24. Theo
24
THEO
I’m working on paying invoices for the contractors we’ve got working for us when I glance out the window. My window looks out over the open space where Building B will be. Because only the foundation of the building is there right now, I have a perfect view of the sidewalk.
And what I see makes my heart jumpstart into overdrive.
Mia is marching down the sidewalk. Her hands are balled into fists, and her chin is lowered almost to her chest. Clearly, something has upset her.
I slowly stand, pressing my face against the glass as she moves farther down the sidewalk and out of my view. It looks like she’s coming over here, so I leave my desk and head out into the lobby area.
A moment later, Mia bursts into the resort, her hand pushing open the glass door like some sort of battering ram.
“Whoa! What’s going on?” I ask, expecting that fun grin of hers. But she’s not grinning. She’s furious, and I have absolutely no idea why she’s so mad.
“Has one of my contractors disrespected the property line again? You just tell me what’s going on, and I’ll fix it.”
Mia crosses her arms and stares me down, her eyes blazing. “Don’t play dumb with me, Theo. Your business partner just showed up at my house with a ‘final offer’ for the property. He basically threatened me.”
Steve did what? My surprise quickly turns to anger as I try to process what she’s saying. Steve left an hour ago, and I haven’t seen him since. Has he been at her house harassing her ever since then? “Steve did what?”
Her voice is sharp, and it’s clear that she’s not calming down any time soon. “Don’t pretend you didn’t know. I can’t believe you would send him to do your dirty work. If you think I’m going to sell my grandmother’s house because you’re trying to intimidate me, you’re wrong. Very wrong.”
I glance around the lobby and see two contractors carrying buckets of light fixtures toward the stairs. They turn and look at us and then try to pretend they didn’t see anything.
“Mia, come in my office. Let’s talk about this.”
“No!” she practically shouts. “I’m not going in your office. I’m not going to be calmed down. I’m furious! This is low, Theo, and after… I thought you actually cared about me. I thought we might have something like…a future. But you?—”
“Mia, I had no idea he was going to do that. I told him I would take care of it.”
“Take care of it? So, now I’m an ‘it’ that needs careful handling?”
This conversation isn’t helping anything. Mia isn’t calming down, and I don’t know how to handle things. I try to carefully think through my words before speaking again. “I just told him I needed a week to figure things out. He said he would give me that. It hasn’t even been a week yet.”
“And what was your grand plan when you hit a week? Come over and woo me again, then tell me when we’re naked and sweaty that you’ve got a higher offer?” Mia snorts.
I glance around, desperately trying to see if anyone is listening. It’s not that I’m ashamed of having a relationship with Mia, not at all. But I don’t need my contractors imagining me naked with her.
“Mia, can we talk in my office?” I ask again.
Mia lets out a long breath. “It doesn’t matter if we talk in there or out here. The result is still the same. You went behind my back, and that’s unforgivable.”
“Steve went behind my back. I told him?—”
“Well, he didn’t listen. And now I’m wondering if I can trust you at all.”
I run a hand through my hair, genuinely upset by the turn of events. “I swear, Mia, I didn’t know. I told Steve I’m not pushing you to sell anymore. We’ve been trying to find another way to make this work. At least, I thought that was what we were doing.”
She crosses her arms, but I can tell there’s some doubt behind her anger now, like she might be starting to believe the truth. “Then why did he come to my house with an offer?”
“Steve is…persistent. He thinks he’s helping, but clearly, he’s overstepped. I’ll talk to him. I don’t want you to feel threatened or pressured. I’ve dropped the idea completely of getting your property. I know how much it means to you, and Steve clearly hasn’t let go of it yet.”
“Clearly.”
I step closer, testing the waters to see if Mia is about to shove me or what. “I’m sorry, Mia. I never wanted this to happen. I want to make this right.”
She looks up at me, her resolve wavering. “You really didn’t know? You promise 100%?”
“I didn’t know. And I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again. You have my word. Steve is… He’ll… This won’t happen again.”
“You better, Theo. Because if this happens again, I won’t just be angry. I’ll take legal action. At that point, it’s harassment, and I won’t be harassed for revamping my own house and refusing to sell it.”
I nod, my expression serious. “Understood. I’ll handle it.”
For a moment, we just stand there. My shoulders are tense as I wait for Mia to say something else,
“Maybe I… I shouldn’t have come over here like this.” Mia glances around the open lobby for the first time, like she’s just realized that everyone could overhear us. “I’m not trying to embarrass you or anything. It’s just that I really felt like you had said one thing to me then changed your mind immediately.”
I reach out and gently take her hand. “No, I wouldn’t do that. I wish Steve had said something to me, but I guess he decided to go rogue. And I promise, I’ll do whatever it takes to respect your property and your space. I’ll…deal with Steve somehow.”
I don’t have any idea how I’m going to do that. We’re equally invest in this project. We stand to make a good amount of profits once the place has been up and running for a year. But of course, more buildings and more land means more profits. I understand why Steve is persistent, but he doesn’t know Mia like I do.
Mia finally squeezes my hand back. “Yes, deal with him. And…keep me updated. No more surprises.”
“Agreed. No more surprises.” I try to smile at Mia, but I still feel bothered by the fact that Steve went behind my back.
We stand there for a minute, and neither one of us says anything.
Suddenly, Mia jumps, yanking her hand out of mine like I’ve burned her. “The bacon!” she screeches and runs out of the lobby.
I follow her to the door and watch as she jogs down the sidewalk toward her house. “Well, that was strange.”
As I watch her disappear into her front door, I know I’m going to do whatever it takes to fix things. Steve is going to be a problem, but I can handle him. What matters now is making sure Mia knows she can trust me. I’m furious that Steve has decided to meddle and mess up what was starting to be an excellent relationship.
I close the door to the office and lean against it, my mind racing. I need to talk to Steve, make sure he understands that Mia is off-limits, as is her property. But more than that, I need to show Mia I’m serious about this partnership, about us.
The next morning, I head over to Steve’s office on the mainland. He has a few more properties than me, but he prefers to leave the dirty work to other people. He just stays in his office and manages things.
He’s already there, looking over some documents when I step into the doorway of his office. When he sees me, his expression hardens.
“Roberts, I don’t appreciate being left out of the loop,” he says, his tone clipped.
“I don’t appreciate you going behind my back and threatening Mia,” I shoot back. “We agreed to back off.”
“We agreed to get that property. I’m trying to secure our investment. Don’t act like I made this up. When we bought our current property, the idea was contingent on securing the bordering property as well. I can help it that you started having sex with her and stopped caring about the project.”
I decide to ignore the barb. “Well, threatening her isn’t the way to do it. Trust me. I’ve made multiple offers. She rejected all of them. Money can’t compare with sentimental value. It’s something you just have to accept.”
Steve shakes his head, frustration etched on his face. “You’re letting personal feelings get in the way of business. Tell me you’re not shagging her.”
“Maybe I am, but who I’ve chosen to spend my time with doesn’t matter to you. It never has before.”
“It’s never directly affected our ability to make a profit before. This is different, and you know it.”
I close my eyes and search for patience, somewhere deep within me. “I’m not going to force her to sell. We need to respect her decision and find another solution. Pushing her over and over again is not the way to do things. The last thing you want is her…filing a charge against you for harassment.”
Steve snorts, and I can tell he’s not taking it seriously. “What would she say? Someone offered to buy my property at twice its value. Poor me.”
I roll my eyes. “No, think of the bigger picture. She’s said no, and you need to respect that. We both do. We have to move forward with just the two buildings.”
“I’m not harassing her any more than junk mail is harassment. If it’s annoying and you don’t like it, you ignore it. Easy as that.”
“It’s a lot harder to ignore someone who is showing up at your door. Steve, take me seriously when I say this. Do not go over there again.”
Steve finally makes eye contact, pausing in what he’s doing to address me. “Fine. But we need a plan, Theo. We can’t afford delays.”
“We’ll come up with one,” I promise. “But it won’t involve threatening Mia.”
Once Steve has agreed, I promise to send him our updated blueprint by this afternoon. But first, I need to do something—something that shows Mia how committed I am. Something that shows her I’m with her all the way. And I’ve got just the idea.