Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 106774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
“Then take them back to your car. Otherwise, you’ll have to pick them back up. That’s doing things twice.”
He wiggles his nose to reposition the black-framed glasses on his face. “Do you think I made up your name, chose a random apartment in the city, and thought, ‘Let me go buy groceries for this person I just made up and take it to this random apartment’ where someone with that name actually lives? On what planet is that possible?” He tilts his head, lifting a brow like I’m goofy. “Be real.”
There’s nothing I can say to that. And his fingers do look a little blue.
“Here,” I say, holding my hands in front of me. “Give me the bags so you can figure out where to take this shit.”
He slips the bags onto my forearms, over the phone in my right hand, and then digs his phone out of his pocket. It only takes him a few seconds to locate the information.
“Do you know an Astrid?” he asks, looking up at me.
My jaw sets.
Of course, it’s from Astrid.
I glance briefly into the bags. It’s all things I’d typically eat: milk, meat, eggs. There’s fruit, oatmeal, and some peanut butter. The fact that it’s all things I like makes me even madder.
She probably knows I’m starving, so she sent me poisoned food. Pretty brilliant.
“Astrid?” the kid asks again. “Do you know her or not?”
“Unfortunately.” I consider sending him back with the bags and refusing the delivery, but the look in his eye tells me he has no interest in hauling this shit back to his car. As much as I don’t want anything from Satan’s daughter, it’s not this boy’s fault—and there’s no sense in bringing another victim into her madness. “Follow me and let me get you some cash.”
“It’s paid for.”
“I meant for you.”
He lights up. “Hey, that’d be great. Thanks, man.”
I head to the kitchen and set the bags and phone down on the countertop. Then I find my wallet in the bedroom and pull out a couple of twenties.
“Here you go,” I say, coming into the living room and handing him the money. “For your troubles.”
He tries to hand one back to me. “There are two.”
“There are two because I gave you two.”
His eyes are as big as saucers behind his glasses. “No joke?”
“No joke.”
“You’re the best.” He nods appreciatively. “Thanks. I thought you were gonna be a dick. Good save.”
What? He doesn’t wait for a response before turning on his heel and hightailing it out of my apartment.
I wait until the door closes before I exhale.
My stomach wails, begging for food, but my brain can’t let this go. I told her to stay out of my way and things would be fine—and I know damn good and well she doesn’t want to be doing this. So either she doesn’t understand plain English, or she’s doing this to be a pain in the ass.
The woman has a firm grasp on the English language.
I grab my phone and unlock the screen, saving her name with a witch emoji. Then I tap out a response.
Me: Show Renn your receipt like a good little girl and then stop it.
Astrid : Are you upset? I’ll send tissues next time.
Me: There won’t be a next time.
Astrid : Oh, that’s where you’re wrong, sweetheart. I’m doing my job, just like you said you wanted. If that’s not true, you can always give Renn a call.
My fingers pound against the keys.
Me: You really don’t want to play this game with me.
Astrid : We agree. I don’t. I really don’t want to do ANYTHING with you.
I pace the apartment, trying to dispel some of the energy building inside me. It’s like she’s throwing it in my face that Renn thinks I’m this incapable. This inept.
This is not how I saw this going. Even when I was walking out of Renn’s office and she acted like a suck-up, I thought it was because he was sitting there. I didn’t think she’d keep the ruse going once he wasn’t around.
My eyes slide up the text chain again until they hit on a particular line. If you didn’t want this, you should have done something about it.
“You’re playing right into her hand, Adler,” I say aloud. “She’s winding you up, and you’re letting her.”
I take a long, deep breath and blow it out. My chest shakes as my lungs deflate, but I feel myself finding a balance again.
“She can poke at me all she wants because she’s doing the boss’s bidding. But I need to figure out how I can even the playing field. Because if one of us is going to quit, it’s not going to be me.” I glance around the apartment, thinking, until my gaze settles on the mound of boxes in the corner. “Bingo.”
Grinning, I type out another message.