Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 88656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
“Then why did you call me?” Her voice quivered.
“I thought we were friends. I guess I shouldn’t have. I’m gonna go now, okay? I’m sorry for everything.”
I hung up, and the tears came. I cried for Layla, and a little bit for me, but mostly I cried for my mom. What hell she must be going through, and there was nothing I could do about it.
No good had come from the two phone calls I’d made. Both recipients had broken down in tears. In the end, I decided that in the future, I’d just suffer my boredom by myself.
MONDAY and Tuesday passed by in a blur. I didn’t see Kage at all, and my thoughts were plagued by thoughts of my mother, waiting for a call telling me everything was fine.
By Wednesday afternoon, I had thrown myself totally into work and the idea of trying to be the best publicist money could buy. Dr. Washburn didn’t mind my occasional phone calls to ask him questions. Or at least if he did, he didn’t let on.
“You’re totally cooler than I thought you were, Doc,” I admitted after he’d given me yet another pep talk.
His scoff was audible over the phone line. “You didn’t already think I was cool? Why am I even helping you?” But there was a teasing quality to his voice that let me know he wasn’t serious.
“Because you love me,” I said. “Because I’m your favorite student. Admit it.”
“Okay, I will admit that I have developed a soft spot for you. But only academically. On a personal level, I find you barely tolerable.”
“Oh, that was harsh!” I laughed quietly. “Hey, I know I’ve given you a hard time in the past, but I was hoping maybe you could find it in your heart to give my barely tolerable personality another chance. At least before it’s time to issue final grades next year?”
“I don’t know. Can you quit being a smart ass?”
“Can a puppy quit being cute?”
“Oh, so you think you’re cute, do you?” He laughed a little too heartily as he hung up the phone, leaving me alone once again in my bare cubicle among strangers.
After a few minutes, Mark Gladstone poked his well-groomed head into my cubicle. “How goes it, intern?”
I spun around in my task chair and shrugged. “Pretty good, I guess. My job is still in its infant stages, I guess you could say. Not showing much of a return yet, but we’ll get there.”
“Haven’t noticed your boss around much. He giving you input, or are you pretty much on your own?”
“To be honest, I haven’t seen much of him. We had lunch that first day, but that’s it.”
Mark nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. “Yeah, nobody sees much of him from what I understand. Hell, I almost passed out when he stuck his head in here on your first day. He comes through here every once in a while, when he needs payroll to cut him a check for something.”
“Doesn’t seem like you two get along very well,” I said, hoping I hadn’t overstepped any boundaries.
“Yeah, well, I know it doesn’t seem like it, but Vegas is a small town. Kage and I went to high school together, so there may be a bit of bad blood there.” He stepped further into my cubicle. “The problem was that I was popular, and Kage was— well, people thought he was kind of weird. So there was sort of this jealousy thing going on.”
“I see.” I didn’t want to call him a liar, but I definitely couldn’t imagine Kage being jealous of a guy like him. If anything, it would have been the other way around.
“I got a lot of pussy,” Mark continued “Kage didn’t. I guess you could say he was an outsider. As far as I know, he only had two friends.”
Mark’s description didn’t make me think any less of Kage, but it did make my heart squeeze for him. All that money and talent, and he was considered an outcast by most of his peers. I wondered if he got picked on— if that’s what made him learn to fight. Bullying had sent many a kid running for the martial arts gyms and the security of knowing that, if it came down to it, they could take care of themselves. As for myself, I had turned to sports and learned the art of blending in.
Mark kept running his mouth, but I had stopped listening. He didn’t say anything more about Kage, so I wasn’t interested. Finally, he wandered off and found another victim for his vocal attack. At four-thirty, my cell phone rang, and I was surprised and pleased to discover it was Kage.
“Hi, my little intern. How are you doing?” He sounded laid back, with a confident familiarity that bordered on seductive.