Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 69785 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69785 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
“Yep,” Jayco said. “I canceled all of your appointments for the rest of the day. Rescheduled them for tomorrow.”
I narrowed my eyes. “How did you know I would care?”
Jayco rolled his eyes. “Because you have a picture of his mugshot on your computer as a ‘reminder’ to, my guess, never forget him. Even though I doubt that you’d ever forget him even if you didn’t have that photo there. Plus, the way you stare out at the bar all day through your office door that you never used to leave open before is a dead giveaway.”
He was right.
I didn’t usually have this amount of distraction.
I usually kept my office door closed. Worked on what I needed to work on. Got my shit done. Went home.
Now it was taking me two and three times as long to get through stuff that used to take me only a couple of hours.
Whatever. None of that mattered right then.
Grabbing my phone and keys, I looked at Jayco. “Can you get the place shut down?”
His eyebrows went up to his hairline. “You’re going to trust me with your baby?”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s about time that I do that, yes? You’ve been lecturing me for months that I needed to learn to delegate. Well, I’m delegating.”
“I don’t have a key,” he said, sounding surprised.
I handed him my key ring. “Make a copy and make sure you’re here by eight in the morning.”
“What about your house key? You need to be able to get into your place,” he said.
“I have an extra key hidden,” I said. “Thanks, Jayco.”
I moved across the street to the bar, as fast as my walking boot would take me.
When I yanked open the door, I was unsurprised to find a few usuals in their spots.
I knew that he was there.
I also knew that I was likely making a mistake.
But I just needed to see him.
I needed to know that he was okay.
My eyes scanned the area, and I was just about to walk farther inside when he came out of the back.
He was talking to the other bartender while he had a keg in his hands and he was hefting it high as if it didn’t weigh a hundred pounds easy.
I must’ve made some sort of noise—one of relief at seeing him okay—because he looked over at me standing in the bar door letting all his air conditioning out.
He wasn’t clean shaven. He had a five o’clock shadow that was gorgeous as hell, but still let me see his square jaw as much as I wanted.
His square jaw that clenched when he saw me walk inside.
He gestured toward the bar, the seat farthest in the corner, and I took that to mean that I was allowed to enter, as well as sit down.
Nice.
Maybe he’d hold off on hating me long enough for me to assure myself that he was okay.
Then I could go back to work.
Hopefully.
Taking the seat he’d indicated, I pulled off my blazer and tossed it onto the seat beside me out of habit. If I did that, then people wouldn’t sit next to me. Not unless the bar was packed, and at that point I usually left because me and crowds didn’t do so well.
Ever since the trial, when everyone had been watching my every move, I’d had a hard time being in places that I knew people were solely focused on me.
To combat that, I’d forced myself to try to be more outgoing. But it was still tough to do court cases to this day.
When I got home, I usually needed a couple of beers and some headache meds. But I got through it.
“What can I get you?”
I swallowed hard, looking at the man and studying his body to make sure that he wasn’t any worse for the wear.
“Dark beer. Whatever you have on tap,” I said. “Are you okay?”
He walked away and got me a mug of beer, and it was then that I saw his back side was covered in dirt.
“You’re dirty,” I said as he came back.
“To answer your question, I’m fine. Had to have the stitches redone, though.” He showed me his arm, and I winced.
“It was Ignacia.”
His brows rose. “How do you know?”
“This is her MO,” I explained. “Though, this is usually sixth-date level shit. Something she doesn’t hit until she’s well and truly ‘hooked.’ Or she thinks they are. I don’t know. But she doesn’t usually get like this after only one date.”
“Wonderful.” He sighed as he lifted his hand and wiped a stray dot of dried blood off his forearm.
That’s when I saw his side.
“Your back is bad,” I said.
He shrugged. “I don’t actually know. The doctor looked at it and said it was fine. Just needed to take a shower and get it cleaned up with some alcohol and rub some ointment on it. I got what I could, though. Haven’t had a chance to get a shower yet.”