Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 86364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
Clearing my expression from that frightening slipup, I hurried to the foyer, where Declan was searching for the missing Franks. His home assistant was always there to greet him first thing and give an update on the home before taking the car Declan had driven to the garage. A grin teased my lips as I imagined how that daily update had grown since Joy and I had come to live there.
“Welcome home,” I greeted as soon as Declan spotted me. Joy squealed and shouted. She stretched out both arms and leaned her upper body toward Declan as if she meant to fly to him.
“Thank you,” he murmured as he took Joy from my arms and snuggled her close. He pressed the softest kiss to Joy’s cheek and then captured my mouth in a brief but thorough kiss. “How was your day?”
“Good. Busy. But good. How was work?”
Those full lips that refused to grow into a smile actually twitched in a smirk. “You remember the financial cliff we were facing while you were at Courtland?”
“Yeah. The company had to make up its revenue shortfall by a certain date or you had to look at cutbacks and layoffs, right? But the deadline’s not until the end of the third quarter, right? You’ve still a full month left.”
“Byron’s proposal on how to raise revenue across the company worked out spectacularly. We’ve made up the missing revenue, and we’re on course to have one of our best years in the past ten.”
“Holy shit!” I jumped away from Declan and grabbed my head with both hands. “That’s so amazing! Congrats!” I wrapped him up in a tight hug and stole another kiss. While he’d been dealing with my insanity over the past month, I knew he’d also been worried about Courtland Enterprises’ financial situation. I might have been a temporary contract worker at Courtland, but I’d been in the finance department. Countless reports from all the divisions had crossed my desk, and I’d talked with other members of the department. I’d seen exactly how dire the situation was. “Is the company going to do something for Byron? A bonus check or something? I get why they fired him, but it was his idea that saved the company.”
Declan caught the hand I’d started waving in his face and pulled me close, cuddling my tall frame to the other side of him. Joy was watching me like I was an entertaining lunatic, her wide blue eyes taking in all my antics. Declan kissed my chin. “Yes, he’s receiving a nice bonus. However, he’s asked that we donate his bonus to a charity.”
“Such as the one he’s currently the COO of?”
“That is one of them. His bonus is being split across three charities at his request.”
A scoff broke from the back of my throat. “Sebastian is a lucky man; I hope he realizes that.”
“He does.” Declan pressed a kiss to my jaw before he whispered. “And so am I.”
“Ridiculous,” I mumbled as the tips of my ears burned. When the hell had this man turned into such a sweet talker? Thankfully, Joy provided an excellent distraction. She shouted as if she couldn’t stand not being the center of attention.
Declan released me to tickle the little girl’s stomach. “Where’s Franks?”
“I gave him and Chef Donovan the night off.” Declan’s eyes widened slightly, and I pushed forward. “I wanted to give you a gift to say thank you for everything you’ve done for me and Joy.”
Declan shook his head. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I do! Really, I do. You’ve been so amazing. Especially since we were technically friends when all this started…” My voice drifted off as my thoughts grew more awkward.
My lover’s hand dropped to my hip and squeezed. “Maybe I had ulterior motives. Namely, I wanted to date you, and it would have been much harder to accomplish that if you had to spend all your time working, taking care of Joy, and finding a suitable place to live.”
“Whatever. The point is, I wanted to give you something to show my appreciation, and that’s hard to do because you’re so rich.” I narrowed my eyes on Declan, giving him a very pointed look as if it were a bad thing he was so financially well-off. “So, tonight, I cooked dinner for us. Afterward, we will have the big reveal for the front parlor mural.”
“And maybe something extra after Joy goes to bed?” Declan asked with a note of hope entering his voice.
“Maybe.”
Okay, it was going to happen. I could never say no to this sexy man. With the smallest touch, my toes were already curling in my shoes.
I snatched Joy from his arms and took a step back. “You go change out of that suit while I check on dinner.”
While Declan went up to his room to change into something more casual, I hurried off to the kitchen with Joy. I slipped her into her high chair and checked the vegetables in the oven. The steaks were still warm on the skillet, and I’d put the rolls in a bowl as Declan came home. It had been well over a month since I’d last cooked, and I was rusty. Even on the nights that Chef Donovan was off, the man left all the food prepared and in the fridge, waiting for us with reheating instructions.