Page 25 of Illicit Education
“Rylan!”
I turned toward the sound of my name, grinning when I spotted Greer striding toward me, her tight tawny curls bouncing with each step.Saved by the bestie. I glanced back at Mr. Reed, but he’d turned away from me and strode toward the curb.
“Hey, bestie boo! How was your first day?” Greer yanked me into a quick hug, then pulled back, smiling appreciatively as my new boss disappeared into the back seat of a black limousine. “Who’s that?”
Shaking my head, I whispered, “Thatis my new boss.”
“Jesus. I’m in the wrong line of work.” We linked our arms, then fell into step together, heading east. “Well, I guess I don’t need to ask how your first day went.”
“It was good.” I paused, then added, “A bit weird.”
Greer’s brows furrowed. “How so?”
“Well, I was supposed to be shadowing the head of the editorial department for Reed Romance, but now…” I stared up the street in the direction Reed’s car had just driven. Not that I could locate him in the sea of taxis and town cars. “He just told me I’d be working with him for theforeseeable future.”
Greer raised her eyebrows, searching my gaze as we reached a stoplight and waited for the crosswalk sign to light up. “Are you holding in a fart?”
I laughed loudly, then covered my mouth, looking around to make sure no one heard her question. “What the hell, Greer,what?”
“Your face looks weird.” Her eyes narrowed. “What’s wrong with him?”
When the light changed, I pulled her into the crosswalk. “Nothing.Everything.” I sighed as I tried to gather my thoughts. I began by explaining the strange elevator ride with Reed this morning, then told Greer about the book and the handful of additional interactions with the man that would soon run Reed Enterprises.
I also might haveaccidentallyincluded the fact that he was absolutely the most beautiful man on the planet and my body had not missed that little fact.
“He sounds… confusing as fuck.” She laughed. “And I’m completely intrigued.” Pulling out her phone, she opened up the Google app. “Tell me everything. What’s his name?”
“Cabot Reed.”
“No, not the old man, that guy who was just here.”
“Cabot Reed,” I insisted. “He’s the son.”
“Oh,” she said, drawing out the single syllable. “One ofthosefamilies.” She rolled her eyes. “Not creative enough to come up with a name for the kid so they name him after the father.”
Laughing, I slid my arm through hers and made her resume walking. “I don’t think it’s a lack of creativity that makes people pass names down through a family.”
Greer shrugged, scanning through the images on her phone. “No, you’re right. It’s probably for simplicity’s sake. Makes it easier for the lawyers when rich white men inherit all of their rich white daddy’s stuff.
I snorted. “You’re terrible.”
“But not wrong.” Her smile fell as she stared at the phone screen, stopping again in the middle of the sidewalk. “This is too weird.”
“What is?”
“It’s like he doesn’t exist. I mean, his father is all over the internet, and it talks about him having a son, but the pictures—what few I can find—are just of this caveman looking guy.
Ipulled the phone from Greer’s hands and found one of said caveman pictures. Before the makeover. “Yeah, that’s him.”
She gasped. “No way.”
“Yeah.” I sighed. “It would have been impossible to prepare for meetingthisCabot Reed after expecting that one.” I tapped at the screen. “Caught me completely off guard.”
“No wonder you didn’t know who he was. This guy looks like Tarzan.” She shook her head wistfully. “Thatguy was tall, dark, and unfairly handsome.”
“So unfair.”
Greer whistled appreciatively. “And super rich.”