Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 56294 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56294 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Paul nods. “That’s a good idea.”
“Corporate didn’t seem to think so.”
He laughs darkly. “I thought you were corporate now.”
“Too many variables,” I tell him. “Too much chaos. They want everything to be curated and clean so they can check and double-check every last thing.”
“Fuck ’em. Let the audience decide who’s right. If they choose her…” The company loses millions. People could lose their jobs. “Then they’re idiots, too.” His eyes are starting to close as the pain pills swallow him. “Will you do it, Kaleb? Please?”
Don’t make me. I can’t think of any decent reason to turn him down. I know how much it means to him—not to be seen as weak by his sister. I know how proud he is of basically raising Sophie and his enthusiasm when we began this business together. How could I tell him no?
“Of course I will,” I say.
“That’s what he said?” she murmurs, her arms folded across her middle. I wish she wouldn’t do that. She’s pushing her tits together, stirring impulses in me that I need to kill now. There’s no place for them in my life when that video and her crush exist.
“He wants me to take you away for a few days,” I say tightly, standing behind the couch. She’s standing behind the opposite chair as if she wants to put as much space between us as possible.
Riley is in the kitchen, making a drink. “He told me the same thing,” Riley says, with that suspicious looking away again.
A thought occurs to me. I take on the persona I use during business meetings, walking across the room into the kitchen area. Riley turns, eyes flit to me, and then flit down.
“Is something wrong?” I ask her, feeling Sophie watching us.
Riley looks at Sophie, then me, and quickly shakes her head. She fiddles with the knot of her bandana like it’s a nervous habit. “I just want to work. That’s all I’m concerned about. Nothing else is any of my business.”
“Nothing else… like what?” I ask.
“Kaleb,” Sophie snaps over the divider.
I raise my hand, shaking my head, keeping my gaze locked on Riley. I’ve spent enough time assessing people to know when they’re hiding something from me.
Riley steps forward and lowers her voice. “I saw you two, okay?” She nods to Sophie. “But I don’t care. My only concern is for Paul. Please, please don’t fire me.”
Sophie rushes around the divider, lowering her voice too. “Wait, you saw? When?”
“Through the window. Up against the wall, but I don’t care, honestly. I’ve worked in many households with many dynamics. I just want to do my job. This is the best contract I’ve had in years. Please don’t fire me.”
“You haven’t said anything so far,” Sophie murmurs.
I look at Riley, my heart pounding hard as I think about her whispering in Paul’s ear, telling him what she saw. If I’m going to be together with his sister one day, he’ll have to find out eventually, but we’re not. That’s the point. We’re ending it.
Firing her isn’t even the best strategic option, anyway. It would create questions and motivation on her side to break her silence. I could pay her off and make her sign a non-disclosure agreement, but that would be suspicious.
“Many people in your position would try to get more money from me,” I tell her.
“My professional reputation is enough for me,” she replies. “I earn that by doing my job; frankly, I am being very well paid.”
“I trust her,” Sophie says. “Anyway, it was a onetime thing, right?”
“Yes.” It’s so hard for me to make myself say this—a onetime thing. What a joke. I’m hungering for her with more and more fierceness every single second. “It’s over now. It never really started.”
“Yes, sir,” Riley says. “Please. I understand. Believe me.”
I turn away, returning to the living room, dropping into the armchair, and resting my fist against my knee.
“So, what do you think?” Sophie asks, her cheeks flushed. I can imagine all the drama twisting through her now, the anxiety, but she’s keeping it to herself just like I am. We have to.
“I think we should do what Paul wants,” I say. “I can get you a room in my hotel.”
“I thought you’d be staying at an apartment or something.”
Is she trying to fill my thoughts with bad ideas? I need to force myself to think of that video anytime other thoughts stab right into my head. Anytime I start thinking about peeling off her pants, revealing those thick legs, licking her clit, and tasting her, this time, tasting every last goddamn drop.
No, the video. The braces. The wrongness.
“I sold it when I moved,” I say.
She narrows her eyes. “Why?”
“Because I was born dirt-poor and holding onto things I don’t need has always seemed pointless to me.” I stand up, gesturing toward the hallway. “You should pack. Say goodbye to Paul.”