by Haley Travis
She blushed so prettily that I pulled my hand away before I grabbed her again.
“Let’s go through the rest of the space, and you can tell me whether or not I should buy it,” I winked.
I had to admit, the entire space was exquisite, and had everything I needed and more. The office was next to the living room and had a brilliant view of the water. “Do you work from home?” she asked.
“Most of the time, yes,” I said. “My job is fairly global, so many of my meetings are via video calls. When I need to meet with financial institutions, I sometimes drop by their offices.”
She looked around the office space carefully. “Can you picture yourself being happy working here all day?” she asked.
I greatly admired how thorough she was. Surprising myself, I blurted, “I love the way your mind works.” The tug of a smile at the corner of her lips was enchanting.
“Yes, I could see myself working here quite comfortably,” I said. “There’s plenty of natural light for video calls, plenty of space for files, and I actually rather like this desk.”
Heather’s fingers trailed along the glass surface. “It will be covered in fingerprints at the end of every day, but it’s very stylish,” she said.
“I’ll be careful not to eat chips or anything cheesy in here,” I laughed.
We went back out to the main space, and I took a slow, critical look around. “Heather, I know I’ve already taken far too much of your time today, but may I take you to lunch so that you can help me decide whether I should take this space?”
She nodded eagerly. “Sure.”
Heather was likely eager to help make the sale. I should have been concentrating on the details of my new home. But all I could think about was getting to know her better in a casual setting so that I could begin setting the groundwork to make her fall completely in love with me.
CHAPTER SEVEN
* Heather *
Everything was indeed happening out of order. I was supposed to meet a guy, then have time to consider whether or not he was a good match for me before we ended up in an intimate situation.
Steve was breaking all of my mental rules. No, that wasn’t fair. I was breaking all of my mental rules, because every single thing about Steve was making my breath catch and my nipples feel tight.
I couldn’t believe that I wrapped my legs around him in the shower stall. I couldn’t believe that I wasn’t still kissing him right now. My thoughts were a tornado, but I had to bring myself back to the task at hand. I had sworn to myself that my only priority this year would be proving myself to Joel, so that he knew I was a good employee.
We quickly toured the amenities of the condo building, while I tried not to imagine myself swimming in the bright teal pool, or sipping fancy drinks in the exclusive lounge.
As soon as we were back outside, Steve said, “Shall we go to that restaurant you like?”
“Sure,” I said.
As soon as we were settled and had ordered lunch, I pulled out a notebook and pen. “So, what were the most important things you were looking for in a new home, and was that place lacking in any way?”
Steve took a sip of water, staring at me with a strange expression. Did I amuse him?
“A real estate agent would be speaking endlessly of every positive feature, while glossing over the negative,” he said. “I quite prefer your approach. Let’s start with anything problematic first.”
He pulled out his phone, searched for a document, and set his phone on the table facing me. It was a tidy list of everything he needed in a home, in order of decreasing importance. He chuckled, his deep voice somehow darkly sexy. “Does it surprise you that I prefer to write things down?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No. I write myself a ton of lists to hold my life together. And hold myself together when I am overwhelmed.”
Reaching across the table, he held my hand gently. “When do you feel overwhelmed?” he asked softly.
I shrugged, choosing my words carefully. I didn’t want him to think I was some kind of flighty, weak girl. “Oh, you know,” I said casually. “Everyone gets stressed sometimes. Now and then it’s healthy to get everything out of your head and onto paper. Or onto your phone.”
“Absolutely,” he smiled. Giving my hand a squeeze, he released it to scroll through his screen.
“The condo was more than large enough for my needs, with the appropriate amount of rooms,” he began. “All of the fixtures were exquisite. The layout was comfortable. The view is better than I expected. The neighborhood seems good. Is it?”
I nodded. “It’s safe, near lots of restaurants and things. It’s about a ten-minute walk to an artsy neighborhood with lots of galleries if you want to select some paintings and photographs to personalize the space.”
“Would you live in this neighborhood?” he asked.
Giggles erupted before I could stop them. “Sure, if I could afford it. Good grief.”
“Where do you live now?”
“East end,” I said. Since he likely didn’t know the city very well, he might not know how run down my particular neighborhood was, so I didn’t go into further detail.
He peppered me with questions about my life, my education, and my interests. If I had time to think about it in advance, I would have better answers prepared. Instead, I admitted my guilty pleasure of watching cooking shows while I did yoga, and reading books from science fiction to ancient history to rock biographies.
It felt like every single thing I said delighted him. I actually felt like a more interesting person, simply by how interested he was in my life. There was something about Steve that made me feel relaxed, which was completely unnatural.
With practically zero experience with men, I would have easily assumed I would become overwhelmed and shut down. Instead, I was laughing at his comments, and squeezing his hand under the table.
We had a lovely lunch, and it sounded like he was eager to learn more about his neighborhood and really become grounded here.
“Your office is close enough to my new condo that I could walk to pick you up from work now and then,” Steve grinned. “We could map out every restaurant, and test them all.”
My stomach tingled from the way he spoke of us as if we were already dating. Then I realized he made another decision as well. “You just referred to that property as your condo,” I practically squealed. “You’ve already made the decision, haven’t you?”
He chuckled as the server cleared our plates. “Very observant, Heather. I suppose I have. It seemed to fulfill every requirement, and you have approved the neighborhood. So I think that we are good to go.”
Grabbing my phone, I sent Joel a quick text saying that Steve would like to purchase the second property.
“Since this is your first real estate sale,” Steve said, “I think we should celebrate.”
“I’m not an agent,” I said quickly. “Don’t even joke about that.”
He ordered us each a glass of sweet red wine and a slice of chocolate cake to share. “Fine, then we’re celebrating my new home,” he said with a wink.
I would rarely indulge in this sort of thing in the middle of the day when I was technically working, but on the other hand, I had to entertain our client.
Joel sent me a message back saying that he would be in the office in an hour, with all of the paperwork prepared so that Steve could simply drop by and make it official.
“We could take our time and walk back to the office,” I said, “Then a few signatures, and the place is yours.”
His gorgeous smile almost felt like an electric jolt zipping through me. “Heather, I’m incredibly happy about my new home. But I’m positively delighted that I found you.”
I had no idea what to say, so I just smiled.
“Tell me that you’ll be my girl,” he said softly. “Tell me that we can date, and I can spoil you with attention.”
I tried to take a slow breath, but knew I probably looked a bit frazzled. “I don’t… I mean, I
want to. But…”
Steve nodded, reaching out to snap the stem of a large pink daisy from the centerpiece, tucking it behind my ear. “You just met me, and it’s too fast. How about this – Will you come to my new place tonight? We could order in pizza and just think about what furniture needs changing.”
“Oh, I have my book club tonight,” I stammered.
He gently stroked my hand on the tablecloth. “That’s all right, sweetheart. Perhaps the next evening?”
My head was nodding before I could even think. “Sure.”
“Wonderful.” He looked unbelievably pleased as he smiled at me. It was strange that he needed me to commit to another date. It was almost as if he needed affirmation that we were indeed together in some way.
Perhaps he needed to have certain things set out in black and white just like I did.
CHAPTER EIGHT
* Steve *
The walk back to Heather’s office was absolutely delightful. She was falling right into the role of tour guide, pointing out landmarks, quirky little pubs, and an almost hidden bookstore.
Holding her hand as we walked, our fingers entwined, I felt like this was it. Heather was the one. Everything about her was exactly what I’d always wanted. She obviously did not play games. She was sweet and charming. She enjoyed clever jokes, but also cheeky, naughty ones.
I understood her desire for order, and hoped that I didn’t overwhelm her too badly. But as far as I was concerned, this was it. I couldn’t wait to have her back to my new home so that she could tell me how she wanted to decorate it. Obviously, we would have to wait a few months before I could move her in with me, but I was willing to wait.
She dropped my hand as we neared her building, flashing me a guilty look. “I understand, it’s alright,” I murmured.
As we went up to the office, Joel came out of the conference room wearing a huge salesperson smile. “Steve, congratulations. I’m so glad that you found a place you like.”
“Thank you for your help with this,” I said, “Especially allowing Heather to escort me for the tours. She was unbelievably helpful. In fact, it was her input that made me choose the second condo.”
Joel grinned, clapping Heather on the shoulder as he led us to the conference room while Heather darted away to her desk. We breezed through all of the paperwork, and since I had no need for a mortgage, it was fairly minimal. “How soon could I take possession?” I asked.
“Since you’re also purchasing almost all of the furniture, immediately,” Joel said. “I’ll have the staging company contact you, and they can make arrangements to pick up and switch out anything you need.”
“Thank you. I’d like to have that done within a few days.”
Joel chuckled as he gave his head a shake. “I appreciate efficiency,” he said. “People who know what they want and simply get the job done.”
Glancing out the window at Heather, I said, “When something is right, you just know. There’s no reason to waste time or stand on ceremony.”
He gave me a strange look, but handed me the keys, and copies of the paperwork.
As we walked back out to the lobby, he shook my hand heartily, then darted back to his office. I instantly turned to Heather. The way she smiled up at me was heartwarming, but she also looked a bit nervous. I noticed that she’d taken the flower from her hair and placed it in a little water glass on her desk.
I handed her my business card. “Thank you so much for your help today. You suggested so many wonderful restaurants on our walk that I might get them all confused later. May I have your number, in case I have any other important neighborhood questions?”
She wrote tidily on the back of a business card and handed it to me. “Thank you for lunch,” she said sweetly. “I hope that you find the perfect new dining room table.”
I chuckled. “I’ll certainly need some advice on that as well. Thank you for a lovely day, Heather.”
Quickly glancing to make sure Joel couldn’t see, I reached out for a split second to trail my fingertips along the side of her sweet little face. Her smile filled me with contentment I couldn’t even understand.
“I hope to speak with you soon,” I said quietly, leaving the office before I touched her again.
CHAPTER NINE
* Heather *
Hearing Joel clearly on the phone in his office, I was able to call up my list of what I had been looking for in a man. Or at least, the qualities that I would require when I allowed myself to begin looking for a boyfriend.
***
The potential boyfriend list:
– He must be gainfully employed, have a reasonably decent home, and basically have his life in order.
– He must really listen to me, and not simply be waiting for his turn to speak.
– There must be a physical spark, like butterflies in the stomach when he touches me.
– He must have a variety of different tastes regarding restaurants, movies, music, etc. This implies that he is open-minded and willing to try new things.
– He must be okay with the fact that I work, and have my own life. He shouldn’t be disappointed or whiny if I have plans that don’t involve him.
– He must enjoy fancy official dates, and hanging out on the couch. Elaborate events and just swinging by the local pub to catch a band because we happen to be walking by. Open to everything.
– He must make me laugh, and be comfortable to be around.
– He must make me feel special, and treasured.
– He must be okay with going slow physically. I might change my mind in the heat of the moment, but I must always feel that I have that option.
***
I tried to stifle my giggling. Steve was checking almost every box so far. I didn’t know where he stood on casual dates and hangouts, but the rest already seemed to be in place. He was also gorgeous, confident, and took control of every situation. But he was not aggressive in the slightest. I appreciated that he didn’t seem irritated at all that I had plans tonight. That was definitely encouraging.
The strange warm feeling that I’d had since I first laid eyes on him now had a focus. He was obviously interested in me. Even though the timeline was a little off, on paper he was the perfect guy for me. I could certainly start dating a few weeks early, as long as my work still came first.
Just thinking about those ridiculously sensual kisses had my heart racing.
There was one thing that I didn’t dare put on the list, for fear it would somehow jinx it. I wanted to feel comfortable and safe for my first time. Some people made a huge deal out of the first person they slept with, and I wasn’t sure how important it was to me, but I wanted it to be... Nice. Enjoyable. I needed to feel that it was special. I knew that Steve would make me feel like a princess, and listen to everything I asked.
Giving my head a shake, I realized the decision was already made. Steve was going to become my boyfriend, and we’d find out what happened next. There would certainly be some adjustments as he moved and got settled in. But I was sure that we could figure it out.
Joel came out of his office after he finished a call and stood in front of my desk giving me a very stern look. “Did I hear you thank Steve for lunch?”
“Yes. We sat down and went over the pros and cons of both properties. When he inadvertently referred to the second one as his new home, I pointed out that he already made the decision,” I grinned.
Joel nodded. “That’s great. But you should have put the lunch on your credit card, and I would have paid you back.”
“I tried, but he insisted. I told him that it was a business expense, but he wouldn’t let me.”
He shook his head. “I always sort of wondered whether you were outgoing enough to work here.”
“Hey now,” I said, trying to sound a bit louder, “He wanted to thank me for helping him. It was a sweet gesture. I think I did a great job of helping to sell a condo this morning. Don’t get fussy because I wasn’t willing to cause a fuss and wrestle him for the lun
ch bill.” I’d never spoken to him so sharply in my life and was nervous about his reaction.
Joel cocked his head, looking at me carefully. “You have a crush on him,” he said flatly. I instantly felt my cheeks flush. “I shouldn’t have to tell you that a relationship with a client is absolutely forbidden,” he said, looking very serious.
“He’s a one time client, not one of our regular partners,” I said weakly. “You’ll never see him again.”
