Page 89 of The Arrogant One

Me

You’re telling me you’re at work … and you can still taste me? Like, you’re going through meeting after meeting, conversations with your family—all the things—and I’m there, on your mouth, like it’s no big deal?

Lockhart

That’s exactly what I’m telling you.

Me

Oh God.

You know you’re making me wet again, don’t you? And I realize I just had you, what, five-ish hours ago, but this is what you do to me. You keep me constantly turned on.

I had just hit Send when my phone started to ring, my boss’s name on the screen.

I knew what he was calling about. I just didn’t have the stomach for that conversation today.

Except I didn’t have a choice.

I swiped my finger across the screen and said, “Hi.”

“Sadie, good afternoon. Do you have a minute to chat?”

Lockhart

Do you want to know what you do to me?

Me

Yes.

“Of course.” I found a small pad of paper and a pen near where my camera was set up on the counter, and I grabbed it. “What’s up?”

“When we last spoke, we talked about the opening of Toro, and I mentioned that with the amount of buzz it’s getting, I want to build up the momentum of your review, like we did with Horned. My plan is to really get our audience salivating.”

“Yes, I remember, and I like your plan a lot.”

“Good. Because it’s time to initiate it.”

I tried to fill my lungs, my eyes closing as I said, “Okay.”

“Here’s my idea, Sadie: we’re going to divide the buildup into three stages, dragging it out even longer than we did with Horned to amplify things even more. Stage one will be a review of Charred. Stage two, a review of Musik. And stage three—the final stage—is your review of Toro.”

My eyes flicked open. “Hold on a second.” My heart was pounding so hard and so fast that I swore he’d be able to hear it in my voice. “You want a total of three reviews? For all three of The Weston Group locations in LA?”

“Sounds like you think that’s a bad idea.”

Was it? Or was I just freaking out because I was dating a Weston?

I was too skewed to tell at this point.

I needed to put my brain in a pre-Lockhart setting.

But I could barely even remember what that life had felt like—that was how much he dominated my thoughts now.

“I just”—I let out some air—“think that’s a lot.”

“And I think it’s going to bring in so many viewers that our site is going to crash.”