Read Online All The Pretty Lights (The "A" List #1) by Tara Oakes - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Tara Oakes
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best friend a death stare to shut her up before turning her attention back to me. “Wou—would you like to come in?”
I nod. “Sure.”
Not only do I step inside the cozy little apartment, but Lori does, too. Yay.
“This is a really great place.” I move to the center of the room. It takes all of three steps to do that. I can’t help but notice that my walk in closet is bigger than her entire apartment.
“It is, isn’t it? Daphne really did a good job setting it all up,” Lori answers for her.
“These are for you.” I hand over the bouquet of fresh flowers that Andrea’s assistant picked up for me while her boss and I were hammering out the details of our plan.
Lori takes the stems mid-air before Daphne has a chance to, and holds them up to her nose, breathing in deeply and sniffing them as if they were actually for her. “These are beautiful.”
Yeah, they are. And they’re for Daphne . I bite my tongue.
“What is it that you want, Colton?” Daphne gets right to the point.
Of course. She has no idea why I’m showing up like this. “I was hoping we could talk...?”
She eyes me, trying to read my thoughts. “Sure. Have a seat,” she waves her hand to show me to the nearby couch.
I move to sit. So does Lori.
“Um, Lori, could you go put those in some water?” Daphne nonchalantly asks her friend to complete the task that will leave the two of us alone for a moment.
Smooth. Very smooth.
Lori nods and carries the oversized blooms into the kitchen area on the other side of the room. I know I don’t have much time before she returns.
“I wanted to see how you were doing. I wanted to apologize for how out of hand this is all getting.” True. So far everything I’m saying is true.
Subconsciously, Daphne looks toward the window as if she’ll somehow see the collection of paparazzi downstairs. “Yeah. It’s gotten a little crazy.”
I hear her words, struggle to concentrate on them, but my eyes are fighting to wander, to take in the sight of the V-neck t-shirt she has on, the plaid pajama bottoms, the fuzzy pink socks.
“I actually got a call from Katharine Harding this morning,” She informs me.
“Really? That’s good, right? You wanted to work with her.” Just because I think Katharine’s a slimy snake and I’ve been avoiding her call for weeks, that doesn’t mean my opinion has to interfere with Daphne’s career options.
Daphne rolls her eyes. “No. She wasn’t calling for me. She was calling to see if she can get to you through me. Can you believe it? She insinuated that she might have a job for me, now that she thinks I know you.”
“Well, you do know me,” I interject. What’s the harm in a little preferential treatment as long as it’ll help her in the end?
“I don’t know you like that . Besides. I don’t take anything that I don’t get on my own. If she’s only going to give me a job because of some superficial reason, then that’s not the type of person I want to work for.”
There’s a strong level of conviction to her words. She’s proud. She’s decent. I may have to rethink my strategy on this one. Originally, Andrea and I had thought that we would make Daphne an offer. She pretends to be my girlfriend, travels along with me on the TIME COP world tour so we convince the media that we’re a real couple. In exchange, she gets whatever she wants. Job connections, a whirl-wind once in a lifetime globe trotting vacation. Anything.
That had seemed like the only option because lets face it, I can’t expect a girl like Daphne to actually date me. I can be a dick. I can be an asshole. There’s no way in hell someone like Daphne Baker would ever put up with my shit. Not to mention, it would be kind of obsessive if I asked a girl I had just started dating to travel around the globe with me, leaving her life behind to devote herself to my crazy schedule.
After what she’s just told me, I don’t think either option is viable right now. It won’t work
I nod. “Sure.”
Not only do I step inside the cozy little apartment, but Lori does, too. Yay.
“This is a really great place.” I move to the center of the room. It takes all of three steps to do that. I can’t help but notice that my walk in closet is bigger than her entire apartment.
“It is, isn’t it? Daphne really did a good job setting it all up,” Lori answers for her.
“These are for you.” I hand over the bouquet of fresh flowers that Andrea’s assistant picked up for me while her boss and I were hammering out the details of our plan.
Lori takes the stems mid-air before Daphne has a chance to, and holds them up to her nose, breathing in deeply and sniffing them as if they were actually for her. “These are beautiful.”
Yeah, they are. And they’re for Daphne . I bite my tongue.
“What is it that you want, Colton?” Daphne gets right to the point.
Of course. She has no idea why I’m showing up like this. “I was hoping we could talk...?”
She eyes me, trying to read my thoughts. “Sure. Have a seat,” she waves her hand to show me to the nearby couch.
I move to sit. So does Lori.
“Um, Lori, could you go put those in some water?” Daphne nonchalantly asks her friend to complete the task that will leave the two of us alone for a moment.
Smooth. Very smooth.
Lori nods and carries the oversized blooms into the kitchen area on the other side of the room. I know I don’t have much time before she returns.
“I wanted to see how you were doing. I wanted to apologize for how out of hand this is all getting.” True. So far everything I’m saying is true.
Subconsciously, Daphne looks toward the window as if she’ll somehow see the collection of paparazzi downstairs. “Yeah. It’s gotten a little crazy.”
I hear her words, struggle to concentrate on them, but my eyes are fighting to wander, to take in the sight of the V-neck t-shirt she has on, the plaid pajama bottoms, the fuzzy pink socks.
“I actually got a call from Katharine Harding this morning,” She informs me.
“Really? That’s good, right? You wanted to work with her.” Just because I think Katharine’s a slimy snake and I’ve been avoiding her call for weeks, that doesn’t mean my opinion has to interfere with Daphne’s career options.
Daphne rolls her eyes. “No. She wasn’t calling for me. She was calling to see if she can get to you through me. Can you believe it? She insinuated that she might have a job for me, now that she thinks I know you.”
“Well, you do know me,” I interject. What’s the harm in a little preferential treatment as long as it’ll help her in the end?
“I don’t know you like that . Besides. I don’t take anything that I don’t get on my own. If she’s only going to give me a job because of some superficial reason, then that’s not the type of person I want to work for.”
There’s a strong level of conviction to her words. She’s proud. She’s decent. I may have to rethink my strategy on this one. Originally, Andrea and I had thought that we would make Daphne an offer. She pretends to be my girlfriend, travels along with me on the TIME COP world tour so we convince the media that we’re a real couple. In exchange, she gets whatever she wants. Job connections, a whirl-wind once in a lifetime globe trotting vacation. Anything.
That had seemed like the only option because lets face it, I can’t expect a girl like Daphne to actually date me. I can be a dick. I can be an asshole. There’s no way in hell someone like Daphne Baker would ever put up with my shit. Not to mention, it would be kind of obsessive if I asked a girl I had just started dating to travel around the globe with me, leaving her life behind to devote herself to my crazy schedule.
After what she’s just told me, I don’t think either option is viable right now. It won’t work
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