Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 119184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 596(@200wpm)___ 477(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 596(@200wpm)___ 477(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
“Nope, I—” I stop, staring at him. “Did you really say a million?”
“Seven figures. Count them, Sass. I told you: This can be a mutually beneficial relationship.”
Holy shit, I can’t do this.
That’s crazy money. Certifiable. And it comes with strings attached that originate in hell.
Worse, his offer tells me I should have listened to my instinct.
I knew I should never have gone out with him.
Does he seriously think he can bribe me into some sleezy romance arrangement worthy of a bad reality show?
Woof.
My instincts were right.
Brady Pruitt is a giant selfish dickprint.
“No thanks,” I strangle out. Then I start digging in my purse, thankful I have a few bills to throw down on the bar for my partial tab. He can figure out the rest for this humiliation. “Absolutely no fucking way. I’m out of here.”
And I’m moving like a bullet, bolting through the crowd as I hear him call, “Lena!”
This is so not my day.
Now, instead of moping around at home, I get to drag myself back with my tail between my legs.
And I’ll spend the night wondering why every man in this city really is a selfish psycho, and when I became a magnet for bad intentions.
VI
A Dog’s Dinner
(Brady)
Under ordinary circumstances, the lab lights me up like nowhere else.
It’s the place where the future unfolds, and that makes me feel more at home than—well, home.
No matter how nice my condo is, everyone thinks they can drop by and interrupt my flow. Ungirlfriends (Nancy Loomer), my mother, old friends, and cousins who pop in a few times a year.
If I don’t want to be seen, there’s nowhere to hide.
My parents’ house hasn’t felt like home, either, not since I came back from serving Uncle Sam.
It may be beautiful, but it’s stuffy, all old-world money and suffocating obligations. Imposing as hell and cut from an age where the wealthy in Seattle rubbed it in with the biggest castles and flashiest cars imaginable.
It’s also the place where their rules and expectations reign.
If I don’t follow them to the letter of the law, they bring consequences crashing down on my head like an avalanche.
It’s easier to avoid it entirely, unless I have a good reason for showing up.
Then there’s the lab.
It’s this small local place, looking more like a college lab than a state-of-the-art facility for world-class R&D. I contracted them with my vet nutritionist to help formulate my test products a few months back, and ever since, I’ve found myself damn near living there some days.
Luis is with me today, too, frowning over the notes we’ve been given.
“Any questions?” The lab tech, Grace, a lanky brunette with serious eyes and a ponytail pulled tight across her head, looks at me expectantly.
“Heirloom grains?” Luis asks.
“Mostly barley. A little goes a long way for a dog’s gut health, supposedly,” I say shortly.
“It also pads the calorie content and possibly balances the flavor profile. Anything packaged for storage inevitably loses a little.” Grace smiles, but I note the missing confidence in her voice.
Great. Nice knowing she thinks we’re making progress.
As I said, under normal circumstances, the lab is my favorite place.
But when we’ve been pushing our brains to their limits to make the pet food affordable, palatable, and marketable, it’s a tight balance. It feels like a place where dreams go to die.
Maybe that’s a little overdramatic, but it’s exactly how I feel.
Without warning, Lena crowds my brain.
The way she felt in my arms as she buried her head in my chest—this iron woman suddenly a naked cactus without her thorns.
Then I had to open my dumb fucking mouth and shit up everything.
The raw anger in her eyes.
The ugly emotion boiling out behind her beauty.
The scorn I deserved after I betrayed her trust.
What was I thinking?
She’s combative by nature and guarded as hell. Maybe if she wasn’t so standoffish to begin with, I wouldn’t be so bothered.
Hell, I like the way she fights for her passions. The clinic means a lot to her, and the second after its dilemma broke her in front of me, I put my entire shoe up my ass.
Those eyes.
Those big, brown, beautiful eyes, spinning with disappointment.
That fucking hurt, and yes, I’m keenly aware there’s no one else to blame.
I wouldn’t pretend to date me for a million dollars either.
Jackass idiot.
I deserved far worse than the way she stormed out like I lit her on fire. Plus, the awkward looks from the bartender and the patrons around me.
Maybe they saw a clueless donkey sooner than I did, bleating selfish promises at a woman he barely knows like he’s the miracle in life she’s been waiting for.
Luis looks at me sharply and clears his throat.
I forget he can read my mind. He’s the only one who knows about that disaster, and he’s spent enough time around me to know how fuckups eat me alive.