Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76527 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76527 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
“Hey, Mom.” I gave her a one-armed hug and kissed her on the cheek.
She hugged me tightly before she came inside. She had her bag over her shoulder, and she pulled out a stack of mail. “I grabbed this for you on the way up.”
“Thanks, but you didn’t have to do that.” I took it from her and set it on the coffee table.
“I didn’t mind in the least.” She took a look around the penthouse, unable to hide her disappointment that it was in slight disarray. She wanted everything to be perfect at all times. It was a by-product of her job, making everything flawless for everyone else. “I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by. Your father and I haven’t seen you in a while.”
The guilt swept over me like a raging river. “I’m sorry…I’ve been caught up with work.”
She gave me a soft smile before she headed to the dining table. “You’re just like your father.”
“I think I’m worse.”
She stood next to the dining table and studied the laptop and books on the surface. “Honey, you’re working on your next book. That’s so great. It’s been over a year since the last one came out.”
I joined her and stared at the blank screen. “Well, I’m trying to work on my next book.” I sat in the chair at the head of the table that I’d been occupying before she stopped by.
She took the seat beside me, her hands coming together on the surface. “Having a hard time?”
I closed the laptop even though there wasn’t anything to hide. “You could say that.”
“Take a break and come back later.”
I couldn’t take a break. “I was supposed to turn it in three months ago…and I haven’t even started.”
She didn’t pass judgment, but there was a look of concern in her eyes. “I really think you should get an assistant, Derek. It would make your life so much easier.”
I shook my head. “No.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Why?”
My elbows rested on the table, and my hands came together close to my face. “It’s going to cost me more time. I have to teach this person everything, fix their mistakes, and on top of that, have someone in my business. A lot of people would want to get their hands on the things I’m working on…”
She gave a slight nod. “Yes, it would take more time—in the beginning. But in the end, it would save you a lot more time. And you can have all the legal mumbo jumbo in place to make sure this person never steals your information and gives it to the wrong person.”
“A contract isn’t enough.”
“Then I’ll find someone good.”
“Mom, you’re the one and only.”
She smiled at the compliment. “Well…thanks.”
“I just don’t think another person like you exists.”
“Maybe not right now, but she can become like me…if you give it a chance.”
“It’s okay, Mom. I prefer keeping things to myself.”
When I made my decision, she let it go. “Writer’s block?”
“A bit.”
“It’s probably difficult to turn off the technical side of your brain and use the creative one.”
I shrugged. “Maybe…I’m not really sure.”
“You could take a trip, change of scenery, write by the water.”
I didn’t think that was going to help. “I have a new editor at Astra Books. She’s been hounding my ass.”
“In her defense, you missed your deadline…and you haven’t written a single page.”
I held my tongue and didn’t talk back. “I blew her off a couple times, but then she showed up my doorstep and kept pestering me. I told her I would write the book within a year, but then she said she would lose her job if I took that long.”
She glanced at the laptop before she turned back to me. “Then you better get to work, Derek.”
“I just have so many other pressing things that require my attention.”
“Honey?”
I focused my gaze on her.
“You’re spread too thin. You have more than you can handle. You need to find a way to give yourself more time, because you can’t change the hours in a day and you can’t change how many hours of sleep you need each night to operate at full capacity.”
“If only I could invent the technology to change that…”
She smiled. “Maybe someday. I wouldn’t put it past you.”
“Please don’t go.” Fleur grabbed me by the arm and turned me back around, her arms hooking around my neck as she rose on her tiptoes, forcing a kiss to my lips. She was in nothing but her thong, her curled hair reaching down to her tits. It was blond and soft, sliding right through my fingertips every time I touched her.
My lips reacted to hers automatically, and I gave her hungry mouth a kiss.
She started to pull me back into her penthouse, wanting me inside her like I hadn’t been there for the last hour.