Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 80689 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80689 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
When I find him in his office, he’s grinning ear to ear; it’s unsettling to my already wild emotional state.
“There you are,” he says, leaning back in his chair.
Why is he smiling like that? He knows something. Was he listening in on our conversation? Is he reveling in knowing I’m ready to fucking grovel at his goddamn feet?
But I don’t have too much pride for that.
“Close the door, please.”
“I just got off the phone with my aunt.”
“I know. I know.”
He’s not even trying to hide his eavesdropping. The thought that he was watching me in my vulnerable state, that he’s deriving so much pleasure from my weakness, grates on me. Not that I need more reasons to fucking hate this guy.
He pushes to his feet and heads around the desk. “You need to go visit your sister. Ryan was right. We know what it’s like to lose family.”
He’s so much more brazen than he’s ever been, and it’s fucking with my head.
“But regardless, you’ve done what I needed you to, and now I think we’ve come to the end.”
“The end?”
“Today should be your last day.”
“Are you firing me?” Is that why he’s so smug?
He winces. “Firing you? No. Releasing you from your contract. We’ve reached the end of our work together. I’ll continue supporting Charity through treatment, and I’ll even throw in some money to help you with expenses so you can spend more time with her before moving on to your next job.”
I’m so fucking thrown. This is not what I was expecting; not even a little.
“Once you finish the work today, that is.”
Ah, a catch. Of course there’s a fucking catch.
“Then you’ll get this…nice severance package. Better than what I promised you to begin with because you’ve impressed me so much.”
He’s circling around something, but what? Has he found us out? Is that why he’s getting rid of me? Or is it because he’s bothered by how close Ryan and I have really become?
Still, I won’t just leave Ryan. That’s not an option.
“There’s plenty of work to still be done,” I object. “Ryan needs the extra hands. I can just finish out till September, like we agreed.”
He snickers. “I would think you’d just thank me for not holding it against you how you betrayed my confidence. You think I couldn’t make sense of what you and Ryan were doing on your little trips into the woods? Do I seem as naive as that?”
Ryan was right. Fuck.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“So cute, you and your pathetic attempts at lies. I’m willing to forgive it all, compensate you as we agreed. But don’t forget, I brought you here for a reason that doesn’t have anything to do with yard work. So let’s wrap this up, and you get to go back to your life. To your dear aunt and sister, and better off than you ever would have been if you hadn’t taken me up on my offer.”
I’m still trying to work out why he’s doing this so suddenly. Is it because Ryan told me he loves me? Is that what this was all leading up to? For Ryan to fall in love and then to break his heart?
“Of course,” he says, “I will need one thing before you leave. The final piece of my plan.”
“Which is?”
He smiles, taking his sweet time because he’s enjoying keeping his hand close to his chest. “Funny to think I’m actually nervous about saying it. Embarrassed, that is, so you don’t mistake what I’m saying as interest.”
“Will you just say what it is?” I’ve had enough of his mindfucks.
“I like how you get right to the point.” He walks back to his desk, spins to face me, and plants his palms against the edge, glancing me over. “I need you to fuck me, Jonas.”
It’s clear by how he emphasizes fuck me that he’s trying to get a rise out of me.
And now my mind’s spinning.
All this elaborate shit, and he just wants to fucking screw? What the hell?
“What? No.”
“Don’t be so quick, or you’ll hurt my feelings,” he says through his teeth. “It’s not like I want to fuck you either, but this is what I need from you now. You’ll fuck me right now. I have a camera up to record it, and then Ryan will stumble across it.”
“Oh my God.”
He said it all so calmly, as though we’re talking about what I need to get from the store, which makes it even more unsettling.
“What’s wrong? Don’t lie and say you don’t find me attractive because I obviously know better.” He winks, and I know he’s referring to the fact that they’re identical twins, but what I feel is so beyond Ryan’s flesh, and as I look at Simon, with that creepy smirk on his face, I know I could never feel for him the way I do for his brother.