Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 89674 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89674 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
“Excuse me,” I said firmly, pushing the chair backward and rising to my feet while sliding my thumb across the screen. I didn’t speak until I was away from any prying ears. “Hey.”
“You free?”
“Probably not the best time but what’s up?” I said, then quickly dropped the professional act because I had to know. “How’s Beau?”
“He’s fine,” Carter said. “Beau doesn’t speak to me much, but I can tell he’s struggling.”
I closed my eyes, struggling was such a small word to describe the misery my broken heart faced. “I miss him. So what’s going on?”
“I wanted to let you know I’m attending the economic summit this year. Your father will be there.”
My eyes popped open wide at that announcement.
“When?”
“It begins Sunday evening about the same time Linda drops Beau at the airport. She’ll arrive Monday morning, I believe,” Carter said, never too good about remembering his packed schedule.
So Beau had moved his itinerary back by a day, probably to add to the point he was trying to make with me. I quickly sifted through my options of whether I should tell Carter to warn Linda about my parents attending the summit, or not. She’d been in the witch’s brew before with the spouses and girlfriends of the uber wealthy, but I didn’t think she’d ever run into my mom before.
“You’ve grown quiet, Dash. Do you want to fly out and go to the summit with us? I understand the Richmonds will be there.”
I barked out a hard laugh, very unprofessional. “Someday I’ll take you up on that. Listen, my sources say my mother and her group of cronies have been biding their time, planning to give Linda shit when they’re finally together. So watch out for her.”
“I’ll make sure she’s ready,” Carter said.
“Excellent. Keep me posted,” I said, lifting a finger when Penny stuck her head out the conference room door to nod me back inside.
“Will do.” In Carter’s customary way, he disconnected the call without any sort of salutation.
I squared my shoulders and gave a single nod. Time to get back in the game.
20: The What’s Happening?
Beau/Dash
Beau
Saturday evening
The chill in the air sent a shiver racing down my spine. There was nothing quite like leaving paradise only to return to Chicago, facing a forty degree temperature drop between the two. I hauled my duffle bag out of the bed of my truck and reached for the case of the new fishing rod I’d purchased in Florida. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t shake the longing to still be on vacation. That had less to do with the Sunshine State and more to do with all the tension building in my shoulders since landing at O’Hare. With each mile I drove to the building, my shoulders only grew tighter.
Dash’s little race car wasn’t in its designated parking spot. I didn’t know how to feel about Dash not being home. Our shared calendar had my itinerary. I don’t know why I expected him to be here, but I did. Maybe this was an act of retaliation for not speaking to him for so long or maybe he flat wasn’t interested in being with me any longer. That probably said everything about our current situation, but I wasn’t ready to throw in the towel until he and I had an honest dialogue. I rode the elevator up and walked the hall until I reached the door to our place.
When I entered, a rush of sensation hit me. I felt it to my bones. It was a coldness that had nothing to do with the temperature inside or out. The place was dark, no longer lived in. I wondered if Dash had been home while I was gone. In the living room, I tossed my duffle on a side chair but I was far more careful with my new rod case.
A sigh escaped me unexpectedly. Why couldn’t he just be here? That would’ve sufficed to help ease the argument between us. I rummaged through my bag in search of my phone. He hadn’t made contact explaining why he’d be late. His words about not following me echoed in my head. The only message I had was from my mother, checking if I’d arrived safely. I turned an armchair toward the window facing the well-lit entrance and garage, then took a seat to return the text from my mom.
My desire meant something to me. I didn’t want to be here, and I’d find a way to go. My heart still wanted Dash on board with the plan. I didn’t want to lose him just as much as I didn’t want to live the life I currently had. We could fly to one another every weekend. We barely saw each other these days. By spending a weekend with him, I’d actually see him more if he came to me. It wasn’t outside of the realm of possibility. We could make it work. An attorney in the firm had a husband in Montana; they traveled on weekends. She said it allowed her all the time in the week to work as much as needed so she could take the time on the weekends instead of being worried about dinners and events during the week.