Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 151384 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 757(@200wpm)___ 606(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151384 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 757(@200wpm)___ 606(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
All right . . . maybe he was overreacting. But Immy didn’t have a good immune system and she went downhill quick.
The door opened and Abe looked at them both knowingly.
He stepped in to find Immy lying on the bed and Isaiah sitting up at the end of the bed on his laptop.
“Jenner! Sampson! What are you guys doing here?” She sat up.
“Stay where you are,” he urged, rushing toward her. Sitting on the bed facing her, he reached out to place the back of his hand on her forehead. “How are you feeling? You seem warm. Has the doctor been?”
“I don’t need a doctor,” Immy told him. “And I don’t have a temperature.”
“You took it?” he asked Abe.
Abe rolled his eyes. “I did.”
“Give me the thermometer. I want to make sure.”
“I know how to take her temperature,” Abe told him. But he handed over the thermometer and Jenner gently placed it in her ear.
“Hmm. This seems borderline. I think we should get a doctor.”
Immy gave him a stubborn look. “There’s no such thing as borderline. I’m fine. Just tired.”
“You’re sure? No light-headedness, no nausea?”
She patted his hand. “Nope. And shouldn’t you two be at some VIP event? What are you doing here?”
“Checking on you,” Sampson said from where he was now sitting in an armchair next to Abe.
“Oh no, I’m so sorry! You should go back.”
“We’re not going back.” Jenner carefully lifted her over into the middle of the bed. Then he lay down next to her, on top of the covers. “We’re staying here. With you.”
He placed an arm over her, pulling her against him so her head lay on his chest.
“You can’t do that. Lauren will be mad,” she said to him.
“Who cares? There’re more important things than publicity events. Like family.”
Like you.
And this was exactly where he was meant to be.
3
Immy updated Jenner’s electronic calendar.
She loved working for him. Although he was so busy at the moment that she barely saw him. Right now, he was in his studio. He’d converted part of his guesthouse into a studio and office. There was still a one-bedroom apartment, not that they ever had guests.
A knock on the door made her startle. It opened and she relaxed, thinking it had to be one of the guys. They were the only ones who would walk in without waiting. Although, they wouldn’t usually knock, either.
So she was surprised as Lauren strode in.
God. She always looked amazing. Today she had on a pair of black tailored pants, a white shirt with a large ruffle down the front, and a black blazer with gold buttons.
“You always look so gorgeous,” Immy told her.
Lauren stilled, giving her a shocked look. “Oh, um, thank you. That’s very . . . kind.” She said the last word as though she hadn’t experienced anyone being kind to her before.
That made Immy sad.
“It’s just the plain darn truth,” Immy told her. “You always look beautiful. So polished and perfect. I wish I could get my hair to stay in place or wear gorgeous clothes like you do.”
“Are you always like this?”
“What do you mean?” Immy asked. Like what?
“I thought it was an act when I first met you,” Lauren told her. “Figured there was no way you could be this . . . nice.”
Immy blinked at her. “Is there something wrong with being nice?”
“It’s just that usually people your age aren’t this genuinely kind and sweet anymore. We all have it beaten out of us.”
“Beaten?” Immy whispered.
“I didn’t mean literally.”
“Oh. I’m just . . . me.”
But maybe she was too nice? Perhaps she should harden up a bit? Be more ruthless?
How did she do that, though?
“I guess you have plenty of people to protect you, don’t you? When you’re on your own you have to be tougher, more ruthless.”
Immy wasn’t sure she had it in her to be ruthless. It didn’t sound like fun. But she guessed she was lucky. Although . . . it wasn’t like her life had been a bed of roses.
“I didn’t realize you were coming to see Jenner this morning,” Immy said. “He’s not here.”
“That’s all right. I’m not here to see Jenner. I’m here to see you. May I sit?” She gestured to the chair across from Immy’s desk.
Okay, so Jenner didn’t get a lot of visitors and she probably didn’t really need to have these chairs. But there was nothing wrong with wanting to look professional, right? There was also a sofa which she sometimes curled up in if she was getting tired.
Which happened quite a lot.
“Uh-oh. I don’t get a good feeling about this.” Why would the other woman want to talk to her?
“Look, Immy, I just want to speak to you about what happened the last night of the tour.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“When you pretended to be ill so Jenner would go back to the hotel to check on you.”