Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 89666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
“Besides, when have you gotten emotional over some piece of ass? You could teach a master class in the art of the one-night stand.”
“Byron isn’t like that.”
Pierce sighed long and loud before grabbing me by the shoulders and turning me. He pushed me toward the kitchen and forced me onto a stool at the island. “Wilkins told me you’ve been skipping meals, and that Carol has been making sandwiches for you, hoping you’ll eat something soon.”
“I’m not hungry,” I grumbled.
“You know, she’s scared she’s going to lose her job. She’s convinced you don’t like her cooking anymore.”
I narrowed my eyes at his back. “You’re making that up.”
“Am I? I think I even heard that you were cooking in here one night.” He turned to me with a plate holding a carefully wrapped sandwich, a bowl of fruit, and another bowl of pasta salad. “Carol is a nice lady and a superb cook. If I didn’t love my chef, I’d consider stealing her.” Pierce slid the plate in front of me as he spoke.
Annoying. He was so annoying.
And he was definitely making up the entire story about Carol being worried about her job. That didn’t matter. The seed had been planted in fertile soil. Talking to Byron had made it clear how fragile someone’s life could be when they depended so heavily on that next paycheck. Not that I thought Carol was in that situation, but I also didn’t want her to worry.
Without a word, I peeled off the wrapper and started eating the sandwich. Thankfully, Pierce didn’t feel the need to comment or gloat. He dug into the fridge for a bottle of water for me and one for himself.
“Okay, tell me about this guy.”
“Byron,” I supplied.
“Byron. He’s your assistant.”
“Was,” I bit out. My stomach was souring, and eating felt like a bad decision.
“So, he got shit-canned because everyone found out you were dating.”
Yes, Pierce was the king of tact.
“Yeah,” I mumbled as I shoved the plate away.
Pierce immediately pushed it back toward me. “Tell me about him. He’s the one I met that time I came in to grab you for lunch about six months ago, right?”
I stared at my old college friend for several seconds. He was serious. The snarky jabs were gone, and he returned my gaze with a look of genuine concern and interest. Pierce was hard to get along with at the best of times. Where Declan was simply cold and reserved, Pierce was like trying to make friends with a honey badger that was constantly trying to rip your face off.
When we’d been in college, I was determined to get everyone to like Declan, so I’d forced Declan to accompany me everywhere until they just accepted him. The funny thing was that Rome and Sawyer had used the same approach with Pierce. Eventually, we were all together for so many years that we could no longer imagine a world where we didn’t see each other or talk every day.
The thing with Pierce was that he was all brick walls and boiling oil to keep people from seeing how damaged he was on the inside. It took ages to get past his defenses, and I couldn’t imagine the person who had the strength and patience to give it a try.
“Yeah. You met him at the office.”
Pierce nodded and cracked the seal on his water, unscrewing the top. “He’s cute, if you’re into that super prim and proper thing.”
“You know you are, so don’t give me that shit.”
My friend’s smile turned a little devilish. I might have had a reputation for being a bit of a slut in my twenties, but Pierce had been right there in the gutter with me.
“Only because they’re the most fun in bed,” Pierce purred.
“Stop right there. You may not think things like that about Byron.”
Pierce smirked but wisely moved on. “He’s the one we’ve been hearing about for the past few years that you have such a crush on. He’s the reason you stopped even attempting to date.”
“No one could compare to him.”
“How?”
His question stopped me short. “What do you mean, ‘how?’ ”
“How is he so great? I get that he’s adorable and efficient, but how did that translate into being this person who you’ve been enamored of for three years?”
I opened my mouth to chastise him for being so dense. Of course, Byron was amazing. How could he not see it? It was obvious when…
My mind went blank. What was it that had captured my attention? No, what had grabbed me by the throat and wouldn’t let me go, instead tightening its grip with each passing day?
That first day, it had been his tiny smile as I’d passed him in the main lobby. We’d caught each other checking one another out. Our gazes had slid down our bodies and slammed into each other as we made it up to our faces. The smallest lift of the corners of his lips. It wasn’t a smirk, but something similar. Like we’d shared a joke without ever saying a word.