Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 40554 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 203(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40554 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 203(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
You can do this. You deserve better, I silently remind myself, straightening my shoulders and heading in. I push through the revolving door, entering into the massive lobby, heading straight for the bank of elevators, bypassing the security desk.
“Excuse me, ma'am," I hear the security guard call after me. I quicken my pace and pray that the elevator gods are smiling down on me today. Luckily they are, and I slip into one of the open cars, the doors momentarily closing behind me. I calmly make my way to the back. That was a close call.
“Seventieth floor, please,” I say. One of the occupants closest to the buttons pushes it for me. I’m not the best with heights, so I try not to think about how high this little box actually has to travel. Of course, my husband…soon to be ex... would have to be on the top floor.
I relax a little, relieved that everything has gone to plan so far. I still have the element of surprise on my side. Which is exactly what I’ve been counting on.
The ride up feels like an eternity as it stops on almost every floor, letting people off. When we finally reach my floor, there are only a few people left. I let them all filter out first before I step off into a wide-open space. A handful of desks are in the center with offices surrounding them on all sides.
I know which is Blake's. It stretches across two giant doors that run floor to ceiling. In front of it is a desk with a woman whose attention is on the computer. She has shiny black hair, and as I draw closer, I can see how gorgeous she is. I suddenly feel way underdressed. I haven't bothered to change or freshen up. I stepped right off the plane and caught a taxi here.
Once she turns her head to look directly at me, she doesn’t seem as attractive. Her expression becomes icy, and her features appear more severe now. I would guess that she is a few years older than me, but age can be difficult to determine these days. I swear, as I get older, my own mother looks more like my sister than my mom.
"Is there something I can help you with?" she asks.
"I'm here to see Blake Lockheart," I tell her.
"I don't believe you have an appointment." I don’t miss the judgment in her tone. Her eyes flick past me, and I turn, glancing back to see two security guards headed for me. Crap. That didn’t take long.
The woman starts to stand, and I dart around her desk to yank open one of the double doors.
"Hey!" she shouts after me.
"Don’t you know how to knock?" Blake's tone is like a slap, making me pause. He turns his attention away from the computer screen, his dark green eyes coming to me. They narrow. The boy I once knew is gone. There’s not an ounce of softness left. It makes my chest ache, but I ignore it.
Well, damn, I thought I'd get more of a surprised reaction. I mentally roll my eyes at myself. Why do I keep thinking I can predict what Blake might do when it comes to me?
"What's going on?" Blake stands, and I swallow at his sheer size. I guess pictures really don't show you that. He has to be thirty pounds heavier, and it's all muscle. The button-up shirt he's wearing lets you see his thick build. Is he taller too? He is no longer a boy. My husband is all man now.
"I'm sorry, she—" his assistant starts to say, but he cuts her off.
"Stop!” Blake snaps, making me step back. "Don't fucking touch her." I turn my head to see the two security guards now right behind me.
"She barged in requesting to see you, but you didn't have a meeting on your schedule."
"I don't need to schedule a meeting. I'm his wife." I try to keep my tone flat and uncaring. The woman's dark brows rise, not one wrinkle showing in her forehead.
"Everyone out," he orders. I momentarily debate running. I wasn't as prepared as I thought I was to face him. "Not you," Blake says, those hard eyes still on me. "Wife."
"Not for long," I tell him, pushing my shoulders back. I'm not the same girl he once knew either.
Chapter Two
BLAKE
Ibrace my hands on my desk and stare at Truly, trying to comprehend that she is here. I actually thought for half a second it was an apparition. Almost the same as a person stranded in the desert, the need for water to survive makes you see what’s not there. That’s how it’s felt without having her. I wouldn’t be too surprised if I have fully lost it at this point.
It's her words that snap reality back into place.