Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 75891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
I was protecting him from my Dad and the other men in my family because if they knew about that night, he’d never make it out alive. Worst, if they knew, there’s no way in hell my Dad would let me be with him.
JESSICA
Iwas surprised to wake up feeling refreshed the next morning and even more amazed that I’d been able to fall asleep at all in the first place. I’d thought it was a fluke that I had slept so well at his place and had even played around with the idea that it was because of him, but now I have to rethink that. Maybe what did it was me finally leaving that ass Dale.
I stretched and smiled, looking forward to the new day and my own machinations, until I happened to look at the pillow next to mine. The movement stopped me cold in my tracks, and all thoughts left me. “Huh?” That’s odd. It looked like there was a head print there. Then I came to my senses and shook it off. Obviously, I left it there while I changed pillows throughout the night.
I hopped out of bed and headed to the shower. This place, I have to say, even though I bought it on a whim and spent a lot of Julius’s money to do it, is a masterpiece. Once I stop being mad at the fam, I’ll have them out for a weekend. Thank heaven for one-way glass, because the bathroom, especially the corner with the his-and-hers tub, was nothing but glass overlooking the ocean.
The shower could fit five people easily if you were into that sort of thing, and I almost got carried away before I remembered that I was a woman on a mission. I have to tell Dad to hurry up and buy for the twins, since he’s been holding off because of his worries about shoddy construction.
The place had gone up so fast that he was afraid that it was just paper-thin walls and half-inch nails, his words. But it was obvious that they’d gone old-school on this one. There wasn’t a hint of drywall to be found. Instead, when I knocked against it, there were blocks and rebar back there. It was a good buy. I smirked at myself in the mirror, almost wishing I could see Julius’ face when he got the bill.
Since I’d grabbed my overnight bag on the way out of his place last night, I didn’t have to wear the same clothes today, which was an added boon. I was even more tickled to be defying him because of what I did have to wear. My brother must’ve been high when he packed for me because most, if not all, of the things in there were clothes I wore around the house.
Short shorts and crop tops. Julius would have a coronary if he saw me leave the house in the pleated mini skirt, a la my cheerleading days, and the tank top that barely covered anything, it was so tight. I slid my feet into my leather flip-flops, put some gloss on my lips, pushed my shades into my hair on the top of my head, and prepared to face the new day.
First order of business, coffee. I needed some fast, then to the grocery store to stock up on some supplies, of which there were none. Only then can I sit down and relax as I investigate the aftermath of my actions against Charlotte. I’d given her superiors more than enough information and cookie crumbs to follow.
I thought of calling home but didn’t in the end; let them sweat it out for now. I guess I forgot that the phone worked both ways because both Mom and Dad called before I took my first sip of coffee. I reassured them that all was fine, and since they didn’t ask, I didn’t tell them where I was. Dad sounded like he knew everything anyway, and the fact that he wasn’t asking too many questions was suspect.
Whatever, I had more important things on my plate to deal with. It was still early, so the office wasn’t open yet, but the spyware I’d attached to the files I sent was doing its job. The company head had already contacted their lawyers and in-house auditors and had spent the time since receiving my little bombshell trying to catch their ass.
If this thing got out, not only would Charlotte face the heat, but he, too, would be in a world of hurt. Her crimes went beyond embezzlement; she was also part of a crew that sold citizens’ private information to third parties. Whoever was behind her was very slick because, the way things looked, the company was set to take the fall.
If they have any sense, they’d handle things in-house to avert as much damage as possible, but now I was the third wheel, the unknown entity that could swing things either way. I hadn’t planned on using this at first. I’d thought of other ways to alert the company heads to what was going on, plus a soft part of me gave thought to the fact that she was young and was probably coerced by someone else.