Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 93387 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93387 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
The corner of her desk contained the usual Monday flowers. Today, they were magnolias, the scent heavy in the air. When they had arrived, I’d rolled my eyes, annoyed.
“Your secret admirer is cheesy. Sending you magnolias?”
She touched a petal softly. “They’re beautiful.”
“I think Ty is touched in the head. You find out anything new on him?”
“No. The florist is stubborn. I even tried to bribe the delivery guy to find out, but he says the tips are too good and to stop worrying and enjoy them.”
I had huffed. “Such sage advice.”
She had waved me off. I had a feeling when I turned my back, she flipped me off as well, but I ignored her.
She pushed the files away. “As soon as I finish this email.”
“Now,” I added with a glare. “Give me numbers, now.”
She picked up her pen.
“One pen!” she said in a strange voice. “One! Wah-ha-ha!”
Next came the file folders.
“Three file folders!” she screeched, again in the odd voice. “Three! Wah-ha-ha!”
She fisted something on her desk and opened her hand, paper clips raining down and dancing on the top.
“Who the hell knows?” she warbled. “Twenty-three, give or take. Twenty-three paper clips! Wah-ha-ha!”
I stepped back in alarm.
“Have you lost your ever-loving mind?” I asked. “What the hell?” I leaned over her, caging her against her desk. Why was she imitating Count von Count from Sesame Street—badly, I might add? “Are you taking some sort of hallucinogenic drugs?”
“Not the right numbers?” she asked, seemingly confused. “Hmm. You really need to be more detailed when demanding things, boss.”
“I need a specific set of numbers, Myers.”
“Oh.” She paused, a frown wrinkling her forehead. Then she grinned, her eyes dancing. “Sixty-nine.”
“What?”
“That’s your favorite number, isn’t it?” She grinned. “Sixty-nine lashings of your ton—”
I covered her mouth. “Finish that, and you’re fired.”
She licked my palm, and I had no choice. I gave up, leaning closer and kissing her. “It never takes sixty-nine, does it, Myers? God knows my cock barely lasts six point nine minutes in your mouth,” I murmured before kissing her again—hard and fast. That shut her up.
Then I stood. “Crunch the numbers in the files. Get them to me fast.”
I slammed my door and leaned against it. Then I buried my face into the sleeve of my jacket and laughed until I could barely stand. She had totally changed my mood with a few silly lines and some teasing.
She was going to be the death of me.
But what a way to go.
Chapter Twenty
BANE
Icalled her that night, smiling when she answered the phone, sounding breathless.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Oh, getting the man out of my apartment. My secret admirer finally made himself known.”
“Not funny, Myers,” I growled. “You had better be joking.”
She giggled. “I was sorting through a trunk, looking for a skirt I thought was in there. But it held mostly my grandmother’s cocktail outfits.” Her voice became soft. “Her wedding dress is in there, plus some photos. I lost track of time looking at them.”
“I see. Like the dress you wore to the awards banquet?”
“Yes, that was one of hers.”
“How about I take you to dinner on the weekend to my favorite place, and you wear another one?”
“Oh. That would be amazing.” She was quiet. “Are you feeling better now?”
I chuckled. “I ate some of your delicious leftovers, Hedgy hasn’t left my shoulder, and I think I came up with a design for Mr. Impossible.”
“Oh, all great pieces of news.”
“He isn’t getting a maze, but I figured out a walled sort of garden with his Zen place in the middle. Again, a much smaller version, but we’ll see if he is happy.”
“Sometimes money doesn’t always help with reality.”
I chuckled. “He would have needed to have no building, only a small maze. He’s building in Toronto, not the countryside. I discovered he’d recently been to England and decided he wanted something he saw at a castle. I hope I can make him see reason.”
“And if you can’t?” she asked.
“Then we agree to disagree, and he hires someone else. There’s always a clause in the contract for me to walk. For the firm to walk, actually.”
“Ah.”
“Will you come home with me tomorrow?”
“I was going to go see my dad.”
“Go do that. Darryl will drive you and will bring you to me when you’re ready. I’ll have dinner brought in.”
“Okay.”
“Good. And you’ll stay the night.”
She paused.
“I didn’t sleep well without you, Maggie darling. Please.”
“I didn’t sleep well without you either.”
“Then stay.”
Still, she hesitated.
“I know this is all new. It is to both of us,” I assured her. “But we’ll figure it out. And let’s face it. I’m a lot nicer when I have a good night’s sleep. Makes it better for everyone.”
“Well, when you put it that way,” she teased.
I had to chuckle. “Yes. Do it for the sake of the office, Myers. Stay with me.”