Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 164263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 821(@200wpm)___ 657(@250wpm)___ 548(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 164263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 821(@200wpm)___ 657(@250wpm)___ 548(@300wpm)
Why?
“How many times has he called you to check on me today?” I ask.
“At least ten.”
Hmm, I need intel…. All of it.
“Will you sit down and have a drink with me?” I ask.
“I’m not….”
“I know you’re not supposed to talk to me, but I did tell you that I would end you, and I’m feeling pretty gangster about it, so…. We kind of have to be friends now.”
He gives me a lopsided smile and sits down opposite me. “Maybe just one drink won’t hurt.”
“Thanks.” With a shaky hand I pour us both a glass of wine. “I didn’t expect to see my ex here tonight, you know? This whole situation has me very on edge.”
He takes a sip. “Miss Sorenson, if I may speak out of turn.”
“Please.”
“Mr. Prescott is acting very out of character at the moment.”
“How so?”
“Before today he’s never once called before to check on a partner. When they are with me and under my care, he never thinks twice about them.”
“He hasn’t?”
“No.”
“How long have you worked for him?”
“Nine years.”
“Oh.” My eyes hold his. “But Edward and I aren’t together.”
“Are you sure about that?”
I stare at him as I try to connect the dots…does he like me?
He taps the side of his nose with a wink as if to say it’s a secret.
“Not a word.”
Click.
The clock scrolls to 1 a.m.
I lie on my side in the darkness, sleep evades me, I thought he’d call me when he calmed down.
Perhaps he won’t.
Yes, he was checking on me, but maybe right at this very moment he’s probably kissing her. I get a vision of them together at the charity auction and how perfect they looked together.
The Princess of Switzerland and the English casino mogul, a match made in heaven.
With every moment that passes the more my certainty that they are going to get back together increases. She’s beautiful and well connected, a fucking princess for Pete’s sake.
I roll onto my back and stare up at the ceiling. My stomach is in knots, my anxiety at an all-time high, every emotion seems heightened and out of balance.
My mind goes back to where we met. Switzerland, what was he doing at the Establishment?
At the time I thought that he wanted to hold control over someone, but now that I know him better it’s blatantly obvious that he controls everything and everyone anyway, so I’m not so sure anymore.
Maybe he’s just a pervert who frequents sex clubs, looking for his next kink. Maybe that was just an average weekend for him. He’s probably had another two hundred weekends just like it since.
Stop it.
I roll my eyes, disgusted by my own insecurities.
Ring, ring… ring, ring…. My phone vibrates on the side table and with a pounding heart I scramble to answer it.
Mr. Doe
He’s calling me….
He wants to talk.
“Hello.”
“Hi, Doe.”
My heart pounds at the mere sound of his voice, husky and soft.
“Did I wake you?”
“No.” I sigh, I was hoping you’d call.
I scrunch up my face, play it cool.
“You went straight home,” he says; his voice is different than it was earlier, soft, and cajoling.
“I did.”
“Thank you.”
I frown, he’s thanking me for doing as he asked.
“How did the event go?”
“It was good.” He seems tired…or quiet…. Off.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“Yeah.” He sighs. “A bit of a rough end to the night.”
“What happened?”
“I snuck out of there and went back to my yacht and….” His voice trails off.
“Go on.” I bite my lip as I listen.
“Hermione turned up and was causing a scene on the marina when she wasn’t permitted to board.”
“Oh.”
“It’s a wonder you didn’t hear her from Paris.”
“You do crazy things when you’re heartbroken.” I try to make him feel better. “Did you go and talk to her?”
“I did.”
I close my eyes, unsure if I want to hear what he’s going to say next. “How did that go?”
“Not great.”
We stay silent on the line, waiting for the other to say something.
“Eventually…I left.” He sighs.
“You left her on the yacht?”
“I had no choice; she was completely losing it.”
“Is she okay?”
“She had her staff with her, and mine were there too. I knew that if I was removed from the situation she would calm down and listen to them. She will be safely back at her place now.”
“Where are you now?”
“I’m at a friend’s apartment.”
“Are you okay?”
“It’s not a nice feeling to break a heart.”
“I know.”
“Anyway….” He tries to change the subject. “How was your day?”
“Not as dramatic as yours.”
Silence….
“I didn’t mean to scream at you.”
I smile. “Yeah you did.”
“Maybe a little,” he replies. “I just saw red when….”
“When what?”
“When I think of you with someone else.”
“Why?”
“You know why.”
I bite my bottom lip with a smile, more than he knows…I do know why.
“I just have a lot on my mind right now,” he continues.
“Okay.”
“Just….” He cuts himself off.
“Just what?”
“Can you just not….”
I wait for him to elaborate but he stays silent.