Chapter 8
Stone
I'm careful not to interrupt Lucy's conversation, even though her assistant told me to go straight in to see her.
As I tap on the door, she gestures for me to come in.
The nodding and agreeing and smiling tells me that she may be on the cusp of a sale, which works for me.
Lucy is usually in a good mood, Even though she is stoic at best, but when she closes a deal, that's the best time to hit her with some of the more challenging questions. And I have one in mind today.
"Stone. I didn't expect to see you today." She says on a pleasant exhale as she ends the call. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
I avert away for a moment. "It sounds like you just made yourself a nice weekend with a sale."
She slits one eye and smiles. "Don't curse me now, Stone. What can I do for you?"
Damn. She doesn't take the bait. It's always difficult buttering this woman up. "What ever happened to that friend of yours? That old beau of yours that showed up here a few weeks ago in a Tilley hat. What happened with him?"
She cranes her neck back and tries to analyze my expression. "He wasn't an old beau, and since when are we prying into each other's personal lives, Stone? This is new."
"I've known you for well over a decade, Luce. Yet we know nothing about each other."
"You're a billionaire hotel mogul, Stone. I'm sure that you didn't come all the way here to talk to me about past loves gone wrong. What's on your mind?"
"I was in town, anyway. You know that. "
She nods once for emphasis. Her tone is tentative.
"Yes. And we're still waiting on the land to obtain clearance.
Until then, there isn't much to do." Sensibly, she changes the subject.
"Your offer fell through on that house my colleague is handling.
I heard that the owner lowered the price.
Does that sweeten the pot for you?" She guesses.
"I'm not sure yet."
"Should I have Lark show you more properties?"
"You know that what she's representing is way over my budget." I play coy, not wanting her to smell a rat. Lark made me promise that I would never tell Lucy about our affair.
"What's your ceiling offer?"
I tell her. She lifts a brow. "That's not far off. What is it about this house that you like?"
The fact that Lark is selling it and it gets the shithead off her back, that's what.
But I can't tell her that, and I can't just buy it for that purpose, either.
Not without getting into trouble with Lark, at least. The house has many pluses, but I risk having Lark feel that it's a pity purchase, and I don't want to do that to her.
I name off the things that I like about the house, leaving out the obvious flaw.
"You could put in a conditional offer." Lucy suggests.
"Yeah, he's not going for that. I don't want to waste your colleague's time." I say carefully, playing dumb.
She rolls her eyes slightly. "The guy's an asshole."
So, I've heard. But I don't say that. "Sounds like it. What idiot would put a house up for sale in that condition and expect it to sell at that price?"
Lucy exhales sharply. "I counselled Lark on that, but she's stubborn, and she's good. It'll sell. It's just how much of it she's going to have to eat to get there. Twenty bucks says that asshole blames us for his shortcomings on the sale."
"You're a large, successful firm. You can bounce back. If it weren't for that very attribute, I wouldn't have been doing business with you for so long."
Her phone pings with a message. She glances at the display. Normally, her face remains stead, but she smirks a little. "I've got to head out in a few minutes, Stone. Is there anything I can do for you?"
I tease her. "Hot lunch date, huh. I knew you were into Tilley hats."
Her look is warning but with a smile. "I'll call you when I get an update on that parcel of land."
"Fine. Have fun."
As I leave her office, I walk past Lark's office, but the door is closed and she's not in there. I find her in the parking lot, on a call. It looks like she's arranging to go see a client, but I nonchalantly stick around while she finishes. "Heading out?" I ask her.
"Yes. I have to show a client a couple of houses." Her tone is slightly clipped.
"Are you busy for dinner?"
"Not right now, but I have no idea how late I'll be."
"I get it. I've got a million errands to run this afternoon, too, but I can meet you in the hotel dining room at nine. Is that okay?"
"Sure. I'll call you if I can be earlier?"
I smile. "Sounds good." I'm dying to kiss her. But there's no telling if anyone will see, especially if Lucy is on her way out. "Hey, Lucy's going on a lunch date with the Tilley hat guy, but you didn't hear that from me."
A snorted laugh. "She finally took my advice. It's about time."
I give her a wink. "I'll see you later."
Her smile is warm. "Yeah."
Lark
Why does he have to be such a nice guy? And why did I have to meet him through work?
There's always a chance of that happening, but to have it happen twice?
No good can come of this. I've been down this road before, and it ended disastrously.
There is no way that this can be different, and it's not worth the risk.
If I have to change realty companies one more time, my career might as well be over.
It looks bad. It would be the kiss of death for me, and that's why I shouldn't even be mixing with Stone, but I can't seem to tear myself away from him.
It's too early to tell, and I refuse to listen to my gut, but I think that he's wonderful.
There isn't anything about him that I don't like.
Yet.
But it'll come. Money does things to people. I came from nothing so I should know.
I'm driving to another property, with my client in tow behind me, when my Bluetooth rings. It's my sister. "Liv, I'm just on my way to a property. What's up?"
Liv and I are like two pees in a pod. We're twins. Fraternal, but we might as well be identical, since we're alike on so many levels. "No problem. I'm just on my way to drop off some materials to the plant. I wanted to see if you're free for dinner tonight."
I half lie. "I'm working late. Probably not home until like ten?"
"What about a late lunch after you show your clients these properties?"
I know that I can squeeze in an hour. Even if they put in an offer. "Sure. I don't know when that'll be, but I can swing by the shop after?"
"Excellent. You can try this new lotion I was working on last night."
Liv is an entrepreneur. She's got this natural products shop downtown and she makes her own products.
A year ago, she started renting out some warehouse space, where she's building her lab for product making.
I've invested in her company, since I have the funds to give and she didn't have the collateral she needed to take out a loan.
I have high hopes for her. Liv is a die-hard workaholic, but she's got a master's degree in business, and she's always wanted to do this, so the drive and the smarts are there.
Plus, she's got my investment, so she's got the capital, too.
"I can't wait." Oh yeah, I didn't mention the fact that her products are kickass. I don't use anything other than hers for all my bath and beauty needs. It helps that I get them for free.
Turns out, my client doesn't put in an offer, so I kick out of work earlier than expected, knowing that Lucy is out for lunch, anyway.
Liv is cashing out a customer when I arrive.
"No sale?" She checks, but she knows the deal.
If I'm finished early, there's no way an offer was made.
Geena, Liv's employee, is stocking shelves.
I give her a quick wave, and she reciprocates.
"Not today." I say on exhale.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
I wave. "Nah. You win some you lose some."
"Okay." She smiles. "Come out back and you can test this product for me while we eat."
"Where's the food?"
Liv gestures with her hand to the back. I follow her, while she tells Geena that she's on lunch.
My sister is never further than a stone's throw away from her work.
She goes into the small bar fridge out back and pulls out two salads in reusable containers.
Did I mention that Liv is also a fantastic cook?
We dig in and she grabs a small jug with the letters 'TEST' and a call number, so that she can keep track of new samples, etc.
The logbook is old and tattered, and she's working towards saving it into an Excel spreadsheet, but that process is long and arduous.
"Rub this in and tell me what you think. It's a hand specific lotion."
I do the usual sniff, texture, and absorption test that she's taught me, and I like it. "It's like raspberries."
"Yes. I've got the recipe down pat for that scent, but if this lotion is good, I'll work on it with peach and maybe some herbal scents as well. But I'm thinking that this product is going to be touted as more medicinal, so it can't smell perfumy."
I nod as I rub it in more and give it another sniff. "I like it."
"Is it better or worse than the oatmeal stuff?"
"Better. I hardly use that one, but I'd use this, especially in the winter."
"Exactly." She takes a bite of her salad. "So, I wanted to talk to you about something."
I'm chewing, so I mutter for her to go on.
"I know you, Lark. And I know that something is bothering you.
You've not been yourself for a couple of weeks, maybe longer, and I can't help but wonder if maybe you're still letting old ghosts haunt you.
You did well for so long, what with working with Lucy, but I feel like you're headed down that road again, and I worry about you. "