Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 98398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
“Catherine, I appreciate what you were trying to do, and I understand that in your head, you were doing the right thing. But this is not going to work.”
“Of course, it’s going to work. Your mother’s arranged everything. It’s all planned.”
“No, it’s not. Keep the wedding location if you want to keep the deposits. I don’t really care. But I will not be marrying you, not now, not ever.”
“You can’t do this to me! Do you know who I am?”
I flattened my palms on the table and leaned down. “I know something way more important than that… I know what you are. A fucking bitch. I’m done.”
I put a few hundred dollars on the table and walked out feeling suddenly lighter and more centered than I had in weeks. I was over letting myself be manipulated by Mary Quinn Astrid and her privileged insanity.
I needed to go find my girl.
CHAPTER 30
HARRISON
The crowded New York street no longer felt suffocating and congested. It felt alive, like I could tap into the energy of the city and use it to fuel anything. Like it could seep into my cells and give me life. This had to be what people meant when they said New York City was the greatest city in the world.
It was incredible. I needed to find Eddie immediately. I owed her so much and wanted to take so much more. I was finally in a position to give her everything she deserved. I would be the man she didn’t know she had been missing her entire life, just as soon as she begged me to touch her. I wasn’t about to start this new chapter of our lives on another broken promise.
The cold air felt somehow crisper, lighter, and freer, and I needed to take Eddie Carmichael in my arms and kiss her until I made her see things my way.
I needed to apologize to her for the things I said and for accusing her of being incompetent when she was one of the most ambitious and hardworking people I had ever known. She couldn’t have been incompetent if she actually tried. She was too good, too smart, too thorough. That woman was born to be a lawyer. Until she made it into law school, she had taken the initiative to learn whatever she could by being the most dedicated paralegal.
Who did that?
She did.
I wanted her back on my desk desperately, but realistically, I knew that might not be possible. So, I wanted to give her an option, let her choose what she wanted. It was something I should have been doing from the beginning, but I hadn’t given her a single choice since I had met her. I’d told her she had choices. I’d deluded myself into thinking I had given her choices, but I hadn’t, not really. The options I’d presented to her were not good enough for consideration.
I just had to find her. I had to tell her everything and lay out my entire argument. I had an opening and closing statement prepared. There was no way, just no way, that she wouldn’t agree that she and I were meant to be together. I was operating in good faith, and it only made sense that she would be now, too. I was ready to give her everything to help her meet her goals while she worked to help me meet mine. I didn’t want her to be an accessory or a tool like Catherine. I wanted her to be my partner in everything.
The first thing I did was run back to the office. I didn’t know what case she was working on, but I did know she was a workaholic, so there was a really good chance I would find her there. It was, after all, where she was most comfortable. I knew that because it was where I was most comfortable.
It was only eight in the evening, but it was a Friday night, so I shouldn’t have been too surprised when I found her desk empty. The disappointment stung, but I was nothing if not resourceful.
She could be working for a lawyer who was going to court, and her work was already done, or maybe she was working with one of the men who kicked off early Friday nights but came in over the weekend.
It was fine, an unexpected hurdle, but I could use it to my advantage. It was probably better that my propositions didn’t happen in the office anyway. Maybe she had gone out with friends or something?
I ran back to my office and used my admin password to view her calendar. What did privacy matter when it came to want and need?
She had confided in me over one of our late work nights that she loved organization. She preferred physical, but digital made more sense, and she didn’t have to keep running out of supplies.