Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 77220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
But still, it was the woman on the left who made my cock jump to life and thicken, and my body ache. Damn you, Savannah. Four years of longing welled up inside me in an instant, and I wished for nothing more than to wipe away the last four years and pick up where we had left off with our relationship.
I tore my eyes away from Savannah and looked at Sheila, who had been watching me as I stared at Savannah. I detected a slight hardness to her mouth and tone.
“Thank you, Sheila. That will be all.”
She nodded and gave Savannah one more look before she left the office. As the door closed behind her I turned my attention to Savannah once more. I stretched out a hand, indicating one of the empty chairs in front of my desk.
Without a word she sat.
I regarded her for a few moments before standing and walking over to the cart. I took up the iced coffees and handed her one. She looked up at me and I felt as though I was being sucked into the depths of those hypnotizing hazel eyes. My mind went back to the many times I had stared into those eyes and dreamed of the future…
Her face was deliberately expressionless and she was careful not to let our skin touch, but her eyes widened as she took a sip of the coffee. I could see it in her eyes that she was caught off-guard by the fact that I remembered how she liked it.
Part of me wished I had not binned the donuts and the other part of me sneered at my own weakness and desire to please her.
“I haven’t had iced coffee in a while. Thank you.” She smiled at me softly.
I could feel myself falling all over again for her and that irritated me. I inclined my head politely. “You have some documents for me to look over?”
It was like a shutter came over her face and she dropped her eyes. “Yes. Yes, I do.”
She reached into her bag and withdrew a folder which she slid across the desk. I took the folder and opened it. As I perused it for a few minutes, I could feel her eyes on me. My face remained blank throughout. I had to give it to her though: the records were impeccably done. If this were a pitch for a loan, she would have gotten it with very little trouble. But I had to remind myself that this was not supposed to be made easy for her.
“As you can see, we’ve gone to great pains to secure the most reasonable costs for material, labor and equipment.”
I fixed my gaze on her and she shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “You mean cheap.”
She frowned. “Affordable.”
“Why not just get things done properly so that they will last longer. This is a serious investment.”
Her frown deepened. “Investment? It’s a donation. An investment makes it seem as though you will have some returns to get.”
“I would like to ensure that my money does not go to waste and then you’re back at square one in a couple years putting on fairs to renovate the computer lab once more. So, I think it would be wise to make sure the effects of this… investment is long-term.” I raised an eyebrow. “Second-hand computers?”
Her shoulders squared defensively. “We don’t have the money to buy new, apart from the ones that have been donated. All they require is a software upgrade.”
“They require much more than that and I’m perfectly happy to pay for extra costs.”
She blinked with surprise, then a look of fear or was it caution came over her face. My little Savannah knew things were getting too good to be true.
“Look,” she began, “I didn’t come here for you to undo months of legwork and elimination in sifting through the options. Nor do we wish for you to undo the various contracts and agreements that we have made with those who will be doing the work and providing the equipment. All I need is a check for the balance, please.”
“And you think I’m just going to write a check for a hundred thousand dollars, almost a third of your budget, and not have a say in how it is spent? Think again, Savannah. I think you’re more intelligent than that.”
“Why the fuck did you make a pledge you have no intention of honoring, Max?”
That struck a nerve and I clenched my jaw. My word was something I had never reneged on in my life and I was not about to start now. But neither was I going to allow Savannah to know that she had the upper hand in any way. I knew I could write her a check for five times the balance if I chose. But this little game of make Savannah squirm was not going quite the way I planned.