Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 104471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 522(@200wpm)___ 418(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 522(@200wpm)___ 418(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
I hang up the call after thanking the driver. I know he’ll keep his promise of being parked on the street in front of the building in less than eight minutes since he was already in the car just a block away.
One glance at my laptop screen notifies me of the five new email messages waiting for me.
I open my inbox and grin when I see the one at the top. It’s the most recent to arrive.
“Am I right to assume you got the email I just sent?” Mr. Hunt suddenly reappears in the doorway of his office.
Not only does he have impressive hearing abilities, but he’s stealthy as hell.
“Yes, sir,” I say, trying to keep my voice calm because excitement is shooting through me. “Thank you.”
With a curt nod, he walks past my desk and heads down the corridor to the bank of elevators.
I shift my focus back to my laptop screen and the subject line that parts my lips into a wide smile.
Subject: You’re Free to Leave at 3 Today
Excited at the prospect of leaving the office early today, I click open Mr. Hunt’s email. My stomach drops immediately when I start reading.
Miss Starling,
As the subject line indicates, you’re permitted to leave the office at 3 p.m. today if you can accomplish the following tasks by then.
I stop reading when I reach the twentieth item on the list. There have to be at least thirty things he wants done today, including picking up one postage stamp from a specific Post Office on Broadway and a visit to the library to return the three books on his desk. In addition, while I’m at the library, I need to choose two “mind-bending thrillers” that he’ll enjoy.
“Does he even read books?” I whisper before getting to my feet so I can peer down the corridor to make sure he’s boarded the elevator.
He has, so unless he can hear through steel, I’m good.
“Son-of-a-jerk face,” I mutter.
Since I want to be home shortly after three and soaking in a bubble bath, I take a deep breath followed by a big sip of my coffee.
“You’ve got this,” I pump myself up with words of encouragement that I in no way believe to be true. “Just get it done.”
I forward the office calls to my cell, grab the books and library card off his desk, and sprint toward the bank of elevators.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Reid
I arrive back at the office at three fifteen and immediately notice that Miss Starling’s laptop cover is closed, and her purse and phone are nowhere to be found. Neither is she.
I gave her permission to call it a day if she completed the monstrous list I complied for her that included both business and personal tasks by three o’clock.
“Where the hell did you and Baden disappear to today?” Vance strolls out of my office. “Also, explain why the fuck there are library books and a box of chamomile tea on your desk.”
“I like to read,” I say as I brush past him.
“When you’re drinking tea?” He huffs out a laugh.
The tea was an afterthought because I wanted the list to come out at an even thirty tasks. I’ll drop it off in the staff break room before the day is done. Someone will enjoy it.
“Miss Starling picked it up,” I answer brusquely. “As for your first question, we were with the Bogners for most of the morning. I went to two other meetings after that. You’ll have to ask Baden where the fuck he disappeared to.”
“I’ll do that.”
More than likely, he won’t.
Baden’s approach to securing a deal differs from ours. He’s much more hands-on, doing whatever it takes to align himself with the needs of potential clients. He did just that with the Bogners yesterday in the atrium. I watched him charm them both by asking about their family members, their goals in retirement, and how he was sure Mr. Bogner would beat his ass at golf when he takes a weekend away from New York next year to visit them in Florida.
He conjured up that mental picture in such pointed detail that I know it impacted both Mr. and Mrs. Bogner. I wasn’t surprised when they reached out this morning wanting to negotiate their way out of their bowling alleys and New York state. We’re inching closer to a deal. I anticipate we’ll have that in place within the next few days.
“Are you free for dinner tonight?” Vance asks.
“To eat with you, or are you looking for me to tag along on another double date I want no part of?”
His hands jump into the air as if he’s surrendering. “I did that once, Reid. It’s a mistake I won’t make again, and besides, I’m not dating anyone right now.”
I’m not surprised to hear that, but I am mildly shocked he told me.