Chapter 14
SABLE
I didn't hear from any of them until three days later when I got a text from Leif, suggesting we meet on the other side of town.
After hesitating for a few minutes, I agreed and asked for the address. He sent it immediately, as if he'd typed it out and waited for me to respond before pressing send.
I knew the area, but not well. Should I make an excuse and not go?
No, if I was going to live my life, I needed to take chances.
What was the worst thing that could happen?
Okay, it could be a set-up involving Woody, or who knows what else, but my instincts said otherwise.
I wanted to trust Leif. If I was going to do that, I had to give him the benefit of the doubt.
I looked up the address and thought about taking the subway, but I took a ride-share instead. Only getting into the vehicle when I confirmed Woody wasn't the driver.
I couldn't decide if I was being rational or paranoid. I decided I was being careful, and sat back to let the driver take me to the address Leif sent.
Twenty-three minutes later, give or take, I climbed out of the car and watched it veer away through traffic before turning and looking at the brownstone behind me.
Was this the right place? Should I call the car back and go home? I was still considering that when Leif trotted down the steps onto the sidewalk. In dark blue slacks and a cream sweater, he looked good enough to eat.
"Sable, you look beautiful," he said, placing his hands on my biceps and kissing my cheek. "Are you okay?" He leaned back to stare at me.
"I'm fine," I said quickly. "I'm just wondering why you brought me here."
"I thought you might like to see a work in progress." He took my hand and led me back up the steps and into the brownstone.
"You're decorating this place?" I looked around, taking in the bare studs and subfloor. By the look of it, the place had been gutted, ready for a complete renovation.
"I am," he said, "for a very special client." He put extra meaning behind his words.
"Oh?" I glanced over at him.
He grinned. "Myself. I bought this place. For a steal. The previous owner met an unfortunate demise. People often get twitchy about places like this. Me? I see it as an opportunity. I mean, look at the square footage." He gestured around.
"It's big," I agreed.
"Yes, and so is the house." He gave me a look of mock innocence. "Let me show you what I'm planning. Back here is going to be the kitchen. I'm thinking ten foot island. Lots of marble. Black and white. With hints of bronze here and there."
I could easily see what he was describing. It was a nice big space, perfect for entertaining a bunch of people. If entertaining was your thing.
"That flows to the outside area," he said. "Once these doors are removed and replaced with ones that open all the way. Imagine this in summer. People sitting around drinking. Listening to music. Enjoying each other. I’m putting a hot tub in that back corner." He pointed.
"That sounds perfect." I sighed softly. "Let me guess, you're going to put a big screen TV up there on the outside wall so you can sit in the hot tub while you watch hockey?"
He snapped his fingers.
"You know what? That'd be perfect. We could have watch parties in the hot water." He grinned and added, "Naked watch parties."
"How will you know which team people are cheering for?" I asked, jokingly.
He laughed. "I guess we'd have to write it on their foreheads. Let me show you the living areas." He gave me a quick tour, describing his vision.
"It's going to look amazing," I said. "I’m starting to wonder what my apartment would look like if it was torn apart like this."
"Like a job site," he said with a grin. "It's a long process, but it's worth it. If that's what you want to do, I'm one hundred percent on board for it. I love nothing better than stripping something right down to the bare bones."
Why did I get the feeling he wasn't talking about buildings?
Oh, right, because he wasn't.
"Over here," he said, "I'm going to put a leather couch. I'm partial to leather." He nodded down toward his leather boots. They looked like the soft kind, buttery.
"I like it myself," I said, raising my elbow to indicate my leather jacket. It was getting old now, but it was comfortable. Worn in. I didn't really care it was the fashion from a few years ago. Everything came back in eventually, right?
"I thought you seemed like the discerning type."
"I have my moments," I agreed. "How long is this renovation going to take?"
"About nine months," he said. "Some of the materials are more difficult to source than others, like all the lumber we need, and the floorboards. And the window frames. And…"
"I'm sure it'll be worth it when it's done," I said.
"One hundred percent worth it." He nodded. "Let me show you upstairs."
I hesitated.
"I'm not going to take you up there and murder you," he assured me. "Woody isn't up there waiting for you either."
"I'd like to say that hasn't crossed my mind," I said slowly, "but…"
"As long as I'm around, Woody isn't going to do anything to hurt you," Leif assured me. "Come on." He squeezed my hand and pulled me toward the stairs.
"Are these safe?" I said, eyeing what were clearly temporary steps.
"Of course they are. I don't want to get sued," he said, grimacing.
Right, of course not. Maybe I could stop being paranoid. I walked upstairs with him, taking each step carefully. To my relief, they felt solid. Clearly whoever installed them knew what they were doing. Like Leif said, he'd be sued if they were rickety and someone got hurt or killed.
"We have four bedrooms up here," Leif explained. "And two bathrooms. This one is the primary bedroom."
He led me to a large space. This one actually had drywall, although it needed painting. Like downstairs, the floors were stripped back. The subfloor looked new, like they'd torn it all out and replaced it recently. Everything had that new wood smell.
"There's something about all of this that gets me going," he said, glancing around and sighing.
"It's like endless possibilities, you know?
The walls could be any color, the floors too.
This could be a bedroom. Or a sex room. Right there in the corner, I could hang a sex swing instead of a bedside table. " He pointed.
"Is that the plan?" I asked, genuinely curious. I'd never even seen a sex swing in person, but I was trying to have an open mind. It might be something I liked. How would I know if I didn't try?
"No, I think I might use one of the smaller bedrooms for a sex room." He gestured to the side of the primary. "You should have seen the bathroom before it was pulled apart. Everything in it was bright green."
I wrinkled my nose. "Bright green?" I liked the color as much as the next person. But in a bathroom?
He laughed. "Yeah, the bath, the sink, everything. The wallpaper looked like it was there for a hundred years. And…" He paused for dramatic effect. "There was carpet on the floor."
I grimaced. "Yuck."
"You got that right," he said. "You should have seen the stains. It looked like someone had a good time in there. Repeatedly."
"Ew…"
"I don't know if they were cum stains, but that was what they looked like," he said. "Don't worry, we threw the carpet out."
I snorted. "I didn't think you kept it so you could put it back in."
He tipped his head back and laughed.
"Why didn't I think of that? I could have saved it for your place."
I stuck out my tongue in disgust. "Yuck. I do not want cum stains on my carpet."
"No, those are much better on the sheets." He grinned.
My lips moved but the words wouldn't come out.
I shook my head. "Are you planning on living here?"
"That depends," he said. "If it comes out the way I want it to, I might. On the other hand, I might be bored with it by the time it's finished and want to sell it. With a whole refurb and renovation, I should make a good profit on the place. It’s a nice part of town."
"Except for the last owner meeting an unfortunate end," I said.
"Except for that," he agreed. "I'll be putting a state-of-the-art security system on this place as well. No one will be getting inside unless they're invited."
"Would you invite Woody?" I asked without thinking.
"Only if he behaves himself," Leif said. He looked toward the stairs at the sound of a knock on the door.
"I think our lunch is here," he said.
"Here?" I echoed. I followed him back down the stairs. He greeted a food delivery driver at the door, and carried a couple of bags inside.
"How do you feel about picnics?" he asked. He set the bags in the middle of the room and reached for a rug which was folded up in the corner. He shook it out and set it down.
"I haven't had a picnic in years," I said. "And never one inside."
"Then you're in for a treat," he said. He opened the bags and started to place containers and boxes to one side of the blanket, everything in reach of both of us.
"We have sandwiches, wraps, cupcakes, and some pizza." He opened the box and let the smell of pepperoni flood through the room. "It should be cool enough to eat. No need to run it under water."
I sat down and stared at him.
"No need to what?"
"Run it under water," he said. "How else are you going to cool down pizza?"
I wasn't sure if he was joking or not.
"Um, I guess I prefer to…wait for it to cool down," I said slowly. "Wouldn't water make it soggy?"
"Not if you eat it fast enough," he grinned. He placed the pizza aside and reached for a sandwich.
After a moment, I did the same, picking up an egg salad, tightly wrapped, but neatly sliced.
"This is good," I said, swallowing down a bite.
"Good food, good company. Romantic location," he said. "What more could we want?" He stopped with his sandwich halfway to his mouth. "Shit, I forgot candles."
I waved the suggestion off. "We don't need candles. There's plenty of natural light in here."
"You're speaking my language," he said before taking a bite.
"I watch too many home design shows," I said with a shrug. "I'm surprised they haven't given you one."
"Woody would say the world doesn't need to see my ugly face on TV," Leif said.
"You do not have an ugly face," I protested.
"See, that's what I keep telling him." Leif grinned. "Anyway, I'm busy with all the work I have. It might be fun someday, though."
"I'm sure you'd be amazing," I told him.
I had no idea what it took to get a show like this. He'd already made a name for himself. Maybe someone would approach him at some point and ask. It didn't seem to bother him either way.
"Do you even have time for this?" I asked. "Lunch with me, I mean." By the sound of it, he was so busy he had barely time for himself. I didn't want to rob him of that.
"If there's anything I'll always make time for in my day, it's lunch with a gorgeous woman," he said.
"The beauty of working for yourself is that you can choose when you work and when you don't. Right now I choose don't. I'm going to have about a million phone calls to catch up with after this, but you're worth it. "
"I don't know about that," I said softly.
"I do. I want to get to know you. I'd also love your input on this place."
"Mine?" I asked. "I don't know anything except what I've seen on TV."
"You know a lot more than you think you do," he said. "Besides, if you help me out on this, I get to spend more time with you. Not to mention working on your place."
"It sounds like we're both going to be busy," I said.
"Yes, we are," he replied.
He washed down his sandwich with a bottle of tea, then paused and scooted over closer to me.
"I want to get busy with you."