Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 112884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
He gets up and the sound guy goes over to him and unclips his microphone. I look down at the paper, wishing I could just walk out of the room and have a minute to compose myself. “If you guys are ever in LA, hit me up, I’ll get you tickets to a game.” I close my eyes, wanting to stop my ears from hearing what he says. He’s literally the nicest guy I think I’ve ever met. He’s humble and kind, and he is everything I thought I would want in a guy. It’s what I thought I had in my husband.
“Okay,” he says, coming to my side, “if that is all. I have to go and shower this sweat off of me.”
“Yup,” I reply to him, still affected by the past thirty minutes. “Thank you for your time.”
He nods his head at me and I turn mine, watching him walk out of the room and the janitor is there again. I see him stop Kirby, and instead of just holding up his hand and saying hello, like the other guys did, he actually stops to talk to the guy. He holds out his hand and shakes his hand and then poses for a picture for him. He spends a good five minutes talking to him before nodding his head and walking away.
“If that is all,” the camera guy says to me, “we’re done.”
“Yes.” I put my head back and smile at him, the fake smile I’ve become a professional at. “That will be all.” I grab my papers before I head back into the office, closing the door behind me, and collapsing in the chair.
eight
Kirby
I walk through the doors of the hospital and look down at the two cups of coffee in my hands. Each of them with a white bag that contains a muffin or a chocolate croissant. I’m making my way to the elevator when I look to the side and see Lexi sitting by herself at a table in front of the coffee area.
She’s got her laptop in front of her and her head is down. I should just go toward the elevator and ignore that I saw her. I should do a lot of things when it comes to Lexi, but instead of doing what I should do, my feet make the decision for me. Getting closer to the table, I see she’s wearing another pair of cream pants and a black shirt, but this one has big beige flowers on it. She has high heels on her feet, finishing the outfit. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her wear jeans. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her not looking perfect.
“Hey,” I greet, once I get to the side of the table. Her head comes up and I see she has her earbuds in. She moves her hand to take an earbud out of her ear.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you,” she says.
“I just said hey,” I reply, moving to the seat in front of her and sitting down. “What are you doing here?” I look around seeing some of the tables taken.
“Cheryl had a meeting with Dr. Visabell about the next fundraiser. I should have just gone home, but we are meeting with the event planner in about an hour to go over the final plans.”
“How excited are you for the day after?” I ask her and she laughs.
“I might not get out of bed,” she states. “It’s been so nerve-wracking, I can barely eat.”
I don’t love hearing that, she’s already so small, so I place the coffee down in front of her with the white bag. “Why don’t you take a break?” I urge her. “Keep your strength up.”
“I couldn’t.” She shakes her head, looking at the bag.
“Come on,” I push, putting the other bag next to it, “I dare you to pick one and eat at least half.”
She glares at me, a little bit of fire coming back into her eyes. “Fine.” She opens one bag and then the other. “Chocolate chip or croissant.”
“I know decisions, decisions,” I tease, leaning back in the chair. “It’s win-win if you ask me.”
“Well, the muffin probably has less calories than the croissant,” she reasons and I shake my head.
“Lexi, you could eat both of them and still be okay,” I tell her as she smiles up at me and then chooses the croissant.
“There is one latte and the other one is just plain black.” I point to the two cups. “The one with the sleeve is the one that is just black.”
“Why do you have two coffees and two sweet treats?” she asks me, taking a bite of the croissant. I swear her eyes almost roll in the back of her head.
“Good?” I ask her and she nods her head. She looks like a kid who is given a treat after doing something good.