Total pages in book: 181
Estimated words: 171979 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 860(@200wpm)___ 688(@250wpm)___ 573(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 171979 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 860(@200wpm)___ 688(@250wpm)___ 573(@300wpm)
Rising from the bed with a lump in her throat, she stared down at the frail woman. She had talked with Tayla before getting dressed. She was going to sit with Glory when her husband got off in thirty minutes.
Each day, it seemed she was coming closer and closer to losing her sister, and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it. There was no way Victoria wasn’t going to use the opportunity to drag Glory back to court for being late.
“Go, Sage. I’ll be fine.”
Sage pressed her lips into a facsimile of smile. “Call if you need me. I don’t care whatever the reason, I’ll come back.”
Her sister sadly smiled up at her. “I know you will. You always do. That’s a habit you need to break.”
TWENTY-SIX
Sage stared around the elegant room, feeling like a misfit. Sensitive to the condescending way Garrett Hollingsworth’s wife, Gail, had treated her when they had been introduced, she had given the woman a wide berth.
“Don’t let her get to you.”
Sage turned toward the woman who came to stand next her. Her name was Hayley; Kent had introduced her before starting a conversation with her husband, Desmond.
“Gail only had the party because Garrett wanted her to.”
“She told you that?”
“Mmhmm,” Haley murmured.
Taking a sip of her wine, Sage idly let her eyes travel around the room. “Did you come because of your husband?”
Haley gave her a rueful smile. “The opposite. I dragged my husband to come here with me. The invitation was hard to turn down. Garrett made a donation to my charity.”
“That was nice,” she offered distractedly as Kent glanced across the room to where she was standing. When his eyes moved to Haley, a frown creased his forehead.
“Oh …”
Sage saw Haley give Kent a satisfied smile.
“He doesn’t like me talking to you, does he?”
Turning her gaze back to Haley, she looked at her questioningly. “Excuse me?”
“Your date used to be my lawyer.”
“Used to be?”
“I cut ties with him.”
“Amicably?”
“Very,” Haley told her. “How long have you been dating?”
“A couple of weeks.” She couldn’t think of a good reason not to tell her without being rude.
Haley turned, giving her back to Kent to pick up a cocktail appetizer on the table next to them.
“Were you not happy with the job he did for you?”
“Kent did an excellent job for me.”
Sage heard an undercurrent in her voice that sent alarm bells ringing in her head.
“But …” she probed delicately. Haley wanted to say something yet was holding back.
“My husband and Kent have a business relationship.”
“Which you aren’t happy about?” she asked intuitively.
“I’ve made my concerns known to him,” Haley admitted.
“Care to share?”
“I …”
Both women jumped when arms slid around their waists, pressing them to their respective partner’s side.
“Excuse us for interrupting your conversation,” Desmond Beck interjected. “But I had to get away from Garrett before I had to pay for his new dental work.”
Curiously, Sage looked toward Garrett, who was decidedly looking annoyed. “His teeth seem fine to me.”
Kent, Desmond, and Haley looked amusedly at her.
Desmond Beck cleared up her misunderstanding of what he had said.
“They won’t be if he asks one more time to represent me.”
“Oh …”
Sage was shocked that the man who had such an outstanding reputation for charitable causes around the world was casually talking about punching Garrett’s teeth out.
“Don’t look so shocked,” he said, giving her a suave smile that sent chills down her back. “I was joking.”
“I didn’t think you were serious,” she lied. Beck didn’t have the vast amount of money he was reputed to have without some skeletons in his closet.
“Good. I’d hate to have given a bad impression of me. I let my frustration of Hollingsworth get the better of me.” Desmond squeezed his wife closer to his side so a waiter could get by. “Are you ready to go?”
“We can’t go yet.” Haley shook her head. “We haven’t had dinner.”
“Hollingsworth has ruined my appetite. We can get take-out home.”
“Desmond,” Haley sighed. “We’ll leave right after dinner.”
Beck didn’t seem happy with her answer. Thankfully, Garrett announced dinner at that moment.
Sage started to follow the Becks but was forestalled by Kent holding her in place with his arm around her waist.
“I hope you aren’t too bored.”
“I wouldn’t say I was bored …” At his dubious look, she admitted, “I can’t say I have anything in common with anyone here. No one seems to like each other.”
“You and Haley seemed to be getting along.”
Was he genuinely curious, or was he probing to find out if Haley had anything negative to say about him?
“She seems nice,” she said cautiously.
“Haley is very nice. She runs a charity with a friend of hers. Nadia and Haley are involved in helping homeless teens get the services they need and a safe place to live until they graduate. They even offer assistance once they graduate, helping them to find job training or different ways to continue their education.”