Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 117574 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 588(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117574 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 588(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
I can’t admit I watched Auggie’s entire puppet show without revealing I was a very bad girl. A Peeping Charlotte. At least, I can’t tell him that, right away, before he’s learned to like and trust me. Once he knows I’m not nearly as bad a person as he’s been led to believe—by me and my horrible actions, to be clear—perhaps he’ll then be in the right headspace to hear me out about a joint puppet show. By then, I’m sure I’ll have figured out some story to tell him about why I need money fast. In fact, I could simply tell him I got laid off and leave it at that.
Okay.
That’s my plan.
When I knock on Auggie’s door, I won’t immediately tell him what I saw through the peephole. I’ll tell him I peeked through it when I first discovered it, and he wasn’t at home at the time. In fact, I’ll knock on Auggie’s door tomorrow afternoon—immediately after he comes back home from class, since that’ll be a much more believable time to say I found the hole while he was gone.
From there, I’ll let Auggie get over the shock for a bit, while also letting him get to know me better—the real me, not the horrible version I’ve been with him; and when I’m sure Auggie no longer thinks I’m the second coming of Satan, I’ll tell him the truth about what I actually saw through the peephole, while taking great care to assure him I’d never, ever, ever use that private, confidential information to harm him in any way.
“Your secret’s safe with me,” I’ll tell him. And Auggie will believe me by then because he’ll know me better than he does now. He’ll actually like me by then. And once that initial phase of my plan is a success, only then will I move on to phase two: springing my joint puppet show idea on him and convincing him it’d make fabulous business sense for us to join forces and make tons of money, together. Yup. That’s my plan. And it’s freaking brilliant.
9
AUGGIE
“Ap-peephole?”
My brain feels like it’s exploding.
If Charlotte saw me doing one of my puppet shows through her wall—if she knows Superhero Salami Slinger is me, she could ruin my life. Torpedo my future career. And why wouldn’t she do that? She hates my guts, after all. Oh, god, I feel sick.
I knew I shouldn’t have called that tow truck! I should have taken the high road, like I usually do in heated situations. But this woman gets under my skin like nobody else and turns me into a maniac. And so, I decided on an impulse to personally send karma her way. But now, it seems like karma’s made a U-turn and decided to royally fuck me over, instead. Fuck!
Charlotte is looking at me sympathetically from my doorway with Lucky in her arms. The second I opened my door to her, the dog beelined straight to Charlotte and begged to be picked up. Normally, that shocking turn of events would have enthralled me. Ever since Grandma passed away and Lucky’s entire world was shattered, I’ve wanted nothing more than to help the poor dog find some peace and comfort beyond me. But in this moment, as Charlotte’s heart-stopping revelation sinks in, I’ve now got much bigger fish to fry than celebrating a breakthrough with Lucky’s anxiety.
“I can only imagine how violated you must be feeling right now,” Charlotte says sweetly, her features reflecting deep sympathy. “I’m so sorry to have to tell you about this, Auggie.” Say what now? Charlotte McDougal’s sorry? Well, that’s weird. The Charlotte I know doesn’t even know that word exists. In fact, the Charlotte I know would be relishing the chance to hit me with this earthquaking news.
I take a deep breath. “W-when, exactly, did you find this p-peephole?” If Charlotte discovered it today while I was at school, then I’ll be okay. I’ll have managed to dance through the raindrops. If it was yesterday, however, then there’s a strong chance I’m totally fucked, because I did no less than three puppet shows after I got home from my classes, all in the name of making that fast-approaching deadline.
Charlotte flushes. “I found it today, while you were at school.”
They’re the exact words I was hoping to hear. But somehow, I’m still on edge. Something about her delivery—her flushed cheeks and tone—felt insincere. Am I being paranoid . . . or smart?
After shifting her weight, Charlotte adds, “When I heard you come home, I came right over to tell you what I’d found while you were out. I knew you’d want to know, immediately.”
Something’s not right here. I can feel it. If I’m right about that, then I can only hope and pray Charlotte saw something fairly innocuous she knows she shouldn’t have glimpsed through the peephole—me undressing and putting on workout gear, for instance?—and now, she doesn’t want to admit she’s seen my naked dong. Did she peek at my big, swinging dick for a bit too long while I was changing clothes? Is that the source of the blush in her cheeks? God, I hope so. Because if it turns out Charlotte watched one of my puppet shows—or, worse, took a video of me doing one, in order to blackmail me with it, later—then I’m well and truly fucked. I don’t know if the ethics code governing veterinary professionals prohibits the making of online porn, but I don’t want to be the test case. Even if what I’ve done isn’t technically in violation of the ethics code, I can’t even fathom the career-ending embarrassment I’d suffer if this shit comes out.