Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 74321 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74321 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
“He won’t. In fact, our mutual friend is a lawyer, and Wesley said he’d have him draw up a contract with a no-sex clause.”
“A contract? That seems so formal.”
“It should, because this is a business arrangement. It’s obviously not something I use every day, but this is an unusual circumstance with the travel and the extended time period, so I think getting everything in writing is important. That way, you can make sure everyone’s on the same page in terms of expectations.”
I chewed my lower lip for a few moments before saying, “Okay, set up a time and I’ll have a drink with him. No promises, though. This totally depends on how I feel when I meet him.”
“I’ll text him first thing in the morning.” He put the lid on his pint of ice cream and told me, “I’m going to save the rest of this for tomorrow and get some sleep. Thanks for the treat.” We both got up, and as I gave him a hug he murmured, “Love you, Ash.”
“Right back at you, Jas.”
He went to his room as I stuck both cartons back in the freezer, and then I went to my room and shut the door. Something right outside the window caught my eye, which turned out to be the big, orange cat from upstairs. She was sitting on the fire escape glaring at me. I’d tried to let her in many times, before finally realizing she just came by to disapprove of me.
I climbed into bed with my laptop and started putting together the playlist for my next shift at Thrust. But my thoughts kept drifting in another direction, so after a few minutes, I typed two words into the search bar: Wesley Bennett.
With just a few clicks, I was all up in his business. His professional information was readily available. It told me he had an ivy league education and an office in the Embarcadero. I also found a review site for doctors with glowing comments from parents about how kind and patient he was with their kids. That told me a lot about the type of man he was.
Next, I tracked him down on social media. He didn’t have much on his Facebook profile, but there were plenty of tagged photos from members of his family. It turned out both his parents, his brother, and his sister were doctors. “Wow, no pressure,” I muttered. They were all strikingly attractive too, including the ex-fiancé who looked like a young Idris Elba. How awkward that Wesley’s ex was about to become his brother-in-law.
Not surprisingly for a bunch of doctors, they were very well-off. The vacation photos from glamorous locations around the globe attested to that. When I found pictures of their mansion in Connecticut, I realized they were actually obscenely wealthy, in an old money/high society sort of way.
Somehow, Wesley didn’t seem to fit with his picture-perfect family. In every group photo, he was always standing slightly apart from the rest of them and looking anxious, worried, or just generally uncomfortable, while everyone else seemed to be having a great time.
Even though I wasn’t sure if I was going to take the job, I really wanted to know this guy’s story.
Chapter 2
The next day, I showed up right on time for the meeting Jasper had arranged. Since it was four p.m. on a Sunday, the bar was almost empty. It was an old-fashioned place with dark wood paneling, oil paintings of landscapes, and piped in piano music. The only way I could have stood out more was if I’d shown up naked.
Wesley was already there, waiting for me in a booth at the back of the bar. He was wearing a dark blue suit, white shirt, and a bowtie, which was perfect for this stodgy environment. I was glad I’d decided to dress up a bit, though the best I could do was a pink button-down shirt and purple skinny jeans. I probably looked like a giant Easter egg, but it was too late to do anything about that now.
I approached him with a friendly smile and said, “You must be Doctor Bennett. I’m Ash Landry.”
“Please call me Wesley.” He looked absolutely panic-stricken, and in the process of trying to stand up and shake my hand, he knocked over a full glass of ice water. It sloshed over the tabletop and spilled onto his leg, and he muttered, “I can’t believe I did that.”
“No big deal,” I said. “It could have happened to anyone.” It was also instantly endearing, but I didn’t think he’d believe me if I told him that.
While a waiter rushed over with a bunch of dishtowels, Wesley held the glass below the edge of the table and tried to scoop the water and ice back into it. The waiter assured him he’d take care of it and sent us to a dry booth in the corner.