Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 105850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
I immediately shifted over one bar stool and turned my back to them. If that bloody man caught my eye, I’d have no choice but to join them.
I ordered a Coke Zero with ice and lemon and pulled out my phone. I had three messages from Heidi and two from Harvey, and I stared at the screen for a moment, debating which was the lesser of two evils.
Harvey.
HARVEY: Brace yourself, I heard from Cassidy about this dinner meeting. You should drop him off and run.
HARVEY: It’s about Emily Grandstein.
I groaned. I was afraid of that. Her… uh, admiration… of Theodore Black was nothing new, and I knew from keeping up with the aristocrats that her father’s business was struggling and in desperate need of an investor.
It also meant my boss was going to be furious when he was done here, and I was the one who would have to deal with it.
Goodie.
ME: Let me guess. She’s still pursuing him?
HARVEY: Worse. The viscount has suggested a marriage agreement.
Fuck me dead.
This was really not my night.
Also, how archaic could they be? What was this, the seventeen-hundreds? Who arranged marriages for business purposes these days?
ME: Goodie. I can’t wait for The Bastard to whinge the whole way home.
HARVEY: You’re still there?
ME: Of course, I am. I’m getting paid two-and-a-half times my base pay for this and I’m just sitting at the bar. Also, you texted while I was driving.
HARVEY: Is it just the president? Or is the duke there too?
ME: Just the president. Do you think it means they’re not taking the proposal seriously?
HARVEY: I called Dad earlier, and he thinks so. The duke is the head of the family, so if it was being seriously considered, he’d be there.
ME: That should temper his mood somewhat.
HARVEY: Aren’t you the optimist today?
ME: Why don’t you stop bugging me and call your best friend so I can go home?
HARVEY: He doesn’t listen to me. He only listens to you.
ME: If he listened to me, he’d have accepted my resignation the first time I tried to offer it to him.
HARVEY: Please. He can’t live without you. That’s why he’s not listening.
ME: You make it sound like I’m in an abusive relationship.
ME: Actually, I might be.
HARVEY: …When you put it like that, it’s hard to refute.
ME: So, tell your best friend to accept my fucking resignation before I commit murder.
“Chloe? I thought it was you, but Theo insisted you were in the car.” Lord Alastair Black, the heir to the dukedom of Ruxleigh, President of Black Ink Corporation, and The Bastard’s father dropped onto the bar stool next to me. “What are you doing in here?”
“Good evening, sir,” I said, smiling widely at him. “I was told it was against company policy to wait in the car, so here I am.”
He tutted and turned to Theodore. “Theo, I’ve told you about making her wait for you outside of the office hours. If you were going to insist that she go with you, you should have told me so she could join us. It’s a wonder she hasn’t left the company yet.”
Ha. Ha.
Haaaa.
Yes. It was a wonder, wasn’t it?
It was a wonder I was still. Stuck. In. This. Company.
“Can we not do this here, Dad?” The Bastard asked, running his hand through his hair and looking away. “If we aren’t eating, may I leave?”
“Leave? When I finally get to see Chloe? You keep her from me at work all the time.” Alastair shook his head. “Sit down and finish your drink, son.”
“It’s quite all right, sir,” I said, pushing my glass away. “I’d much rather be at home, myself.”
He huffed. “Very well. Let Cassidy know when you’re free for lunch, and the three of us will go together. My treat.”
“I’ll call her tomorrow.”
“So efficient.” He chuckled warmly. “Sometimes I find myself jealous that you left the President’s office when my father retired. It would have been nice if you’d stayed.”
The feelings were completely mutual. So very, very mutual.
“It couldn’t be helped, sir. It was by His Grace’s request, after all.”
Theodore’s phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket. “Excuse me a moment.”
We both waited for him to disappear, and the moment he was out of earshot, Alastair leant in close and said, “He still won’t accept your resignation, then?”
“No. Quite frankly, I’m considering having someone carve it onto a stone tablet so I can smack him with it,” I replied with a sigh. “I wanted to believe he wasn’t deliberately refusing to take it, but now I know he’s being purposely obtuse. He knows very well what I’m trying to give him on a daily basis.”
Alastair smiled sympathetically. “It’s because you’re too good at your job, Chloe. His transition was smooth, largely thanks to you. He was able to hold his own against the board of directors because of your research.”