Papers for Roses

Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Wade

"Your 1:30 is here, Mr. Simon."

Wade was checking the company's weekly reports when Rianna's voice boomed from the intercom. He jumped from the sudden sound but promptly fixed himself. Swallowing a lump that began to knot in his throat, he pushed the button to open the door, revealing a grinning Daniel leaning against the wall.

His back straightened as his eyes assessed his friend's countenance. As usual, Daniel had huge, dark circles under his eyes but in spite of it, his smile brightened his whole face.

Daniel pushed himself from the wall and walked to his desk. "Dude. Long time, no see." He sat on the chair before Wade's table, a horrified look sweeping over his feature. "Gosh, you look awful."

His friend wasn't wrong. When Wade looked at himself in the mirror that morning, he could barely recognize the man staring back at him. He had lost so much weight, the angry storm behind his blues was palpable and his mind was all over the place. The search for his so-called wife was getting the best of him.

Wade waved a hand in the air. "Thank you for the compliment. Where is it?"

"Business, business." Daniel tsked, shaking his head. "Guess you really need to loosen up."

Not missing the pun, Wade rolled his eyes. "Get on with it, Monroe."

Daniel chortled, unconcerned by the sudden edge in Wade's tone. "Heard that you're trending in social media. How does it feel to be the Sexiest Man Alive?"

"Hush," Wade warned.

"I mean, I've got to be honest with you—"

"Daniel."

"—That announcement offended me greatly." He began to flex his biceps in front of a glaring Wade, frowning at it. "Who could possibly ignore a gorgeous man like I am—"

"Daniel," Wade called slightly louder, adding a little more dash of warning in his voice.

Daniel froze, putting his arm down. He sighed in exasperation and began to drag a stack of folders from his briefcase with a pout. Wade ignored his friend's clear display of dismay. "What do you have?"

"Hold a sec." Daniel laughed from Wade's obvious attempt of ignoring such a ridiculous thing. "Managed to get eight this time. They were easier to approach but harder to find than those who mostly lived in their trust fund. These ladies were much more independent and usually get their job on their own..."

He placed the folders on Wade's desk, laying each of them flatly. Wade picked up one of the folders as he waited for Daniel to finish. Arielle Higgins, the name printed at the upper portion of the left side in bold letters reads. Below the name was a picture of a woman with long tresses of brown hair with blue highlights. She had an adorable, round face with wide, green eyes and a pointy nose.

Wade read the rest of the information until Daniel spoke, "She's snotty." And that was all it took for him to put down the folder and picked another. His friend chuckled, "But she's nice... gorgeous and hot."

"Not my type of person." He opened the second folder. Then the third. And then the fourth. And then he finished it all.

Like the first batch, nothing interested him. When he considered for one second, Daniel would say something about the woman that he wouldn't like. It was only the second batch but he was already mentally exhausted. He hadn't figured out what he would do and that was another problem. It only meant that he hadn't started yet and that was one of his biggest pet peeves—sitting around and doing nothing.