Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 73174 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73174 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Once I had a hot coffee in hand, Landry and I found a free bench to sit on underneath a tree with all golden leaves. I took a bite of the cider donut and let the healing properties of apple-cinnamon wash over me.
“God, that’s good.”
“The best,” Landry said, eating his own donut.
“I mean it when I say it won’t happen again,” I told Landry. “The thing with Storm.”
“Why not?”
“Because I hate him,” I said, even though it felt weird to say it now that I knew Storm a little better. “He actively wants to ruin the Fixer Brothers deal with Racks stores, as far as I can tell.”
“Maybe he won’t want to ruin it if he’s too busy in bed with you,” Landry suggested.
I shook my head, taking a sip of coffee. “He sees nothing but money when he looks at me. Not like Sam, who wanted to run off with my money. But Storm thinks I’m… soulless, or something.”
“He called you soulless?”
“He despises wealth,” I said. “He has money now, but he has made it very clear that he only sees me as a generic rich guy. It’s probably all he’ll ever see me as.”
“You’re the opposite of that kind of guy, though,” Landry said. “Does Storm have any idea what you want to do with Lux Marketing, if you get the promotion?”
I shrugged, finishing off my donut. “He doesn’t care. He can’t stand that I work for someone like Cutmore.”
Landry had spent years hearing me talk about my hopes for the future of Lux Marketing. I knew I was privileged, and I wanted to use the privilege I’d been born with to eventually steer the company into something that reflected my values and honored my father. To specifically work with clients who were from underprivileged communities and so deeply deserved the spotlight. To drop clients like Rodgett like hot potatoes, as soon as I had the chance. Something Walter Cutmore would never allow.
“You’ve always been able to befriend anyone,” Landry said. “You can soften him up.”
“He hates everything he thinks I represent. I don’t think Storm can stop and think long enough to care about any long-term plans I have.”
“That’s not true.”
“How?”
Landry gave me a glance. “Have you seen the way Storm looks at you?”
I looked over at a little sparrow hopping around in the leaves.
I loved the way Storm looked at me, truthfully. But that didn’t change who he was.
“Storm might like looking at me, but he doesn’t like listening to me,” I said.
Landry puffed out a laugh. “Fine, fine. Whatever you say. You want to know something I remember your dad always saying?”
I smiled softly. “You’re hitting me with one of my dad’s quotes, now?”
“Bet your ass I am,” Landry said. “I remember he said it once to both of us, after a shitty meeting with that client from Atlanta. He said: you can’t help what you feel, but you can help how you behave.”
I hummed. “That was one of his favorites. Was something Margaret Atwood said, and Dad loved her.”
“I think it applies,” Landry said. “Be your best with Storm. If you’re living true to yourself, no one can deny that.”
“I’ll try. I promise.”
But I broke my promise to Landry within minutes, the next time I saw Storm.
It was the first day of renovations at Storm’s house. As I walked up the driveway, he looked over at me, giving me that dimpled smile with his eyes shining. He could be so charming when he wasn’t dead set on being volatile.
Couldn’t it always be like this?
My heart ached. All I could think about was being close to him. Having him near me again. Pulling him tight and showing him that I wasn’t what he thought I was.
Chase, one of the main camera guys for the Fixer Brothers show, was talking to Storm, setting up his camera rig in front of Storm’s house. I had gotten ready for the morning and walked next door, and the crew was already setting up for the day of filming ahead.
“That game last night was absolute fire,” Chase was saying. “I don’t watch football, but my boyfriend Adam and I turned it on because we knew you’d be the star.”
“Well, thank you,” Storm said with a smile. “Football can be for anyone.”
“I don’t know how the game works at all,” Chase admitted. “I’ve been more of a fan of your social media than football, to be honest. But when you caught that ball in the third quarter, I stood up and cheered. You are really good at catching a fast ball.”
“It’s what I do best,” Storm said.
“I loved the post from last night, by the way,” Chase said. “Not many straight guys give a shit about stuff like that, but you do.”
“What post from last night?” I asked as I walked up the gravel driveway, nodding at them both. “Good morning, Chase. Good morning, Storm.”