Taylor adds, “Listen, I know he scares you. I know this is one of the most intense relationships you’ve ever had. But you’re either in this all the way, or you’re not. You can’t keep waiting for him to drop the ball on you and turn out to be the biggest asshole of all time.”
I sigh, my face warming. “I guess you’re—”
My cellphone ringing on my desk breaks my eye contact with her. One look at the screen tells me I have to go. “Babe, I gotta take that, it’s Liv.” I yank my feet off the edge of the desk. “I’ll call you later, okay?”
Taylor blows me a kiss. “X and O.”
“Back atcha.” I end FaceTime, grab my cell, and press the Talk button. “Hi, Liv.”
“Yes, it’s Sunday and I shouldn’t be calling,” she says, voice chipper. “But you’ll be happy about this call. Promise.” She pauses. “Well, you’ll be happy about the first part anyway.”
I don’t pretend to know what she’s talking about, but I do know something. “You’re right, you shouldn’t be calling because you shouldn’t be working.”
“Please.” Liv snorts. “Like you’re not totally sitting behind your computer right now trying to find the Lowes a house.”
“Okay, you win. Point for you.” I laugh softly, pulling one leg underneath me, staring off at the high-rise next to my condo. “What’s up?”
“Kevin called me because he couldn’t get ahold of you.”
“Shit! He called me?” I never heard the phone ringing this morning, but I also hadn’t checked to see if anyone had called either after I got out of the shower. God, I gotta get my head back in the game. “What did he say?”
“His clients have agreed to let the Lowes see their house.”
“That’s fabulous news!” I exclaim, bouncing in my seat. Mainly because it means I won’t have to spend hours today looking at MLS listings and I can curl up with a good book, reading the afternoon away.
“I know, right? Awesome stuff.” I can hear the smile in Liv’s voice when she adds, “So, I’ve been chatting with the Lowes over email this morning and I’ve scheduled you to meet them at Kevin’s house on Monday morning at nine. Okay?”
“You’re the best.” I glance away from the high-rise to Union Square, seeing all the people looking like blurry ants. This deal needs to work out and I’m crossing my fingers that it does. I grab my mouse and hit the Send & Receive button, then I delete the couple of spam messages in my inbox. “So, if we’re looking at the house on Monday, I’m wondering if you should—”
“Already on it,” Liv quips, a
nd I can hear her fingers typing on the keyboard. “I’m sending all the information on the property to your email right…now.” The pride at being such a badass assistant echoes off her sassy tone, as her email is delivered to my in-box. “Okay, so for the second thing…” She hesitates, drawing in a long breath before getting very serious. “Micah stormed into our office a couple minutes ago. I think he thought you were here or something, because he looked so disappointed when he saw me. I told him you never work on Sundays, and that I only dropped in quick to get the details on the property for you. After that…well, let’s just say it didn’t go over well. He looks horrible.”
“What do you mean, horrible?”
“Like someone gave him the cutest puppy ever.” Liv pauses, for dramatic effect, I’m sure. “And then went serial ax murderer on it. Seriously, he looks like he didn’t sleep at all last night.”
“Weird.”
“Mmm-hmm,” she adds, then her voice lifts. “Remember when I said you must have the secret to snag a billionaire?”
“Yes, I recall such a statement,” I muse.
“Well, apparently, it’s not a secret, it’s a drug, because that guy is jonesing for you.”
I’m wondering how I can hate to hear something and love it at the same time, when she continues. “But I thought I would warn you, because it kinda seemed like he planned—”
A loud knock bangs on my front door.
“To come to my house?” I finish for her.
“Glad to know my instincts are still sharp,” Liv mutters, dryly. “Good luck.”
“It’s not luck I need,” I tell her, dead serious, hearing another loud knock. “It’s willpower.”
Micah
I raise my hand to knock again when Allie’s door suddenly flies open. Regardless of my mood, my mouth twitches. She looks cute this morning. Her hair is resting on top of her head in a loose bun, and she’s wearing black yoga pants and a tight soft pink T-shirt, detailing the tempting curves of her breasts.