Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 84324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
I shake my head, trying to get the image of him out of my mind, but it only works for a few seconds.
It’s weird. As handsome as he was, one look from him had every survival instinct in my body screaming at me to run.
Which is insane because he was, without question, the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen. A face like his shouldn’t come with such cold eyes that turned my blood to ice.
Forget about the guy and focus on your work!
It takes a couple of minutes, but I finally manage to keep my attention on the spreadsheet until Heather walks into the office.
My gaze locks on her hands, and I force a smile to my face. “Your nails look pretty.”
Heather glares at my hands that are resting over the keyboard. “You know, it wouldn’t kill you to put in some effort with your appearance. Your man-hands are an embarrassment whenever a client comes in.”
The fake smile vanishes from my face as I stare after her while she walks to her office.
I would love to get my nails done, but I don’t have the money or time.
I’d call her a bitch, but that would be an insult to all other bitches.
Doing my best to ignore the blow to my self-esteem, I stare at my computer screen. Once again, Heather’s mean words get to me, and my gaze lowers to my hands.
I always keep my nails short and neat, but I notice how dry my skin is.
Letting out a heavy sigh, I shake my head and read over the numbers I’ve put into the spreadsheet.
An hour or so later, the doorbell buzzes. I lean to the left so I can see through the glass panel by the door.
“It’s my lunch,” Heather yells from her office.
I buzz the deliver guy in before opening the petty cash box in my middle drawer.
“Delivery for Heather,” the young guy says.
The delicious aroma of pizza fills the air as I ask, “How much do we owe you?”
When he gives me the amount, I count the notes from the box and hand the cash to him. Noticing there’s a lot less money than the last time I opened the box, I frown.
I check that the delivery guy shuts the door behind himself before I carry the pizza to Heather’s office. “Did you take money from petty cash?”
A wicked smile curves her lips as I set her lunch down on her desk, then she says, “Of course not. There better not be any money missing, or it will come out of your pay.”
I stare at her while the urge to tell her to go to hell surges through me.
Wiggling her index finger in the door’s direction, she drawls, “Shut the door on your way out.”
Biting my tongue, I do as I’m told, and when I sit down at my desk, I check the balance left in the box.
Shit. Two hundred dollars is missing.
My eyes dart to Heather’s office window, and I watch as she grins at me before sinking her teeth into a slice of pizza.
God, I wish I could afford to get up and leave this shitty job.
Just as I turn my attention back to my computer screen, my phone rings. Seeing it’s an internal call, I groan softly.
“Yes, Heather?”
“You better finish the projections by the end of the month.”
“But that’s in four days!” I gasp. “You know it takes much longer than that to get it all done.”
“Not this year. I want it completed by the thirtieth, Laurie.”
I look at her through the window. Seeing the cruel smile on her face as she hangs up sends me over the edge.
Darting to my feet, I stalk to her shut door and shove it open. “Stop treating me like crap, Heather. I’ve given this place six years of my life, and I’m a hard worker. The least you could do is show me some respect. You know it always takes around six weeks to get those spreadsheets done.”
Her eyebrows fly up. “That attitude’s not going to look good when I tell my brother why I fired you.”
A familiar fear creeps into my chest. “You can’t seriously be threatening my job, because I asked you to treat me like a human being?”
Heather picks up another slice of pizza and gathers a string of cheese with her freshly done claws. “Human beings earn respect, Laurie. They don’t storm into my office and scream at me.” She pops the cheese into her mouth and smirks at me while she chews.
My hands curl into fists at my sides. “I didn’t scream at you.”
“Get back to work before I decide to make today your last at this company.”
The threat cuts straight through my anger.
Heather knows how trapped I am in this underpaying job, and she’s used that threat on me before.
Swallowing hard, I step into the hallway, but as I take hold of the lever to pull the door shut, she adds, “And if I were you, I’d treat my brother with much more respect. You’re on thin ice.”