Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Two weeks.
I never thought of myself as a particularly fast reader, but I’ve worked my way through over seventy books in two weeks. I haven’t done it all on my own, and I haven’t read them all cover to cover. Sometimes, you just know within sixty pages or so if a book is a dud.
I’ve also slowly grown my crew of street friends. I’m not sure, but I think most of them are homeless. That, or they’re depressingly bored because they have nothing better to do than sit down with me at the bus stop every day and help me decide which books are good enough for Charli.
There’s Margaret, who takes care of the cats and happily collects the signed books I deem not to be good enough for Charli. She sells them and has been using the money to set up a kind of cat utopia in a nearby alley. She has all kinds of foods and little plastic enclosures to give the animals a warm, dry place to hide out. She covers it all in cardboard to disguise what she’s doing, but word has spread.
There’s Earl, too, who I’ve started giving a little money because he’s apparently saving for a deposit to get himself an apartment. There’s Janice and Buck, an elderly couple who work at a grocery store by day and sleep on the streets by night. I give them some money, too, because they were nice enough to offer to help me work through the books. There are some other characters who pop in some days but not every day. There’s a teen couple, an old lady who wears a new hat every day and gives every book she reads a gushing recommendation, even though I realized one day she was holding it upside down.
Nolan stops me one morning when I’m rushing out of the office. “Hey, hold up,” he says, catching me as I’m slinging my big bag of books over my shoulder. I’m by the elevator and he jogs over, stopping me before I can push the button and slip away. “Hold the fuck up,” he says more firmly.
I fold my arms. “Holding.”
“Please tell me you’ve been out of the office every day because you’re working on Plan Save Gray Wolfe version 2.0. Because I’m out of patience and tired of watching you rush in here and slink off every day.”
“Well, I could tell you that,” I say, speaking slowly. “I’d be lying, but I could say that if it would make you feel better.”
“Shit,” he says, letting his arms fall. He lifts them a second later, running them through his neatly combed and gelled hair. “Do you even care anymore?”
“I do. Sure. But I found something I care more about.”
“Let me guess. Charli?”
I brace myself for him to tell me I’m an idiot or chide me for being immature. I’m surprised when he lets out a sigh and shakes his head.
“I get it,” he says.
“You… get it?” I ask.
“Look. I want the old Jameson back. I really do. But Landmark ate plenty of shit after the stunt Vaughn pulled with Charli’s book. Even without us doing anything different, things are starting to look up. I’d prefer it if my Ace had a plan to really take advantage of this moment, but even if you don’t, I think we could be okay. I even heard one of Griffon Vanderlesh’s biggest advertising partners dropped him when they heard about the scandal.”
That’s all great, but I’m still hung up on the part where Nolan didn’t jump down my throat for still pining after Charli. “You don’t think I’m being a dumbass?” I ask, more or less ignoring everything he just said.
“Oh, I do,” he says. “I’m an ambitious bastard. When you told me you weren’t feeling as motivated, my brain clicked into survival mode. I wanted to make sure I didn’t lose you because I know how much you can bring to the company when you’re engaged. But shit, man. You’re my friend first. If you feel like you need this girl in your life, then yeah, I want to see you go after her. That’s what you’re doing, right? You’re trying to win her back?”
“Sort of. Right now I’m mostly just stealing signed copies from our collection here, reading them at a bus stop, buying dirty underwear, engaging in some one-sided phone sex with old men, and hanging out with homeless people. But, yeah, the end goal is winning Charli’s forgiveness.”
Nolan narrows his eyes, and I realize I maybe could’ve done a better job explaining what I’m doing.
“Trust me,” I say. “It’s a great plan. I just need to iron out a few kinks. And… well, I also need to find her. She blocked my number and the part of winning her back where I speak to her has kind of been on hold because she has started avoiding me entirely. I’m pretty sure she’s using the back entrance to her building so she doesn’t even cross my path out front anymore.”