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)
Harper lay there for a few seconds, then rolled off of me and flopped on the bed. I tried to put an arm around her and pull her close, but she resisted.
Frowning, I turned to her.
“What?” I asked. “You didn’t have fun?” I added with a smirk.
Harper licked her lips. To my surprise, she looked almost nervous.
“Of course I did,” she said, sighing softly and smiling at me with clear contentment. “But now, you should go.”
“What the fuck?” I asked. “Why?”
I didn’t want to admit it – it would have been the height of unmanliness – but I’d been looking forward to holding Harper and falling asleep with her almost as much as I’d been looking forward to the sex itself. It wasn’t just because I had often thought about how it would feel to hold her slender body to mine for hours, to watch her face in her sleep, to smell the scent of her hair.
It was because I wanted concrete proof that we were more than this – more than just fuck-buddies or friends with benefits or whatever the fuck it was that Harper and I were doing. I wanted to move to the next step – I wanted to be comfortable with her and I sure as shit wanted her to be comfortable with me.
Harper looked pained, and I wondered if I’d crossed a boundary.
“Because ... I don’t sleep well with someone else in my bed,” she admitted. “I’m a really light sleeper. And then, when I’m not, I totally snore.”
I raised an eyebrow at her – she was far too slender for someone with sleep apnea. But whatever the reason, it was clear that she’d made her point.
She didn’t want me there.
I climbed out of bed, already missing the warm tenderness of her body. Harper made a mild protest as I got dressed, but I’d had it – I was done dealing with her shit for the night.
Just as I was about to open the door of her bedroom and let myself into the cold, black night, I turned to her.
“When you figure out what you want,” I said finally. “Call me.”
A wounded look crossed Harper’s face. Ordinarily, I would have stopped and pleaded with her, cajoled her to tell me what was really on her mind.
But right now, I was sick of it.
The next morning, despite being thrown out of Harper’s bed the night before, I was riding high on emotion and exhilaration. Even though I hadn’t spent the night with her, she’d made it clear that she’d wanted me.
It may have just been for sex, but that was something I figured that I could deal with later.
At any rate, I woke up in a great mood – just like any other man who had been well-laid the night before. I even whistled as I took a shower and got into a suit, then went into the office.
Immediately, my good mood vanished like a popped soap bubble. The office was in complete chaos – everyone was running around like their heads were on fire and I had a wicked headache from the noise by the time I made it to the C-suite floor.
“Portia,” I called loudly, waiting for my assistant to show and somehow clarify why the entire office was acting like idiots.
“Portia!” I yelled as I fast approached her desk.
Except, her desk was empty. I frowned as I stared at the empty chair, the black screen of her PC.
What the fuck was going on here?
When I walked into my office, the head of HR was sitting there. A middle-aged woman with a helmet of black hair, Janice was just the imposing figure I’d hired to intimidate all of my new employees. We’d always gotten along, but she didn’t return my smile or my greeting.
“Would you kindly tell me what the fuck is going on?” I snapped as I sat down behind my desk.
Janice pressed her white, fish-like lips together and cocked her head to the side.
“What?” I repeated. “Come on – what the fuck is this? Where’s my assistant?”
Janice gave me a look that could be best described as a glare.
“Ms. Glass has quit without sufficient notice,” she said coldly. “She said to me in her exit interview that she couldn’t continue to work for a man who slept with his assistants in good conscience.”
My jaw dropped so rapidly that I was afraid it would hit my desk.
“What?” I hissed. “What the fuck, Janice?”
“I would advise you to open your office door,” Janice said. “It would be for the best, Mr. Ulrich.”
A cold chill worked its way down my spine and I mechanically got to my feet, walked to my door, and opened it as wide as it would go with a sarcastic gesture.
“Better?”
Janice didn’t look amused.
“I’ll need a temp,” I said quickly. “Until I can get to the bottom of this.”