Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 41482 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 207(@200wpm)___ 166(@250wpm)___ 138(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41482 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 207(@200wpm)___ 166(@250wpm)___ 138(@300wpm)
I was hoping things would just naturally, organically move in the direction I desperately wanted. And that was finally being with Pope, giving myself over to him and saying screw everything else. Screw the rules. Because I felt when I was with him nothing else mattered.
I heard someone approach and I smiled, immediately picturing Pope in my mind. “Hey, you.” I turned around, a smile on my face, assuming it was Pope, but my grin faltered when I saw it was Logan, one of the employees at the office.
He was a nice enough guy, a hard worker and knowledgeable in his field, but the way he looked at me, winked at me as if it were appropriate, told me he probably wanted something from me I wasn’t about to give him.
And I hated confrontation. It wasn’t like I had a lot of experience with letting guys down—or with guys in general—but I knew turning Logan down would definitely be awkward and make things uncomfortable.
He stopped on the other side of my desk and grinned, his front teeth a little bit crooked but in kind of an adorable way. His nose was on the bulbous side, and his dark blond hair always looked a little unkempt and greasy. But I thought it was because he put more gel in it than was necessary, giving it that wet, dirty appearance.
“Hey, Olive. Finished for the day?”
Right away, I wanted to come back with a smart-ass response, because obviously I was getting ready to leave, as I had my jacket on and my purse slung over my shoulder. Not to mention it was the end of the workday for everyone in the office. But instead, I smiled and nodded. “I am.”
I didn’t need to be a bitch even though I was on edge because of my emotions and everything else going on in my life. We stood there for a moment not speaking, but he kept staring at me, this weird little smirk on his face.
He cleared his throat and looked around before settling his eyes back in me. “I was—I was wondering if you would…”
He was stammering over his words, and I already knew where this was going. But I kept my smile in place. When he finally did get the words out, I’d just let him down easy.
“I was wondering if maybe you wanted to get a drink… or dinner or something with me after work one night?” He lifted his hand and rubbed the back of his neck, glancing away so he wasn’t making eye contact with me. “Maybe even tonight, if you’re free?”
He was nervous, and I couldn’t help but compare him to Pope, how Pope would look me right in the eye as he asked me out, how he’d show me he was assertive and dominant, that he knew what he wanted.
“Oh,” I said softly, even though I wasn’t surprised that he asked me out. “Well...” I was trying to think of a nice, gentle way to let him down.
“Mr. Richards.” The sound of Pope’s deep, authoritative, and very disappointed voice seemed to fill the space around us.
Instantly, my body reacted. I felt my heart start to race, felt my mouth dry. I looked to the side to see Pope standing there, the position he was in right around the corner making it so neither of us would have seen him.
And I knew he’d heard Logan ask me out. I knew by the way he stared at Logan. It was in his predatory expression, the proprietary tone in his voice.
Pope stepped more fully into view, and I glanced at Logan to see him straighten. He was uncomfortable; that was clear. Although it was a completely innocent gesture on Logan’s part, the threat I felt from Pope was as if he were all but roaring out “mine!”
Pope hadn’t taken his focus off Logan, and the stern, hard set of his expression was a little intimidating, a little unnerving.
“Mr. Richards, are you finished working for the day?”
Logan cleared his throat and nodded. “Yes, Mr. Shelby.”
Pope made a deep sound from within his chest. “Fraternization between coworkers is frowned upon, is it not?”
I could’ve called Pope out in that moment, but I kept my mouth shut. I did glare at him though. Lord, did I glare at him.
“I—I….” Logan kept looking between Pope and me, and I smoothed my hands down my skirt, never really seeing this side of him before.
“Mr. Shelby. Logan was inviting me out for drinks with some other coworkers.” It was a lie, and I didn’t know if Pope had been standing there the whole time and knew I wasn’t being honest. But I thought he was being hard on Logan.
Pope slowly turned and looked at me, his expression hooded, this wave of possessiveness slamming into me so forcefully I actually took a step back.