Jayson: A New Adult / Coming of Age Romance Read Online Free
Author: Nicole Hughes
way, guess who scored a mentorship with her idol designer—yours truly!”
“You’re talking about Professor Schwartz? Lucky you. You’re such a glutton for punishment. Everyone says she’s a tough old bird, but I have a feeling her abrasive nature will just polish you up into a fine gem of an interior decorator.” I can hear the smile in her voice, and it feels great to have a friend who supports me. Given my mom’s mixed signals, I need to know someone is completely on my side.
“Thank you for talking me off the ledge, Grace. What would I do without you?”
“For the record, I think I kind of talked you up to the ledge. Remember, my advice was that you get the heck out of Dodge,” she says with a snicker.
I eye the backpack in the corner of my bedroom and reluctantly say my goodbyes. “And hey, who knows? I might just follow that advice. We can meet up around noon between classes tomorrow and peruse some listings online.”
“That’s the spirit!”
“Talk to you later, chica-boom.”
“Peace out, homie.”
I hang up the phone and get to work on my homework assignments, but as I survey my familiar childhood bedroom, with its pastel colors and touches of adolescent innocence, I feel like I’m not a college student at all; I’m just in extended high school. I groan and yank my laptop and textbooks out of my bag. Moving out is starting to sound like a brilliant suggestion.
Chapter 3
JAYSON
A quick peek at the corner of the computer screen tells me I’ve already overstayed my shift, but as owner of Zephyr Brothers Construction, I technically don’t have set hours. Evening light slants across the linoleum floor of my cluttered office; it’s almost dark. I rifle through the pile of invoices waiting to be entered into a spreadsheet and rub my calloused hands over my tired face, sighing.
I’m sitting at the big, blocky red teak desk I found for a bargain online three years ago when I first opened up the family business. I’m peering at the coffee rings on the gently scarred wood beneath the mess of paperwork, considering hiring cleaning staff now that things have leveled out for us. I’m so wrapped up in my thoughts I barely hear the tap at my door.
“What’re you in here frowning about?” Castiel, my younger brother and right-hand man on the job, pops his head into my office with that ever-present grin that tells me the kid takes nothing seriously. He’s twenty-two years old to my twenty-four, but I swear the sucker acts more like he’s sixteen. I chuckle in pleasure at getting a break from the tedium of data entry and shake my head ruefully at him.
“Doing the books, and I wasn’t frowning. That was my happy face,” I joke. “This has been a great quarter for us financially, and it’s bound to get better. But I’ve been thinking we really need to capitalize on our good fortune and put more money into advertising to pull in bigger clients.” Castiel shuffles past the cardboard boxes of files that haven’t been put away yet by the part-time secretary and plops his athletic body down in the rickety chair in front of my desk. “Hey! Careful, you barbarian,” I say with a laugh.
“Dev already took off, and I was about to lock up when I saw your light on in here. Another all-nighter?”
“Probably not all night. Gotta get home to Mom before too late. I just wanted to finish putting in these numbers so I can draw up a rough marketing plan.”
“Jeez, how much busy work can you make for yourself, bro? Come out with me. We can stop by the Eight Ball for a few beers. I promise all your earthly worries will be waiting right there on that desk when you get back.” Castiel crosses his beefy arms and stares at me in challenge, knowing damn well I’m not about to shirk work to get drunk with his ass.
I toggle to the other window I was looking at on the computer and turn the monitor his way. “So, this website is great for putting the word out about what services we offer. Thing is, we
“You’re talking about Professor Schwartz? Lucky you. You’re such a glutton for punishment. Everyone says she’s a tough old bird, but I have a feeling her abrasive nature will just polish you up into a fine gem of an interior decorator.” I can hear the smile in her voice, and it feels great to have a friend who supports me. Given my mom’s mixed signals, I need to know someone is completely on my side.
“Thank you for talking me off the ledge, Grace. What would I do without you?”
“For the record, I think I kind of talked you up to the ledge. Remember, my advice was that you get the heck out of Dodge,” she says with a snicker.
I eye the backpack in the corner of my bedroom and reluctantly say my goodbyes. “And hey, who knows? I might just follow that advice. We can meet up around noon between classes tomorrow and peruse some listings online.”
“That’s the spirit!”
“Talk to you later, chica-boom.”
“Peace out, homie.”
I hang up the phone and get to work on my homework assignments, but as I survey my familiar childhood bedroom, with its pastel colors and touches of adolescent innocence, I feel like I’m not a college student at all; I’m just in extended high school. I groan and yank my laptop and textbooks out of my bag. Moving out is starting to sound like a brilliant suggestion.
Chapter 3
JAYSON
A quick peek at the corner of the computer screen tells me I’ve already overstayed my shift, but as owner of Zephyr Brothers Construction, I technically don’t have set hours. Evening light slants across the linoleum floor of my cluttered office; it’s almost dark. I rifle through the pile of invoices waiting to be entered into a spreadsheet and rub my calloused hands over my tired face, sighing.
I’m sitting at the big, blocky red teak desk I found for a bargain online three years ago when I first opened up the family business. I’m peering at the coffee rings on the gently scarred wood beneath the mess of paperwork, considering hiring cleaning staff now that things have leveled out for us. I’m so wrapped up in my thoughts I barely hear the tap at my door.
“What’re you in here frowning about?” Castiel, my younger brother and right-hand man on the job, pops his head into my office with that ever-present grin that tells me the kid takes nothing seriously. He’s twenty-two years old to my twenty-four, but I swear the sucker acts more like he’s sixteen. I chuckle in pleasure at getting a break from the tedium of data entry and shake my head ruefully at him.
“Doing the books, and I wasn’t frowning. That was my happy face,” I joke. “This has been a great quarter for us financially, and it’s bound to get better. But I’ve been thinking we really need to capitalize on our good fortune and put more money into advertising to pull in bigger clients.” Castiel shuffles past the cardboard boxes of files that haven’t been put away yet by the part-time secretary and plops his athletic body down in the rickety chair in front of my desk. “Hey! Careful, you barbarian,” I say with a laugh.
“Dev already took off, and I was about to lock up when I saw your light on in here. Another all-nighter?”
“Probably not all night. Gotta get home to Mom before too late. I just wanted to finish putting in these numbers so I can draw up a rough marketing plan.”
“Jeez, how much busy work can you make for yourself, bro? Come out with me. We can stop by the Eight Ball for a few beers. I promise all your earthly worries will be waiting right there on that desk when you get back.” Castiel crosses his beefy arms and stares at me in challenge, knowing damn well I’m not about to shirk work to get drunk with his ass.
I toggle to the other window I was looking at on the computer and turn the monitor his way. “So, this website is great for putting the word out about what services we offer. Thing is, we
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