Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44622 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 223(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44622 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 223(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
"Then convince Don that you need her on your team."
"Have you met Don?" She makes a face at me. "Because there is no convincing him of anything he hasn't already decided, Ridley."
"Then try harder. We've been friends for a long time, and I've never asked for anything, Lex. I'm asking now. I need her here. It's where she belongs."
Alexa cocks her head to the side. "She means that much to you, huh?"
"She's my world," I say simply.
Alexa stares at me for a long minute and then sighs. "I'm not making any promises. Don does what Don wants, and he promised our open spot to the intern. But…I'll float her name by him and see what I can do."
"Thank you."
Alexa grimaces. "Don't thank me yet, Ridley. I just said I'm not making any promises. If you've ever met Don, you know damn well that you're asking for a miracle here."
"Maybe a miracle is all I've got." I haul myself to my feet. "And I've recently realized that I'm a hopeful motherfucker."
"Well…that's different. Last time I saw you, you were all woe is me, the world sucks, and fuck you very much."
"Shit changed."
"Clearly." Alexa snorts. "She's good for you."
"Yeah, she is," I say softly. She's the best thing for me.
"What's the plan if she doesn't get hired on?"
"Los Angeles," I say softly.
"You're going to let her go?"
Am I?
"Fuck no. Not without me."
"Didn't you just get back from Italy?"
"I go where she goes," I say, shrugging. I fucked up and lost her once. I won't make that mistake again. If her career takes her to Los Angeles, it takes us to Los Angeles. I hope like hell that doesn't happen because we both know this is where she wants to be. But I won't ask her to sacrifice everything she's worked so hard for when she's already lost more than she ever should have. I owe her that much.
Hell, I owe her everything.
"We need a new harvester," Bastian growls, staring balefully at the expensive piece of machinery we just bought two years ago. "This goddamn thing never works."
"You say that every time it breaks down."
"Yeah, because the motherfucker is always breaking down." Bastian nudges it with the toe of his expensive shoe.
"Just move out of the way," Jax grumbles, elbowing him aside. "It's probably the same fucking thing as last time."
"Which cost a fortune to fix."
"It certainly cost us less than a whole new harvester," Jax retorts, fidgeting around with the belts.
"Do they always bitch like this?" I mutter to Oliver.
"Only every damn time something breaks," he snorts. "Shit breaks, and they bicker about it like an old married couple." His lips quirk. "Reminds me of Dad and Uncle Eli when we were kids, honestly."
I chuckle because he's not wrong. They do sound like Dad and Uncle Eli did when we were kids. Bastian has no patience, a lot like Dad did back then. If things aren't working, his whole life is off kilter. And Jax loves to needle him about it just because he can, just like Uncle Eli used to do. Jax and Bastian are complete fucking opposites, but they've always been thick as thieves.
"How'd your meeting go today?" my little brother asks, looking at me out of the corner of his eye while our cousins continue bickering about the harvester.
"Went okay."
"You going to tell me anything more than that? You didn't even tell anyone where you were going, just that you had a meeting," he says.
"I went to see Alexa Warner."
Bastian hears me and looks up, his brows furrowed. "Why'd you need to see Alexa?"
"Paisley has a job offer in Los Angeles. I tried to convince Alexa to hire her instead."
"How'd it go?" Bastian sounds genuinely curious. He's been weird as fuck lately. He's either cranky as hell or…far less cranky than usual. Almost human, even. I don't know what's up with him and Constance, but whatever it is has him acting all kinds of different.
I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. But…he seems less rigid and uptight. Hell, maybe his crabby ass is finally getting laid.
"She couldn't make any promises."
"Fuck," my cousin grunts, his lips pursing. "You're leaving, aren't you?"
I shrug, not really sure how this is going to play out. I hope like hell that Alexa comes through, and we get to stay right here. But if she doesn't? Then yeah, I'm leaving.
"Does Paisley know what you're planning?" Jax asks, glancing up from the harvester.
"Not yet."
"So…you haven't told her that you're planning to move? That's bold."
I scowl at Jax. "I fully intend to tell her when the time is right. I just don't want to fuck it up and say anything too soon."
"Yeah, well, you better tell her sooner rather than later," Oliver growls at me. "She deserves to know where your head is at in this."