Page 8 of Fraud
CLICK, CLICK, CLICK.
What the hell?
My eyes, against my better judgment, slowly opened as the morning light from a nearby window instantly blinded me.
Didn’t I pull the blackout shades down before I went to bed?
As my vision adjusted, I took a look around, as the night before came back with a vengeance.
Right…
A bottle of tequila, a game of strip poker, and…the rest of the night was a little hazy. But at least I knew where I was now. It had been a while since I’d woken up in a stranger’s apartment with little memory of how I’d gotten there, and I was thankful I’d at least grown up a little since college.
“Kim, what are you doing up?” I called out, digging my head back under the covers.
“Answering a few emails. Go back to bed. It’s early,” she answered back.
Kim and I had been dating casually for a few months. But, with our equally busy schedules, those months equated to about three dates and a few overnight visits.
Remembering our wild evening the night before, I smiled.
It was enough.
Neither of us was looking for anything permanent. We were both career-driven New Yorkers, but it was nice to have some companionship on the nights I found myself needing a little.
And Kim was always happy to oblige.
She was an editor for a large publishing company in the city while I was killing it as a journalist for one of the top newspapers in the country.
I’d kissed so many asses and networked for so long, and it’d finally paid off.
I had my own column. In print.
All over the world, people sat around, debating my words. Being one of the most talked about opinion columnists wasn’t my ultimate goal in life, but it sure made me newsworthy.
I pushed boundaries with my topics.
I turned heads with my thoughts and opinions.
So much so that, in some parts of the country, I was actually considered a villain.
A menace.
It was fantastic. I loved my life.
Deciding to go ahead and get the day started, I made my way to the small bathroom next to Kim’s room. After a quick brush of my teeth, I headed back into the bedroom, intent on finding my clothes.
Instead, I found Kim back in bed, wearing my shirt, nibbling on a pencil, as she stared at her laptop screen. It wasn’t a bad look. Not bad at all.
“Bringing work to bed now, I see.” I grinned, jumping back into bed next to her.
She turned, placing a quick kiss on my shoulder, before returning to the document she was reading. “Sorry, Killian. It’s this manuscript I’m trying to acquire. My boss wants me to close the deal on it ASAP, and the agent is playing hardball because there’s another offer.”
“Drama in the literary world, huh? Who is it?” I asked, somewhat intrigued. I was a bit of a reader myself, so hearing of upcoming works was kind of a thrilling bonus to being with Kim.
That, and all the sex.
“It’s a debut,” she replied. “Can you believe it? Usually, it’s the agent begging us to take it. Not the other way around.”
