Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 128417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 514(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 514(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
He makes a sound of frustration. “What the fuck just happened?”
“What do you mean?”
“You were all happy and grateful and excited and then you suddenly became a chick. What suddenly crawled up your ass?”
I’m shocked. “What crawled up my ass?”
“Oh, Jesus. Vagina!” he shouts. “Sometimes I forget you’re not just a hot-lookin’ dude.”
“What the hell...?” I say, bristling. “What crawled up my ass?”
“Bad choice of words. Sorry. It’s what I’d say to a dude. Forget I said it. Listen, Kat. Here’s the deal. I’m gonna help you because you’re my Party Girl with a Hyphen—not because I want a stake in your company, that’s all I’m saying. Okay? Don’t get all freaked out and start overanalyzing everything and start looking for secret codes.”
Whoa. It’s like he can read my damned mind.
“I’m being above-board with you: I wanna help you. That’s how I feel right now. How will I feel a few months from now? I have no idea. All I know is that right now, I wanna help you. And I wanna see you. And be with you and touch you and fuck you and lick you and fucking bite you, and I can’t stop thinking about you, no matter what the fuck I do—” He abruptly stops talking.
Suddenly, there’s complete silence on the line.
Wow, that was quite the rambling speech from Mr. Joshua William Faraday.
I pause a really long time, collecting myself, my hand on my heart.
He doesn’t say another word.
“Okay,” I finally say. “Well, then, thank you for your short-term and completely uncommitted help. I appreciate and accept it.”
There’s another really long beat.
Josh swallows hard on his end of the line and clears his throat. “Great. You’re welcome. So what do you think about calling the company ‘Party Girl with a Hyphen PR’?” he asks, clearly changing the topic of conversation. “Is that too long?” he asks.
“Is what too long?”
“The name ‘Party Girl with a Hyphen PR.’”
“Oh. Yeah, definitely,” I manage to reply. “And also too weird.” I clear my throat. “Actually, I was thinking of calling my company ‘PG PR’? Is that too boring? I’m thinking ‘Party Girl PR’ kinda sounds like an event planner.”
“Yeah, you’re totally right. Good call, PG. That’s why they pay you the big bucks. ‘PG PR.’ I like it. Oh fuck, they’re boarding my flight.”
“Okay. Thanks for everything, Josh.”
“My pleasure.”
My pulse is pounding in my ears. “Fly safely.”
“That’s always the plan, babe. Oh, hey, PG. One more thing. Real quick. I sent you a little present. It should be waiting for you when you get home.”
“A present? Oh my God, Josh, no. I still haven’t thanked you enough for everything you’ve already done for me.”
“It’s just a small gift. You’ll see.”
“But, no, Josh, you’ve already done too much.”
“Hey, you’ve done a lot for me, too. By my count, we’re pretty even.”
“If you’re talking about all the amazing sex we’ve had, we’re not close to even—that was all for my benefit, I assure you.”
“Dude. I’m not paying you for sex—though sex with you is so damned good, I gladly would—especially since I know you have a raging call-girl fantasy and all.” He snickers. “But no, you big dummy, I’m talking about evening the score for everything you did in Las Vegas. We all owe you big, Oksana, especially me.”
“Especially you? How’s that?”
“Because if something were to happen to Sarah, then Jonas would fall apart—which means my life would suck. So I need to guard Sarah like the crown jewels. Plus, on a personal note, I’d strongly prefer my application never get into the wrong hands, so I’m pretty relieved about the way things worked out.”
Oh, I never thought about that.
He takes a deep breath. “So, like I said, I’d say we’re pretty much even—in fact, I might very well still owe you—oh shit. Gotta run, PG. Hey, there’ll be wifi on my flight, so be sure to email me when you get my gift.”
“Okay, I will. Thank you again. Fly safely.”
He sounds like he’s running. “Oh, and don’t forget to tell me when you can make it to L.A. so I can book your flight—whoa, whoa, hang on!” He’s obviously shouting to someone on his end of the line. “Yeah, I’m on this flight. Thanks.” He addresses me again. “Okay, PG? Email me.”
“You better go, Josh—don’t miss your flight.”
“Yeah, I’m walking on board now. Talk to you later, Party Girl with a Hyphen. See you soon.”
My stomach bursts with butterflies and my heart squeezes. “Bye-bye, Playboy with a Heart of Gold. Can’t wait.”
He sighs cartoonishly, like he’s Lucy watching Schroeder playing piano. “Bye, Kat.”
I can feel his wide smile through the phone line. I hope he can feel mine in return.
“Bye, Josh.”
I hang up my phone, my mouth hanging open, my eyes as wide as freakin’ saucers. For a long moment, I look out the window of the cab in a daze, staring at the rain pounding insistently on the glass. Holy crappola, as Sarah always says, that entire conversation shocked the living hell out of me. Josh acted like... I can’t even finish the thought without possibly making my heart explode.