Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 85565 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85565 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
James: We have one holdout, but I’m confident he’ll come around.
Dick: Make it happen James. I’m counting on you.
The familiar twist in my gut from letting him down made itself known, and I felt my back teeth tighten in response. I hated disappointing him. Richard’s dad had gone out of his way to make me feel like a part of their family all those years ago when Richard and I had begun to get serious. He’d even given me all of his legal business to help me solidify my position at Lanford and Pratt. Without his multimillions, I wouldn’t have been where I was in my career at the firm.
When I’d walked away from my relationship with Richard, I’d worried Dick would move his business to another firm. Instead, he’d given me this chance to prove myself. He hadn’t put it that way, of course, but I still saw it as an opportunity to show him he’d made the right decision to stick with me and the firm.
I hopped in the shower and dressed in a polo shirt and shorts before making my way to the lobby for coffee. As I walked past the rooms where we’d worked last night, I tried not to remember the shape of Sawyer’s body as he swung the sledgehammer. I vowed I would not let my newfound obsession with the younger man’s appeal cause things to be weird between us.
“Good morning,” I said as cheerfully as I could when a teenage girl stepped out of the lobby doors with her hands full of donuts wrapped in napkins.
“Yeah, uh, same.”
She looked like the great donut thief as she furtively skulked past me and speed-walked across the parking lot. The early morning sunlight glinted off unusual auburn streaks in her short dark braids, and I wondered which family she belonged to. There weren’t that many guests here, and I felt like I’d already seen them all.
When I entered the quiet lobby, I noticed Sawyer resting his face on his folded arms on the reception counter.
He was fast asleep on top of a scattering of printouts mixed with crinkled notebook paper pages, and the complimentary donut tray was almost completely empty. I felt a sliver of guilt that poor Sawyer hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before, but at the same time I knew that if I hadn’t invited him back to my room, he probably would have stayed up working all night.
I made my way over to the coffee machine and began making myself a cup. After fixing it the way I wanted, I moved over to where he slept. The papers on the reception counter appeared to be printed-out designs and handwritten notes about the renovation plans he had for the motel. I pulled them out from under his drooling mouth as gently as I could and stacked them neatly behind the counter. Then I reached around his waist and leaned in to whisper in his ear.
“Don’t wake up. I’m just going to move you to the sofa so you can stretch out.” I paused, letting my eyes flutter shut as I inhaled his scent. He’d showered recently, the hair at the nape of his neck still damp and his skin smelling of fresh soap. I wanted to press my face into the hollow where his neck met his shoulders. To dart my tongue out and taste him, all warm and sleepy.
I threaded my arms around him, trying to ignore how solid he felt under my touch. It took all my effort not to press my palms against his abdomen, slide them lower. Instead I began to gently lift him off the stool so I could help him to the sofa for more sleep.
He snorted awake. “N’am okay. S’fine. Huh?” He turned to look at me with a crinkled brow. “James?”
I smiled at him softly. “You’re not getting enough sleep. I’ll man the front counter while you catch a nap on the sofa. I’ll wake you up if anyone needs anything. And I’ll protect what’s left of the donuts.”
He blinked, seeming confused. “Huh?”
“A young woman took advantage of you and nicked your sweets.”
Sawyer’s face softened into an affectionate smile. “That’s Stella. Her parents own the health food store and never let her and her siblings have any treats. We kind of have this unspoken agreement where I pretend to sleep and she sneaks in and takes a few donuts. This time I think pretending led to the real thing.”
“It’s not a problem. Go back to sleep. I’ve got some work to take care of, and I can do that here as easily as in my room,” I told him. Which was true—I did have a lot of emails to return, but I’d planned on finding a quiet spot outside so I could enjoy the fresh ocean air. But suddenly that didn’t seem as appealing as sitting here with Sawyer only a few feet away.