Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 79898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
It was appealing ... at least on days when I felt like this.
“The thing is,” I continued. “I should take a vacation, but I don’t trust that things would go smoothly in my absence.”
“You’ve got a good team,” Clint countered. “You know that, right?”
“My guys are good,” I admitted. “But the thought of leaving everything in their hands makes me feel sick.” Clint gave me a look and I shrugged. “I’m a control freak,” I added. “Like that’s news to you.”
“What about your personal assistant?” Clint asked.
I groaned and shook my head. Clint laughed, but I couldn’t join in. The thought of Portia taking over and running my agency in my absence was too much to bear.
“She’s the third assistant the agency has sent me in a year,” I informed him. “And she’s a total mess.”
“Ever think you might be the asshole here?” Clint asked. “You know, like when you go on a date with a girl and she says that all of her exes were dicks ... after a while, she might be the one with the problem.”
I shrugged. “It’s not my fault that no one has been strong enough to stick with me,” I said. Except for Harper, I added mentally. Like she’d still be here, four years later.
“You’ll figure it out,” Clint said comfortably.
“I’ll just get through this draft season and then I’ll consider a break. Key word consider,” I said. “I have some guys who are looking at seriously good contracts.”
Clint nodded. As someone else in the sports industry, I knew that he understood.
“I should head back to my office,” Clint said. He got up and stretched, then belched again and patted his stomach. We shook hands, then he left my office and I went back to my desk and sat down.
Portia came bustling in seconds later. She wasn’t looking at me – her eyes were glued to the floor, and for the second time that day, I considered her competence.
On the surface, she was fine ... I guessed. But I’d seen her frazzled and shrill. I’d seen her freak out and have a breakdown over the slightest incident, like a faulty Keurig machine, and there was no way I could trust her enough to leave my agency in her hands. If scatterbrained, meek Portia was in charge, things would go straight to hell.
As soon as she went back to her desk, I got up and closed my office door. With a deep breath, I went to my chair and sat down. I put my hand on the knob of my desk and sighed, then pulled it open.
Inside was a pair of purple satin panties. Four years later I could still close my eyes and picture Harper wearing them, the crotch stained dark with the juices of her arousal. I could still hear her moans, visualize her sweaty face as she strained and cried out with pleasure, feel her pussy clenching tightly around my cock.
God, I fucking missed her.
It was crazy – I shouldn’t even be thinking about Harper, let alone missing her.
Somehow, though, I had a feeling that I’d never be able to forget her.
4
Harper –Tuesday
“Mrs. Willow, I’m sure she’ll be fine,” the perky, young daycare employee said to me. She was wearing a bright yellow T-shirt and a nametag that read ‘Stephanie’.
I had to resist the urge to correct Stephanie and tell her that I wasn’t married. It made me bristle, just a little bit. Here we were, living in the twenty-first century, in New York City of all places, and of course, there was no way a single woman would have a child.
“It’s her first time at a daycare,” I explained. “My father used to take care of her when I was at work, but we just moved here.”
Stephanie gave me a patronizing smile. “She’ll adjust.”
“She’s shy,” I said, clearing my throat. “Just, please keep an eye on her for me, okay?”
Ada was still clinging to my leg with one arm and clutching her beloved stuffed bunny in the other. I squatted down and smoothed her hair.
“You be good for Stephanie, okay,” I said, cupping her chin and looking into her blue eyes. “Mommy will be back in just a few hours.”
Ada’s chin wobbled in my hand and for a moment, I thought my heart would break. Leaving her with my father had been one thing, but leaving her with a bunch of strangers – even well-trained strangers – was honestly terrifying. I knew it was all part of watching my little girl grow up, but there was nothing appealing about it. Ada had barely even played with other children and there was obvious fear in her eyes.
“Look,” I said softly, too quiet for Stephanie to hear. “We’ll go and do something special this weekend, just the two of us, okay?”
Ada looked momentarily cheered, and she nodded slowly.