Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 101662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
“Morning, dickhead,” Bobby joked as he poured creamer into his coffee.
“Morning, asshole,” I replied as I walked to the fridge and pulled out a water.
“I’ve been a bit out of the loop since I just got back into town last night. How was that party with the Hughes client? Ramona hasn’t stopped going on and on about it since I got in this morning.”
“It was weird but good. Do you know that he has a robot that brings everyone drinks and cleans up messes? It’s very Disney Channel Smart House style.”
“I just think you showed your age there, old man,” Bobby joked. “But to be fair, that’s a fantastic damn movie.”
“The cream of the crop.” I actually rewatched the film a few years back. When I was searching to recall my old memories, I would rewatch the popular ones from when I was a kid. I’d hoped it would jog some memories. It didn’t. “But the party was fine. Ramona loved every second of it.”
“I bet she did. She loves luxury more than anything. And champagne.”
“So much champagne.”
“Rumor has it she talked sex toys with the client.”
My gut tightened up at that reminder. “I’m trying to forget that.”
Bobby smirked and patted me on the back. “I’m sure there’s a lot of things you’re trying to forget when it comes to Ramona.”
I’d never talked to Bobby about what went down between Ramona and me, but he wasn’t an idiot. Plus, I wouldn’t have been shocked if Ramona herself told him every little detail about the night we’d hooked up. If there was one thing about Ramona, it was the fact that she loved to talk about her private life. It was my fault that I’d put myself in that situation.
Not wanting to dive deeper into that topic, I shifted the conversation. “I’m getting ready to launch our internship mentoring program.”
Bobby cocked an eyebrow. “Our what with the what-what?”
“Our mentoring program.”
“We don’t have a mentoring program.”
“Yeah, that’s true, but I need to come up with one.”
“Why do you need to come up with a mentoring program?”
“Because I might have told Henry Hughes’s wife that we have a mentoring program for their daughter.”
His cocked eyebrows knit together. “Why would you tell Henry Hughes’s wife that we have a mentoring program for their daughter?”
“I actually don’t know why I told her that.”
“Ohh,” he sang. “She’s hot.”
“What? No.”
“She’s not hot?”
“Well, no. I mean, she’s beautiful. I mean, she’s my client’s wife, Bobby. I don’t see her like that.”
“Then why are you offering her daughter a job?”
“I don’t know. To help a kid chase their dream or something.” Shit, why did I offer up a mentorship? Now I had to come up with some things for Ava to actually do.
“Don’t worry, buddy. I think it’s cool. It would be good to have a kid here. I love kicking kids’ asses at Mario Kart during my lunch break.”
I smirked. “That’s a bit childish, don’t you think?”
He grabbed a banana from our fruit basket and shook it in the air as he walked off. “Never grow up. It’s a trap.”
***
A week after I offered Ava a mentoring position, my whole team was on board. Each day, she’d study on a different floor and see how everything was run. She’d also travel with us to appointments and run tasks so she could get a real feel for the environment. I felt extremely grateful for how on board everyone was with me randomly bringing in a kid to follow us around for the summer.
Another week passed, and when Monday came around, Kierra showed up with her daughter, who seemed very timid and shy. I met them in the lobby, where Ava hid slightly behind her mother.
“Hey, you made it. Welcome,” I said.
Kierra smiled, and I felt that shit in my gut. And chest. And all over my body. “Good morning, Gabriel. This is my daughter, Ava.”
Ava stepped out a little and gave a timid grin and waved. “Hi.”
“Hey, welcome to the team. We’re so happy that you’re here,” I informed her.
She just kept nervously smiling.
Kierra leaned in toward me. “She’s a little shy at first but warms up quickly.”
“We can handle shy. Shy isn’t a problem. But I’d love for my receptionist, Jackie here, to take Ava up to the wellness floor so she can make herself comfortable. A few of my employees are there to greet her and show her around.”
“What’s a wellness floor?” Ava quietly asked as Jackie walked over from behind the reception desk.
“It’s a cool way to say video game and candy bar floor,” Jackie whispered, nudging Ava in the side.
Ava’s eyes lit up. “You have a video game and candy floor?”
I slid my hands into my slacks and rocked back and forth. “Sure do.”
“I want to see!” She started to hurry off with Jackie to the fifth floor. “Come on, Mom.”