Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 77415 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77415 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
I saw Linc and bit my lip, my eyes automatically moving to where Jessie stood next to the rest of the men who’d been able to come with us for this last game.
Jessie disentangled himself from the men and started toward his son. The moment the two of them were within arm’s reach, Jessie threw his arms around Linc and lifted him straight off his feet.
I found myself grinning widely as I watched them.
“Jessie makes me nervous.”
I looked over at Naomi.
“Really?”
She nodded.
“Me, too,” Tally said. “I tried to talk to him when I first met him, and he was so standoffish that I stopped trying almost immediately.”
I sighed.
“Jessie doesn’t talk much, even to me,” I finally explained. “He’s a quiet person who likes to watch and read the situation before he places himself in the middle of it. That’s not to say that he won’t hold a damn lengthy conversation with you if you ever pique his interest.”
“Are you saying that I’m boring, Ellen?” Tally drawled.
I shrugged. “He has particular tastes. Not to mention he doesn’t like chatter boxes.” I paused. “That really used to bother him when it came to his ex. He used to tell me that I was a breath of fresh air because I didn’t demand attention every single second of the day,” I snorted. “I don’t know if you noticed, but when he’s at parties, he’ll never be the center of attention. And God help you if you try to throw a surprise birthday party for him. I think if I ever tried that, he’d get up and leave.”
The wind kicked up then, blowing the game roster that I’d received at the front gate straight out of my hand.
“Shit,” I said, running after it.
The paper kept tumbling further and further away, and by the time I caught up with it next to the back of the bathrooms over thirty seconds later, I was over fifty feet away.
“Fucking crazy ass weather,” I grumbled to myself as I bent down to pick it up from where it’d stopped against the brick of the building.
“No.”
I froze when I heard the familiar bitchy voice of Margot.
“I can’t. I told him to do it, but I can’t help it if he didn’t listen to me.”
I looked over my shoulder to see how far away from the crowd I was and realized that the closest person to me was still a good distance away, and I doubted that they’d be able to hear me over the excitement of the crowd.
The damn band was playing their drums, and I could feel the pulse of it in my very bones.
But I could hear Margot talking to someone. Though, possibly it was due to the fact that the wind also shielded the worst of the wind from me, causing me to be able to hear a little better than I had when I was standing in the middle of the parking lot.
“Time for plan B, then,” the man suggested.
His voice sounded silky and smooth, almost as if he were a sophisticated, refined gentleman.
It was the voice of a man that I would never expect to be around Margot, let alone talk to her for any length of time.
“Plan B won’t happen for a while. I have to have this kid to use it as any kind of leverage against him.”
My mouth fell open.
Then I started to get angry.
I peeked around the corner very carefully, and nearly came face-to-face with a well-dressed man in a zipped up Under Armour pull over, slick black track pants and tennis shoes that would probably glow in the dark.
Lucky for me he was looking down, shielding his face from the wind that I could feel coming around the corner.
“I didn’t want this kid. You told me that you’d take care of it. When you didn’t, you then convinced me we could make some money; I trust that you can do that. However, I’m not going to lose my job over the fact that you can’t get your son to follow simple instructions,” the man seethed. “I’ve already fallen for too many of your tricks. I think it’s time for you to just pay me back, and we leave it at that.”
The sound of the band suddenly stopped, and that was when I saw the rain.
It was heading my way and soaking everyone still standing in the parking lot within seconds.
I cursed myself in my head and when I looked back at the two people who had been busy discussing whatever illegal things they’d been contemplating, they were gone. Both were running away, each in opposite directions.
I turned around and sprinted toward Jessie, who was looking for me with a slight frown marring his face.
The moment I came into view, his eyes took in my wet appearance, and gestured me over.