. “You have used every opportunity to tell me I’m the help. Why would I seek you out and strike up a conversation?”
She was downplaying what we were, and it pissed me off. I had to take a deep breath and count to ten backwards.
I never got angry.
What the hell was happening?
“You and I struck a deal,” I drawled, towering over her, using every ounce of my self-control not to lash out at her. I’d always pitied my colleagues and friends who succumbed to emotions at the most trivial inconvenience. “And right now, you are not fulfilling your part of the bargain.”
“And you are?” She turned back to the bushes, grabbing the shears from the muddy ground and attacking the roses in full force. This wasn’t cutting. This was decapitating. “I began fulfilling my end of the bargain, yet here I am, three weeks in, and I have no lawyer, no private investigator, and no lead to start fighting Vera with.”
So, this was why she was angry and ignoring me? Because she thought I’d forgotten about my promise to her?
My jaw tensed. I had to massage it to stop myself from barking at her. “Arrangements have been made.”
They were not, in fact, made.
I’d planned to prolong the inevitable as much as I could.
“Uh-huh. Sure. Super secret arrangements that nobody’s ever heard about.” More rose-cutting. She was relentless. At this rate, she’d leave my garden completely bare. She had no idea what she was doing. “How very convenient that you kept it all under wraps.”
“I’m working on it.” My lips barely moved when I spoke.
Behind us, the balcony doors clicked open. Mom and Celeste Ayi, no doubt. We had lunch together every Friday.
Only, this Friday, I’d forgotten on account of the fact that I’d just discovered pussy and wanted my next meal.
“I don’t believ—”
I grabbed Farrow by the arms, past caring what Mom and Ayi might think, and turned her to face me. “I’m afraid you are going to have to believe me. You have no choice. We’ve entered a business agreement. That makes us partners right now. When I said I made arrangements, I meant it. We have a meeting with my team of lawyers and a private investigator today at four. I was waiting for the stock market to close before the meeting.”
She blinked fast, her face jumping from emotion to emotion, starting with confusion and ending with hope.
And then she did something completely terrible.
She smiled.
She smiled, and I felt it everywhere in my body.
“You did that?”
“Yes,” I grumbled. “I told you I would. You should probably change into your normal clothes for the meeting.”
I did a quick once-over, angry that she’d made me explain myself. I’d never been in this situation before.
She nodded, fingering the velvety petals of a rose in her bucket. “I will.”
Pause.
I wondered if she knew my mother was watching. Probably not. She seemed deep in thought.
Farrow raised her gaze to meet mine. “Do I need to pay anything? A retainer? A…”
“I’ll take care of everything.” I shook my head. “You just have to show up and give us a rundown of what’s happening.”
She nodded. I felt desperate for something. I didn’t know what.
My fists balled at my sides.
Turn around, Zach. Walk away.
Instead, I just stared at her, hostility radiating off me in waves. Waiting for… What? A thank you?
I didn’t want her to thank me. Thanking someone was formal in Chinese culture. It signified distance between two people, and I wanted her close.
“Well?” She licked her lips, scanning my face, seeming unsure herself. “Do you need something else?”
Your attention. Your impossible words. Your sweet pussy. Especially your sweet pussy.
“For you to stop murdering my roses,” I blurted out instead, prying the sheers from her fingers. “You have no idea what you’re doing.”
She laughed a little. “I finished cleaning the entire place and got bored. Humor me.”