Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 87522 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87522 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
“Braden?”
“Hmm?”
“I’m…really sorry about…you know.”
“We don’t have to talk about that.”
“But we do. I don’t want you to think I’m the kind of person who—”
“Skye, you did what you did. No amount of telling me what kind of person you are will change what already happened.”
Brick to gut. Now what?
“Do you think I’ve never made a bad choice?” he continues. “Done something I regret?”
“No. I mean, I don’t know.”
“You don’t get to the top without making mistakes along the way. I learn from every mistake, and I never make the same mistake twice. Do you see what I’m getting at?”
“Yeah. I won’t do it again. I told you that already.”
“I understand mistakes. I’ve made my share.”
I nod. I’ll never bring up the stolen piece of mail again. I won’t bring up Addison, either—not tonight, anyway.
I take another sip of Wild Turkey. Christopher brings the Thai food into the kitchen. Braden murmurs his thanks and dismisses his driver. Then he pulls dishes and utensils out of cupboards and drawers. I’m surprised he knows where everything is. He dishes out a plate of food and hands it to me.
“Thanks,” I murmur. I sit on one of the barstools at the granite island and wince slightly.
“Sore?” he asks, a twinkle in his eye.
“No. Just a little tender.” I take a bite of the spicy curry.
Again, silence descends.
“Something interesting happened at work today,” I finally say.
“Oh? What’s that?”
I give him the short version of the call from Eugenie at Susanne Cosmetics.
“Are you going to call her?” he asks.
“I haven’t decided yet. Addie won’t like it. I’ll probably lose my job.”
“She hasn’t fired you yet.”
“No, but we had a shoot today. For the pet boutique where I got Sasha’s gift basket. She needed me.”
“She’ll always need you.”
“I’m not sure of that. Besides, the only reason Susanne wants me to do a post about the lip stain is because of you.”
“So?”
“How can you be so nonchalant? I’m a nobody. No one gives a crap what kind of lip stain I wear except for the fact that apparently I’m your girlfriend now.”
“So?” he says again.
I lift my eyebrows, shaking my head slightly. “What don’t you get about this?”
“Here’s what I get,” he says. “This is an opportunity for you. Would you have this opportunity if not for me? Maybe not, but it’s still an opportunity that has presented itself. Take it, Skye. You’re a fool if you don’t.”
“A fool? How dare you—”
He gestures for me to stop.
I do.
“Don’t get all excited. Anyone, including me, is a fool not to take advantage of what’s thrown in his lap. Do you think I haven’t taken every opportunity that’s come my way? I won’t leave you in suspense. I have, and some of them came along simply because I was in the right place at the right time. They had nothing to do with me.”
“I can’t believe that.”
“Why not?”
“You’re a self-made man, Braden.”
“For the most part, that’s true. But do you truly think I never had any help along the way? That opportunities fell into my lap simply because I’m me?”
“I’ve read all about you.”
“The media never tells the whole story.”
I pounce at his opening and smile. “Will you, then, Braden? Will you tell me the whole story?”
His lips twitch.
Yeah, I got him. He’s trying not to smile.
“You are a challenge, Skye.”
“You’ve said that many times,” I say. “Has it escaped your notice that you’re also a challenge?”
“I never said I wasn’t.”
“What will we do, then?”
He swallows a bite of food. “I’ve never backed down from a challenge.”
“Neither have I.”
“Then you’ll do the post for Susanne Cosmetics.”
I freeze, my forkful of food stopped midway between my plate and my mouth. How did we get back to that? Already I know the answer.
“You don’t play fair,” I say.
“Sure I do. I’m just more experienced than you are.”
I can’t fault his observation. “Posting about lip stain isn’t exactly a challenge.”
“Of course it is. It’s something new. It’s something you’re not sure you’re up for, but it fell in your lap. You can take your own pictures, Skye. Get credit for them. This is what you want.”
“I want to take photos of things that move people. No one’s going to be moved by me wearing Susanne lip stain.”
“How do you know?”
“Because it’s makeup, Braden. Who cares?”
“Your followers.”
“The mobs who follow influencers aren’t concerned about anything real.”
“Do you know all of them?”
“Of course not, but—”
“Don’t you see, Skye? You have the chance to grow a platform. To reach people. Once you reach them, you can introduce them to the kind of photos that will move them.”
Chapter Forty-One
My mouth drops open.
No wonder Braden has come so far.
He’s fucking brilliant.
“But,” he continues, “never take the first offer. I don’t care how high it is, counteroffer something higher.”
“What if they tell me to go jump in the lake?”
“Then they tell you to go jump in the lake.”