Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 69096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
I’ll agree to anything she wants to guarantee another man doesn’t get to experience everything I did tonight. “I accept the condition.”
Her hand playfully swats my chest. “You need to hear the condition first.”
“Spit it out.”
She smiles. “When you’re ready to move on, tell me. Don’t lead me on when you need to end things. I’m a grown woman. I can take it, so respect me enough to do that.”
That thought is so foreign that I can’t process it. “Abby.”
“Agree to the condition,” she urges. “That’s all I ask.”
I nod. “Agreed.”
“Thank you.” She slides her hands down my arms. “I’ll do the same when I’m ready to move on.”
That feels like a punch in the gut, but I chase it away with a soft kiss on her lips.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Abby
I smile when Declan emerges from his bedroom wearing shoes and a sweater.
“Going somewhere?” I question.
“If I said I was taking you home, you’d tell me to stay put.” He laughs. “Sooner or later, I want to see where you live.”
“You will,” I say with assurance, even though that feels like a huge step. “It’ll need to be later since we’re creeping toward the middle of the night, and my boss expects me at the office bright and early.”
“Your boss can be a real dick.”
I start to nod but immediately stop. “I can’t agree with that statement.”
Declan approaches where I’m standing near the door of his apartment. “This is a safe space. If you want to scream, ‘Fuck you, Rook,’ at the top of your lungs, have at it. I won’t tell him.”
I believe him.
“Rook has been good to me,” I admit. “I’ve learned a lot working for him.”
“He’s a good lawyer,” he acquiesces. “I’ll give him that.”
I steal a glance at my watch. “I should head downstairs.”
“I’ll walk you down.” He pauses briefly before saying, “Rygar is waiting for you.”
I’m tempted to tell him I can get home on my own, but I appreciate that he called his driver for me. I enjoy talking to Rygar, so I know it’ll be a fun ride to Brooklyn.
“For the record.” He inches even closer to me. “Earlier, you asked if I know who is representing Kalina in the deal. Her name is Marg Jablonsky. I haven’t crossed paths with her before.”
I nod. “That’s good to know. One of my professors in law school taught us that it can’t hurt to arm yourself with as much knowledge about the opposing counsel as you can.”
“That’s good advice.” He stares into my eyes. “Regardless of how skilled Marg is, I’m confident you’ll get the best deal for Wells.”
I’m confident of that too.
“Thank you.”
“No need to thank me.” He moves to kiss my cheek. “I chose you because I know you’ll handle this deal with tact and grace.”
“Tact and grace,” I repeat. “I may need to add that to my business cards.”
That lures a deep chuckle from him. “Let’s talk about that tomorrow. I want to end our first date with a kiss.”
I smile and nod before he leans down to brush his lips against mine.
Hours later, I walk into one of the conference rooms at Thorsen & Associates with a coffee in hand and a lack of sleep weighing me down.
I had every intention of going home to bed after I left Declan’s, but on the drive there, I chatted with Rygar about the merits of plain bagels over his favorite. Rygar prefers a bagel with strawberry preserves. I’m a purist since I only opt for good quality cream cheese.
We decided to convert each other when we stopped for a very early morning coffee and an assortment of bagels. It turns out that we both are fans of the poppy seed bagels with lemon jam at Bailey’s Bagels in Brooklyn. I even bought one for Carrie so it would be waiting for her when she woke up.
That happened while I was sitting at the kitchen table researching Marg Jablonsky. I was already dressed for work since I took a shower as soon as I got home from my bagel date with Rygar.
“Good morning, Helena,” I greet my co-worker in the cheeriest voice I can muster.
Her head pops up. She pushes her reading glasses down the bridge of her nose to peer over the frames at me. “Someone is as happy as a clam today.”
I laugh that off. “Someone is dead tired and is apparently doing a pretty good job of covering that up.”
“Please tell me you weren’t burning the midnight oil at this place.” She gazes around the expansive room. “The best advice I can ever offer is don’t make work your life.”
I know Helena’s backstory. She mentioned it herself when we met for a drink after work one Friday. It wasn’t just the two of us. Helena invited half the office to join her at a bar near the building.