Reads Over Novels & Stories

“Read it.” He sat down. He opened the folder. I watched him read. The first page went fast. The second page slower. By the third page his hand had stopped moving. By the fourth page he was gripping the edge of the paper so hard his hands were shaking. He read the whole thing without speaking. Every page. Every line. When he reached the last page—Reed’s signed statement—he stared at it for a long moment. Then he pushed the folder back across the desk, stood up, and walked to the window.

Then he set the phone down and walked back to his desk and sat down and opened the financial report he hadn't been able to read and stared at the same paragraph for the fourth time. He didn't retain it on the fourth reading either.

“Do you need me to read it to you, or can you read it aloud for everyone to hear?” She presses her lips together and leans forward as she turns her attention to the contract. A small gasp slips from her while her mouth falls slightly open. I choke down a sinister laugh as her eyes widen a bit while she reads and re-reads the paragraph several times, like she is hoping the words will magically change. It looks like I need to see what contract is on file, but I finally have my answer.

(Katelyn's POV) "I'm done!" I called out after saving the document, leaning in closer to the screen, my eyes scanning over it once again for any missed errors. It was the third time I'd read through it, but I still felt the need to check it again. To be absolutely sure.

Sure, I might've been silently roasting them in my head, but I swear my lips never moved. "You said I was—beep, beep, beep, beep—" Alicia stammered, visibly flustered. I gave her a perplexed look. "What's wrong with your language settings? Did your system crash?" Harvey jumped in, continuing where she left off. "You just said—beep, beep, beep, beep, beep—" 'Oh, great. Does the Stone Family have some kind of contagious disease? Should I make a run for it before it's too late?'

I mumble as I read, my eyes skimming over the rest of the document. What the fuck is this?

he adds. Can I really read these out loud?

And Josh could feel fireworks-like explosions suddenly filling his head when he read what was written on it. Starting from reading quickly, he repeated it again from the very first page by reading earnestly and carefully. After finishing reading the last page, Josh went back to the beginning and re-read the entire chapter of the document with full concentration and focus that he increasingly poured as much as possible. It was as if he wanted to make sure that what his eyes caught was not just a hallucination. At the same time, he also did not want to miss a single word that he might be able to use as a weapon of his luck.

Breaking Iris’s fragile little heart. Under the menacing eyes of everyone. Dean sweats profusely, stammers out a few words of thanks to his nephew. Iris pretends not to listen, turns his face away. In less than three seconds, he scoops up a spoonful of jelly and gives it in front of Dean. Dean stands with two hands on his hips and chews. After enough time, he makes judgments like culinary experts "oh, delicious." Iris scoops another spoonful of jelly. Dean opens his large mouth to eat but he can’t imagine that spoon flies straight into Iris’s mouth.

I cut in. I speed out of there and go into one of the private bathrooms. While wiping my forehead, I take one smooth breath and turn to the mirror. "You can do this." I point and emphasize, "You can do this." ~3 hours later~ She's been giving me looks all night--not overtly angry or... overtly anything. They're passive looks, but since I know that she knows, they seem pointed. She's-- "Lacey," someone calls. "Hmm?" I look up.