I made my way onto the wide porch and up to the beautiful double doors that were still the original wood and hardware, again thinking with a little TLC, it could be back to what it once was. Lifting my hand, I knocked and waited, hearing the familiar sounds of Mr. Martin’s cane thumping against what I knew to be the original hardwood floors.
He pulled the door open slowly, and I smiled. “Hello, Mr. Martin.”
“Hi, Aaron,” he said, smiling while he moved to the side. “Come on in.”
I followed him through the foyer and into the large kitchen that hadn’t changed in the past two years. Not at all. The familiarity made me smile.
“Hi, Aaron.” Mrs. Martin walked slowly around the round kitchen table and took my hands in hers.
I leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “Hi, Mrs. Martin. How are you?”
She backed up and dropped my hands. “I’m good. Excited to get out of here before the cold weather really sets in.”
I nodded. “That sounds like a good plan.”
“And we’re moving before Christmas.” She shot a stern look at Mr. Martin who frowned. “Whether it sells or not.”
“I think it’ll sell before you leave.”
She tilted her head to the side. “That’s very optimistic.”
“Well, I’d actually like to talk to you about the house and the price you’re looking to get.”
“Let’s sit.” She pointed at the chair and moved back toward the coffee pot. “Coffee?”
“Sure.” I sat down and waited while Mrs. Martin poured coffee for everyone.
After everyone was sitting, I decided to dive right in. “So tell me your plans. When would you like to move?”
“The boys are driving up next week to help us pack, and then we’ll be gone.”
My eyes widened. “Next week?”
Mr. Martin nodded. “We were hoping you could take care of everything here for us and just keep in touch by phone calls.”
“I can definitely do that.” I took a sip of my coffee. “I would like to make you an offer before you list the house, though.”
“You want to buy the house, Aaron?” Mrs. Martin asked, interest clear in her voice.
I looked around the kitchen. “Yeah, I really do.”
“Well, that would be wonderful.” Mrs. Martin smiled. “Although, we did have a phone call about the house right before you came.”
That was strange. As far as I knew, nobody knew the house was going to be for sale unless it was somebody the Martins told. “If you don’t mind me asking, who inquired?”
Mrs. Martin finished taking a sip of her coffee and put her cup back on the table before she answered. “Your boss.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Taylor Hawkins.”
Mr. Martin nodded. “Yes. She was very nice. She said she would discuss it with you when you got back to the office.”
I nodded. “Okay. Well, I’ll go back to the office and discuss it with her and give you a call. Will that work for you?”
“Of course, Aaron,” Mrs. Martin said. “It’s such a nice surprise that we may not have to list it, and that someone young may buy it and start building their own family memories here.”
I nodded again, but I was distracted. Why the hell would Taylor want to buy this house? I thanked the Martins, promised to call them soon, and headed back to my SUV.
I needed to have a meeting with my boss.
CHAPTER TEN
Aaron
“Hey, Aaron.” Kate stood as soon as I walked through the front door. “How’d it go?”
I shook my head, angry for so many reasons. “I’ll tell you later.” I pointed at Taylor’s closed door. “She in there?”
Kate nodded, but her eyes were wide. I moved quickly through the office, ignoring the odd stares from the few co-workers who bothered to show up today. I was sure I looked pissed, and that wasn’t an emotion they usually saw from me. I couldn’t believe she would go behind my back and call a client about their listing. I hadn’t talked to her since Monday night when I heard her on the phone tell someone she loved them. I’d initially assumed she was talking to her sister, but she had a strange look on her face that could’ve been guilt, and I reacted. The worst part was she didn’t confirm or deny anything, which made me feel irrational. I’d planned to talk to her this week, but the few attempts I’d made, she shot me down, saying she didn’t have time. I didn’t push it, knowing I would have an opportunity sometime this week to just ask her outright if she was seeing someone, so I would know if I was truly wasting my time. Or if I’d once again missed my shot. I had to know, considering it had been less than a week and I missed talking to her. I realized that this morning on my way to work and knew I was going to find a way to explore whatever the hell was brewing between us.
I had a bad feeling if I went into her office right now, I was going to ruin any chance I had at accomplishing that.
But I didn’t fucking care.
Making it to her door, I stopped and knocked loudly, but didn’t wait for her to say anything before I pushed open the door, walked in, and let it slam behind me. She stood, her face awash with confusion, and tilted her head.
“Mr. Barlett?”
I moved quickly toward her desk and laid my palms flat, leaning across to eliminate as much space as I could between us. “What the hell is your problem?”
She jerked back. “Excuse me.”
“I just came from the Martin’s house,” I pointed behind me toward the closed door before slapping my palm back against the desk. “And they told me you already put an offer in on their house.”
“I did,” she answered confidently, but I watched her swallow hard and knew she wasn’t feeling quite as confident as she was pretending to.
I stood and ran a hand through my hair. “And you didn’t think calling me beforehand would have been nice, rather than to have the client tell me?”
She shrugged. “It’s really not a big deal, Aaron.” She laid the pen on her desk that she still held in her hand. “As a matter of fact, you’re guaranteed a sale and a commission, so I’m not sure why you seem so angry.”
Aaron. She chose the perfect fucking time to drop the formalities and try to smooth things over by giving me what I’d wanted for the past couple of weeks.
It wasn’t enough.
I was angry, and I was being unreasonable. She had no idea I wanted the house. It wasn’t like she talked to any of the staff, but still, the idea that she might have first dibs on my house was rubbing me the wrong way. “I’m angry because I’m the agent, and they’re my client. All offers should go through me.”
She looked thoughtful for a moment, and I thought she may concede, but then I saw her back stiffen and her chin tilt. “I think you’re forgetting that I own this company, and your behavior right now is unacceptable.”
My eyebrows shot up. “My behavior?”
She walked around the side of her desk and gestured toward the door. “Yes, your behavior. When you want to have a professional conversation about this house, I’m happy to schedule a meeting, but you can consider it sold.”
I turned my body to face her. She seemed anxious for me to leave, and something occurred to me, causing me to narrow my eyes. “Did you know I was interested in buying that house?”
She tilted her chin up and crossed her arms over her chest. That was when I knew it was true. I thought for a moment that she might lie, but I knew better. That wasn’t her style. “I’m prepared to offer more if need be.”
I shook my head. “You’re fucking unbelievable.”
Her eyes widened. “I suggest you watch your language in my presence, Mr. Barlett, I am your boss.”
I ignored that and pointed my finger at her. “You knew I wanted that house, and you made an offer before I could even meet with the client.”
“That’s business,” she said casually.
“That’s dirty business and quite frankly not something I thought even you would do.”
She arched her e
yebrow. “Even me?” She walked to the door and stood in front of it. “It’s nothing personal, but I’m a busy woman, and it’s time for you to go.”
I made my way over to stand right in front of her and noticed she immediately began wringing her hands together. It was subtle, but I noticed, and it made me happy to know I was making her anxious. “It is personal. And you know it.” I took a deep breath to gain control. “You’re not getting my house.”
She tilted her chin back and looked up at me. “I guess we’ll see.”
I slapped my hand against the door beside her head and leaned down so I could look right into her eyes. “What the hell is wrong with you? Are you so scared of getting close to someone that you’ll find the easiest way to push them away?” I let my eyes wander over her face until they locked on her brown eyes. “I think you are,” I said quietly, my anger dying, but my blood heating for a different reason. “I think you’ll do anything to get me out of your way, out of your life…” I bent my head so my lips were next to her ear. “And out of your mind.” I pulled back, but only so I could once again look into her eyes. “You’ve been running from this for a while now, but I’m not letting you do that anymore, and I’m not letting you pull some bullshit move as a way to push me out of your life.”
She swallowed hard, and I watched her tongue dart out to lick her lips. She felt what I felt—there was no denying that—but unlike me, she wasn’t willing to let herself explore it. I needed to find a way to convince her otherwise. I let my eyes wander over her face and down until they landed on her generous breasts before lazily making their way back to her own eyes.
“You need to go,” she repeated, but this time, her voice was breathy.
I lifted my other hand and put it beside her head, effectively caging her in. My cock started to harden at the closeness, but even more at the way her eyes became heavy with lust the closer I got. I moved my face closer until my nose brushed along her cheek, and her breath hitched. Grinning, I shifted until my body brushed against hers. I positioned my mouth right beside her ear and lowered my voice. “You’re so tightly wound, aren’t you? Do you know what you need?”
Her chest heaved. “What?”
I smiled and lifted my hand, running my finger along her jaw, my mouth still against her ear. “You need me to fuck you.” Her breath hitched again when I moved my finger slowly down her neck and dipped it into her cleavage. My cock was like steel just listening to her breaths quicken. “And not just once.” I dropped my lips to her jaw and skimmed them across until I could look in her eyes again. “Over and over again until you start to crave me. Until you can feel my dick long after the last hard thrust. Until you’re calling me into your office because you’re so fucking horny you can’t concentrate.”
Lifting my other hand from the door, I ran it down her side until I was playing with the hem of her skirt. I brushed my lips across hers slowly only pulling back when I felt her applying pressure, wanting to deepen the kiss. I laid my forehead against hers. “Before I’m done with you, you’ll be begging for me to take you, to take control.”
I stood straight and put my hands on her hips, shifting her so she was no longer blocking the door. “I need to get back to work.” She nodded but didn’t say anything, just watched as I grabbed the handle on the door. “We’ll talk again soon.”
I shot her a grin and pulled the door open, moving quickly toward my desk.
I had a lot of shit to do, including figuring out why I wanted someone so badly who I wasn’t even sure I liked.
And how the hell I was going to convince her that she wanted me as much as I wanted her.
And then I had a house to buy.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Taylor
I still hadn’t caught my breath when the office had completely cleared out for the day. After Aaron left my office, I’d actually locked the door, sat in my chair, and laid my head on the desk, willing my pulse to slow. No one had ever talked to me like that in my life, and I had to wonder if it would’ve affected me as strongly if it had been someone else.
I doubted it.
There was something about him. Something that went far beyond how attractive I found him.
When I heard nothing from the other side of my still closed door, I moved to open it and glanced out. I was right. They were gone. Looking over at Aaron’s desk, I felt the same pang of guilt that I had earlier. I knew he was right, what I’d done was wrong. It was typical in the business world, but that was never how I’d operated my business or myself personally.
When I was walking toward the bathroom and overheard two other agents talking about the house, I knew I wanted it. The right thing to do would have been to call him, but then I heard he was interested in the house too, so I just reacted.
It wasn’t who I wanted to be, but my love for that house made me act impulsively, and I regretted it almost immediately. I would’ve apologized when he came into my office, and he deserved it, but I got my back up when he confronted me.
Walking back into my office, I grabbed my cell phone and pulled up my favorites. It was only a couple of rings before I heard her voice.
“Tay? Shouldn’t you be drowning in work right now?” she teased.
“I can’t concentrate,” I admitted, plopping back down into my chair.
“Why?” She sounded concerned. “Did something happen? I thought you said you were feeling better? Ugh, wait is it Mom and Dad?”
I exhaled loudly and leaned back. “No, they’re fine. Well,” I huffed, “they’re the same. And I’m fine. I actually feel really good.”
“What’s up? Why do you sound disappointed?”
I ran my hand over my forehead. “Because I did something today that I’m not proud of.”
“Did you finally have sex with the cutie in your office?”
I huffed out a laugh. “No.”
“Not yet,” she teased. “So what happened?”
“Do you remember that Victorian house that you and I used to ride by on our bikes when we were going to Rachel’s house?”
“Yeah.” She sighed. “God, I loved that house.”
“It’s for sale.”
“What!” She squealed. “You’ve always said it was your dream to live in that house. You have to buy it.”
“That’s what I thought too, so as soon as I heard it was going to be listed, I called the owners and made an offer.”
“And?”
“I told them to consider it, and I would discuss it with the agent they requested to handle the sale.”
“Who’s the agent they requested?”
“Aaron.”
“I don’t think I understand the problem,” she admitted. “Should you have gone to him first?”
“Yeah, I should have, but that’s not the worst part,” I confessed.
“Go on.”
I sighed. “I overheard a couple of other agents talking, and they said they heard him telling Kate how much he wanted that house too.”
“Oh no,” she said quietly. “You didn’t.”
I closed my eyes. “Yep, I went behind his back and made the offer before he could.”
“Yeah, that’s not good.”
“It was business.” I tried to defend myself.
She snorted. “Don’t pull that shit with me.”
I laid my forehead down on my desk. “I know.” I groaned. “I just reacted.”
“What did he do?” she inquired.
I shivered when I remembered him storming into my office. “He confronted me. Then somehow he pinned me against the door.”
Her voice lowered. “Then what?”
I took a deep breath. “Then he said some stuff.”
“What kind of stuff?” When I was silent for too long, she persisted. “Tay, what did he say?”
I sat up and leaned my forehead against the palm of my hand. “That he thought I needed him to, you know, and then I’d be begging for it.” I huffed and stood. “I don’t know, it was something like that. I think he
was trying to intimidate me or something.”
I was lying. I remembered every single word he said, but I couldn’t share that with anyone, not even my sister.
She was quiet, and I waited for her to say I told you so. Because she had. She had told me she thought he was interested in me, and I’d stayed in denial. I still wasn’t sure I believed it.
Her voice cut through my thoughts. “You know what you need to do, right?”
“Call him and apologize,” I said because I did know.
“No. You need to go to his place and apologize in person. Tay, what you did was kind of sneaky and not like you at all. He deserves a face-to-face apology, not some half-assed attempt at one over the phone.”
I hesitated. “I don’t know about that, Renee. I seem to lose my concentration and my professionalism around him.”
“You owe him,” she said again and I knew she was right.
“Fine.” I exhaled heavily. “I’ll go there on my way home today.”
“Good. Call me when you’re home and let me know how it went.”
“I will,” I promised. “Thanks.”
We said our good-byes, and I leaned my hip against my desk for a moment, considering what I was about to do, but I knew she was right. He deserved an apology and an explanation. He was one of my top agents, and more than that, I didn’t want him to believe I was capable of something so awful. Not after what he’d done for me. And if I was being a hundred percent honest with myself, I hated the look of disappointment on his face when he came into my office earlier. I hated that I caused it.
After grabbing my purse and keys, I slid my phone into my purse and locked up my office, then the main office. Unlocking my car, I threw my purse on the passenger seat before I got in and started it. I knew his address without having to check, which says a hell of a lot more than I wanted it to, and it was something I would never admit to anyone.
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