Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 79599 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79599 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
“I am,” I say. “Thank you for finding the time. The article is going to be great.”
“Oh, fantastic,” Aimee beams as I spy her key card left carelessly on her desk. The idea is in action before it has even fully formed.
“Oh,” I gasp as I double over and clutch onto my stomach in pain.
Her eyes widen in fear. “Is everything okay?” Aimee shrieks as she comes rushing around the side of her desk and does what little she can to help me.
“It will be,” I pant, pretending to concentrate solely on my breathing. “I’ve been getting a lot of cramping,” I explain. “Could I trouble you for some water?”
“Of course,” she says before hurrying around the office, desperate to help the needy pregnant woman.
The moment she turns her back, I make my move and swipe the key card off her desk before sliding it into my purse. I make myself comfortable on the couch opposite her desk and put on a show of rubbing my stomach as I wait for her to return.
Aimee comes back moments later with a glass tumbler filled with frosty water. “Thank you so much,” I say, graciously, as I take the glass from her and sip the chilled water.
“No problem at all,” she says, gently placing a hand on my shoulder. “Are you feeling better?”
“Yes, much. Thank you,” I say. “It happens at the worst times.”
“I can only imagine.”
I give her a friendly smile before getting back to my feet. “May I ask where the nearest bathroom is? This baby likes to use my bladder as a squeeze toy.”
She gives me a fond, knowing smile and points out a doorway just off the reception area. I thank her once again and get on my way, ready to put this plan into action.
Walking into the bathroom, I go up and down the aisle twice before declaring the coast officially clear. Glancing around, I try to figure out the best way to do this. I glance up at the ceiling and spot a smoke detector directly above the sink.
Excellent.
With a grin, I search through my bag and find my trusty lighter. I remember when I first bought it, Dani had insisted that I’d never use it seeing as though I don’t smoke. But I was really into having those flaming shots at the time, so I’ve never once regretted buying this bad boy. Especially now.
Placing my handbag down on the counter, I do my best to hoist myself up. I latch onto the mirror carefully, not wanting to fall, as I grab some paper towels off the counter and hold them to the lighter. The flames catch instantly, and I quickly look back at the door, knowing now would be a really bad time for someone to come in.
Holding the paper towel up to the smoke detector, I let it do its thing.
I listen out, and just as I hoped, I hear the magical sound of the fire alarm starting up. I drop the flaming paper towels into the sink and reach down to turn on the tap. The second the fire is out, I scramble off the counter, being as careful as possible before rushing into a stall and hiding.
The people outside the bathroom groan and fuss as they jump straight into their evacuation procedure, and I can’t help but grin to myself at my quick thinking. I mean, this is a pretty epic plan. Though, it’s definitely one I won’t be able to share with Tank. If he knew . . . shit. I don’t even want to think about it.
I hear Christian Baxter’s voice outside the bathroom. “This is the fourth fucking time this month,” he snaps. “Organize for someone to replace the system.”
“Yes, sir,” Aimee hastily responds.
“Grab your things,” he demands, acting like the jerk I knew he would be out of the public eye. “You’ll have to reschedule my video conference for a lunch appointment. Who knows how long this bullshit will take.”
“Yes, sir,” she stutters out again, making me feel bad for the poor girl. She’s doing everything for him, he could at least pretend to be a nice guy. I know if it were me working for him, I would have told him to shove it up his ass ages ago then done everything in my power to inconvenience him in the most frustrating way during my strut out the door.
The noise coming from outside the bathroom starts to dwindle, but I wait a few extra minutes just in case. I pull my phone out of my bag and find a new voice message and an unread text. I read the text first and feel bad when I notice it was Tank checking in on me and I didn’t respond. Then I listen to the voicemail.
“Babe, Crazy Jill messaged, so it’s on tonight. You better be ready. Call me back when you can.”