Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 164705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 824(@200wpm)___ 659(@250wpm)___ 549(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 164705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 824(@200wpm)___ 659(@250wpm)___ 549(@300wpm)
I wasn’t exactly in a state to protest. I couldn’t muster the energy to fight him. Neither could a wild boar, for that matter.
“You hired him,” I pointed out.
“To get your ass into shape. Look how that turned out.” Dad tied the trash bag with a double knot, conjured another, and move on to the bottles stacked near the windows. “I wouldn’t have come if Sebastian didn’t send me. He never asks for anything, so I knew it was serious.”
I undid the top button of my dress shirt and loosened my tie, wondering how well it would hold up as a noose. “Why couldn’t I hallucinate someone hotter?”
“It’s Briar, isn’t it? If you miss her, follow her. I’ll hold down the fort.”
The second her name sliced past his lips like a dagger, everything faded. The click-clack of keyboards outside. The low murmur of conversations between my staff. Dad’s disbelieving grunts each time he unearthed a new stash of bottles. Vanished.
I didn’t even hear any of his words past her name.
My fingertips itched to turn over the photo lying face-down on my desk. Eli had smacked it down weeks ago, and I never bothered flipping it back over, afraid I’d hop onto a plane at the sight of Briar’s toothy grin and crash her movie set.
Unfortunately, I needed to prove to her that I could handle a long-distance relationship. And even more unfortunate, it seemed I couldn’t.
“Go home, Oliver. Get some rest. Pull yourself together.” Dad rubbed my back in big circles, the first comforting touch he’d offered in almost sixteen years. “Lay off the booze.”
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, trying to focus. “That’s rich coming from you.”
“You’re right, and I’m sorry.” He kneeled before me, catching my eyes beneath my disheveled hair. “I’m sorry I haven’t been around since your brother’s accident. I’m sorry you had to take on so much responsibility. And I’m sorry your mom and I never stopped to ask if you were okay.”
“Where is this coming from?” I shook my head, unable to form basic coherent thoughts. This felt important. Monumental, even. But my brain – and body – failed me.
The room spun, colors and shapes blending into a dizzying kaleidoscope. I knew I’d forget this conversation in an hour. And worse – that I’d hallucinated the whole thing. But it must’ve come to me for a reason. Maybe somewhere, deep down, I needed to hear this.
“Your brother smacked some sense into me last night.”
“Sebastian did?”
“He FaceTimed me. Forced me to stare him right in the eyes as he told me that I failed both of you. That it was my duty as your father to help you two navigate our new world, and I failed.” Hallucinated Dad sighed, raking a hand through his graying hair. “Let me pass your brother’s advice onto you, son. Sometimes things that never happened haunt you more than the things that did. Don’t live with regret, Oliver.”
A nauseating ache rose from somewhere I thought had healed.
I groaned into my desk. “This hallucination sounds an awful lot like an intervention.”
Dad gathered my hands together, laughing into my fists. “Ollie?
“Yeah, Dad?”
“I know we’re awful at showing it, but your mom and I love you.”
The room descended into heavy silence.
I remembered the last time I’d heard those words. Twenty-five days ago. From Briar.
The only woman capable of doing what no corporate rival ever could.
Break me.
Chapter Ninety-Four
Briar
Trial Day Twenty-Six.
Dallas Costa: I know you won’t see this for another five hundred years (and that this makes me a total narc), but Oliver has been miserable since you left.
Farrow Ballantine-Sun: Co-signed. As much as I like seeing men falling at the feet of women, it’s truly a sad sight to behold.
Dallas Costa: Are you sure you two can make this work long-distance?
Farrow Ballantine-Sun: Fine. We get it. We won’t mention it again.
Dallas Costa: Is it just me or is it weird talking to Briar when we know she won’t respond to these texts?
Frankie Townsend: HMM … IT’S ALMOST LIKE IT’S NO FUN BEING IGNORED IN TEXTS.
Farrow Ballantine-Sun: Hey, look who found the caps lock button.
Frankie Townsend: not funny. being iced out sucks ass. i swear being an influencer is a real job.
Farrow Ballantine-Sun: I have the weekend off next week.
Dallas Costa: Girls trip to SoCal? We can head down to O.C.
Farrow Ballantine-Sun: Be real. You’re not coming to visit Briar. You just want a cheese roll from Porto’s.
Dallas Costa: I don’t want A cheese roll from Porto’s. I want the entire menu.
Frankie Townsend: im coming this time!
Dallas Costa: Have you found employment yet?
Frankie Townsend: not my fault i got fired again
Dallas Costa: You failed five phishing tests for a TECH company.
Frankie Townsend: the last one was impossible. they were offering free tickets to see taylor. not even a nun could resist clicking that link.