Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24251 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 121(@200wpm)___ 97(@250wpm)___ 81(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24251 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 121(@200wpm)___ 97(@250wpm)___ 81(@300wpm)
“You better not have that damn virus, Olivia,” Petra warns, leaning forward in her chair and lowering her voice so only I can hear her. “I’m not afraid to call the CDC and tell them what you’ve been up to.”
I laugh at her empty threat and roll my eyes at her dramatic reaction. “And what have I been up to?”
Her eyes widen and makes an exasperated face, as if the answer is just so obvious. “Sneezing, Olivia.”
“The last time I checked, sneezing isn’t the only symptom of the virus,” I retort, a half-hearted smile playing on my lips. “Last I heard, it’s a very human thing to do.” But my friend shakes her head.
“I saw on the news—”
I hold up my hand and Petra goes silent. She bites her lips and looks down at her cherry red heels, knowing she is going to get an earful from me. “Stop right there. I thought I told you to stop watching the news, Petra. You know it makes you paranoid.”
Last week, we agreed that Petra would stop watching the news after she bought nearly all of the toilet paper at our local Target and tried to fight another woman over the last disinfectant spray. Needless to say, the news only adds fuel to the fire of paranoia and panic over this pandemic and Petra is a victim, making her a big ball of anxiety and stress.
“It was one nightly broadcast, Olivia,” she whines, but the way she averts her gaze and picks at a loose thread on her shirt tells me it was more than that.
I decide to let it slide since Petra looks so guilty. “What did the news say, girlfriend?”
She takes a breath and scoots her rolling chair closer to mine, forgetting the paperwork lying idly on her desk and dropping her purple pen with a quiet click. She glances around the office quickly, her eyes flitting over each vacant face before returning her gaze to me. I can’t help but smirk at her dramatics.
“They’re saying that New York City has been shut down,” Petra whispers, her eyes darting to the right and left to make sure no one overhears. Although, I can’t blame her considering their reaction to a few harmless sneezes from me. “New York City, Olivia! The damn Big Apple, the infamous city of fun and filth!”
“Petra, that’s because it’s really bad over there,” I assure her, placing a hand on her knee. She cringes when I touch her and I smile because I know she really wants to scoot her chair farther from her sneezing friend. “It’s incredibly overpopulated and you can catch a venereal disease just by touching the subway railing.”
“It’s getting worse, Liv,” she insists. “It’s going to get to us eventually.”
I frown.
“But we live in Maine, Petra. The closest supermarket near my apartment is a half hour away and the shopping mall is almost an hour. We’re very spread out here in Camdale, so it’ll be hard for the virus to spread.”
My reassurance falls on deaf ears. My friend bites her lip anxiously and pushes away from me, rubbing her neck like she always does when she’s stressed. She looks up at me when she returns to her desk and picks up her purple pen with shaking fingers.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
I smile at her level of concern and care and I nod my head. “Yes, Petra. I promise I’ll get checked out if I feel worse. It’s just a cold or allergies.”
She nods her head and her eyes crinkle at the corners. Even though I can’t see her smile, I know she’s grinning ear to ear because of my promise.
But really, there’s no need to go to the doctor because I do feel fine. Besides a few sneezes and a dull headache behind my eyes, I feel as good as new.
As Petra turns back to her paperwork, her eyes widen and she glances at me quickly. Then her eyes go wide at something behind my shoulder before turning away. I don’t to look to know who it is, and sure enough, and faint trail of disgust goes down my spine.
“Hello, beautiful,” lisps a high, reedy voice.
Ugh. It’s Willy Disdale, a name partner at Disdale Trout. I roll my eyes at his endearment and try to ignore the tall, spindly man standing next to my desk.
“Do you have the information for the Parker case yet?” He places slim fingertips on my desk and taps them to get my attention, which only infuriates me and sends volts of anger down my spine. A ruby ring resting on his pinky finger glimmers under the light and I squint my eyes to shield them from the sudden brightness.
I glance up at him, his green eyes the shade of emeralds and his bleached blonde hair combed to one side and slicked back. He doesn’t wear a suit and tie like all of the other partners do. He wears a blue button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the first few buttons undone, revealing small patches of bleached blonde chest hair. A gold chain sits in the center of his chest, right above his heart. His black slacks are wrinkled and his shoes are dirty and unkempt. The guy dresses like a Mafia don and acts like a total jackass. Unfortunately, he’s also my boss so I have no choice but to put up with it.