Dear April (Sunshine & Shadow Book 2) Read Online Free

I’d probably be homeless.”
    “Really?”
    Meagan nodded. “I owe
everything to that man.”
    The chatter turned to
men.
    The girls took it in
turns spilling their secrets about their past and present loves and, while
Meagan was distracted by the gossip, April took the opportunity to use the
restroom. She looked in the mirror and almost didn’t recognize herself. Was she
imagining it, or were her cheek bones protruding more than they used to? Was
her face a little paler than it had been? She looked down at her body. She had
lost weight. She hadn’t been eating as much as she used to at the ranch.
    April smoothed her hair
back, exposing the horseshoe earrings Kip had bought her for her birthday the
previous year. First she smiled at the memory, then she frowned. She missed Kip
so much. Her body physically ached for his hugs. She missed everyone at Blue
Haven, especially her father, but she knew how proud he was of her, and she couldn’t
let him down.
    One last look in the
mirror told her she was prettier when she smiled. She plastered a fake one on
her face and pushed the door open.
    Right into Ted.
    “Oh! Ted, I’m sorry!” April
felt her cheeks heat up. Beer had spilled down his shirt. For a moment, he
looked angry, but it was quickly replaced by humor.
    “Wow April, I didn’t know
you could be so aggressive.” He laughed.
    April balked. She
couldn’t believe what had just happened. A week on the job and she had already
dumped beer on her new boss.
    It took her a second to
realize that Ted wasn’t alone. Close behind him was Gerald Hyde, the Chief
Editor of the company, Meagan’s boss. Hyde smiled at her. April couldn’t help
but think it was more of a bearing of his teeth than it was a smile. She felt
uncomfortable.
    “April Cooper, finally we
meet.” Hyde extended his hand. April shook it.      For an older man, Hyde was
attractive. But the look in his eyes unnerved April, like he was trying to
study her as a science experiment. She felt like she was under a microscope.
    “Nice to meet you, Mr.
Hyde.”
    “I’m sure we will have a
chance to work together soon. I look forward to it,” Hyde said, still holding
April’s hand. She tried to slide it from his grip and, after giving it a small
squeeze, he let it go.  
    “Likewise,” she mumbled.
She looked at Ted, who stood beside her. “If you’ll excuse me, sir.”
    As she walked away, she
heard Hyde whisper. “Look at that ass, Teddy. Don’t tell me you hired her for
her brain.”
    She hurried to her table.
     
    The weeks followed,
April’s duties repeating over and over. Before she knew it she had worked at
the publishing house for a month. It still didn’t bore her to get coffee for
Ted or read though endless pages of tedious submission proposals by aspiring
authors. She actually woke up every morning, excited to see her coworkers and get
to work. Her weekends were usually uneventful.
    April knew she should
talk to Ted, tell him she had heard what Hyde had said about her that night in
Paddy’s, but they were friends and she didn’t know if she would be taken
seriously. Those two always seemed to be together. So she sucked it up, buried
herself in mountains of paper work Ted provided her and forgot all about  Hyde
and his off-putting, disturbing snarl of a smile that seemed reserved only for
her.
    “Good afternoon, sir, do
you need me to get you anything?” April asked Ted one morning when he entered
the office.
    “No, thanks, April,” Ted
replied as he passed her desk. “I’ll email some files your way in about ten
minutes.”
    April nodded and busied
herself with organizing her computer desktop. She almost had it in alphabetical
order when she heard shouting and looked over the top of her cubicle.
    Gerald Hyde was leaning
over a young intern April had met a few days prior. His name was Joseph and he seemed
very shy. He had stuttered when he introduced himself to her.
    “Are you an idiot, then?”
Hyde was shouting.
    “N-n-no,