by Sandi Lynn
“Ham, mushrooms, green pepper and onion. Good?”
The corners of his mouth curved upward. “Excellent choice.”
I looked away, went to the kitchen, and opened a bottle of wine.
“Can I pour you a glass of wine?”
“Yeah. That’ll be great. Judging by some of the boxes, I’d say you just moved in.”
“I moved in a couple days ago.” I handed him his glass. “I flew in right from Hawaii.”
“I see. Sauvignon Blanc, eh?” He cleared his throat.
That’s what he did when he was nervous. Only he didn’t know I knew. He’d done it the first couple of days after we met in Hawaii.
“I thought you were in California?”
“I was in Hawaii meeting a client.”
“Where at in Hawaii?” he asked.
“The Four Seasons Resort in Maui.”
“Nice.” He cleared his throat.
The doorbell rang and he was saved.
“That must be the pizza,” I said.
“I’ll get it.” He walked over to the door.
I grabbed two plates from the cabinet and smiled when I looked down and saw Duchess eating her food.
“Do you just want me to set it on the table?” Grant asked.
“Yeah. That’s fine.”
I grabbed a couple of napkins and took the plates over to the table.
Chapter 9
Grant
I couldn’t believe I was speaking to her again after all these years. She was going to want an explanation and I wasn’t willing to give one, for tonight was finding out all about her.
“The last time we spoke you had plans to go to college to become a teacher. How did you get into real estate?” I asked as I took a slice of pizza from the box.
“A friend of mine talked me into taking real estate classes with her the summer we graduated high school. She didn’t have any plans on going to college and I wasn’t sure anymore that I wanted to be a teacher, so I put off college for a year and we took the classes together.
“Did you end up going to college?” I asked.
“No. I found I loved selling real estate, and I was making decent money in New Jersey. My friend and I decided if we could do as well as we were in New Jersey, we could do even better in New York. At that time, my dad accepted a job offer in L.A. So, my friend and I got an apartment together in New York, took the NYS exam and got our license. It was tougher than we thought, and the market was going downhill quickly at the time. Our living expenses were way too high, and we couldn’t keep up. So, she moved back to New Jersey and in with her parents, and I went out to California where my dad and stepmom were. I got licensed out there and ended up working for Glassman & Ellis Real Estate. Walt Glassman was the realtor my father dealt with when they were looking for houses. After working for him for two years, he suggested I go for my broker’s license.”
“You did and the rest is history?” The corners of my mouth curved upward.
“The rest is history.” Her lips gave way to a small smile.
“Why did you come back to New York?”
She picked up her wine glass, finished it off and poured some more.
“My parents were killed in a car accident a year ago, and I recently broke up with the guy I was seeing. I felt like I needed a fresh start.”
“Wow, Bella. I’m sorry about your parents. And your relationship of course.”
“Thanks, Grant.”
I felt bad about her parents. I’d met them in Hawaii and they were nice people. They certainly didn’t deserve to die so soon. But hearing her say she was with a guy really irritated me. I had no right to feel that way, but I did.
“How long were you with the guy?” I asked.
“A little over a year. I had just met him a couple months before my parents died.” She took a sip of her wine. “How about you? Is there special someone in your life?”
“No.” I let out a chuckle.
“Say what?” She set her glass down. “You still a love em and leave em type of guy?”
I narrowed my eye at her as a smirk crossed my lips.
“I guess I am.”
Suddenly, Duchess jumped on my lap.
“Whoa.” I picked her up and set her back on the floor, then proceeded to brush my pants with my hand. “Last thing I need is cat hair all over this expensive suit.”
“I take it you don’t like cats?” She cocked her head.
“It’s not that I don’t like them. Duchess is rather — furry. Now, I think we should get down to business.” I leaned back in my chair. “I want you to come work for me.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Because you’re good.”
“You basically ripped my head off via text and accused me of sabotaging your listing.”
“I did, and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I just thought—”
“You thought I was trying to get revenge because you broke your promise to me.” Her brow raised.
“Well. Yeah. I did. I would never treat a client the way you did. But it closed the deal and—”
“You’re a happy little real estate mogul again.” She smirked.
“Yeah. Something like that.” I gave her a small smile. “So, what do you say?”
She went silent for a few moments while she stared at me from across the table.
“I want an assistant,” she said. “I plan on being very busy and I need someone who will have my back and get things done when I can’t.”
“You’ll have access to the rest of my team.”
“Nope. They have their own shit to do. I want someone to exclusively work for me. I want a Tom.”
I sat there and slowly nodded my head as I listened to her demands.
“If I get you one, you’ll take the job?”
“That is to be determined. I also want a car and a driver at the company’s expense.”
“Nobody on my team has that. Nor do they have assistants.”
“I think I’ve proved my worth, Mr. Roman. I just closed an $11.5 million dollar deal that neither you nor your team could in the last year. You were on the verge of getting fired from the listing, and I save you from that.”
“And I upped the commission from three percent to four. Have you forgotten that?”
“No—” She tilted her head as if she was going to say something else but stopped. “I appreciate your offer to come work for you, but I’m going to have to decline.” She got up from the table and grabbed both our paper plates and tossed them in the garbage.
“Now wait a minute.” I stood up from my chair. “You need me, Bella.”
She let out a frightening laugh. “I don’t need you or anyone else. And if you think I’m that shy, timid, young, naïve sixteen-year-old girl you met in Hawaii, I suggest you think again.”
I stared at her as I placed my hands in my pants pocket. Fuck, she was turning me on.
“Fine. The assistant, the car, and the driver are yours. Be at the office tomorrow morning at eight a.m. In fact, since you’re right around the corner from me, I’ll pick you up at seven thirty,” I spoke as I headed towards the door to leave.
“Don’t forget to say goodbye to Duchess!” she shouted as I stepped out of her apartment and shut the door.
I pushed the button to the elevator and stood there as I ran my hand over my face. I wasn’t so sure how all of this was going to go over with my team, not to mention my father. It was late, but I was willing to take my chances. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I called him.
“Hello,” he answered.
“Are you home?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“I need to come over and talk to you.”
“Don’t you think it’s kind of late. I thought you were seeing Bella.”
“I just left her place.”
“Alright. Come on over, but you need to make it quick.”
My father lived in the penthouse one floor up from me. He built it, so it was only right he took own
ership of the top floor. When the doors opened, I stepped into the foyer. Walking to the kitchen, I saw a young woman standing there in one of my father’s t-shirts. Shit.
“Hey, handsome. You must be Grant. “I’m Karina.” She smiled.
“Um, hi. How old are you, Karina?”
“Twenty-seven.”
“That’s what I thought. Where is my father?”
“He’s in the bedroom.”
“I’m right here,” my father spoke as he walked down the stairs in a pair of black silk pajama bottoms.
He walked over to the bar in the living room and poured us each a scotch.
“What’s going on?” He handed me a glass. “Karina, darling, give us some privacy. I’ll be up in a few minutes.”
“Okay, tiger.” She blew him a kiss.
“Really, Dad? She’s twenty-seven.”
“Age is just a number, Grant. Now what’s so important that couldn’t wait until the morning?”
“Bella accepted my offer to work for us.”
“Okay. I didn’t think she was dumb enough to turn you down.”
“She only accepted with certain conditions.”
“Which are?”
“An assistant of her own, a car and a driver. All at the company’s expense.”
“And you told her yes?” He finished off his drink.
“I didn’t have a choice. She wasn’t going to accept if I didn’t meet her terms. If I would have let her turn us down, the competition would snatch her up and give her what she wants. She’ll be an asset to us.”
“Did you ever stop to think that maybe her selling that penthouse was just a fluke?”
“Trust me. It’s not. I pulled up her stats. She sold two billion dollars last year just on her own.”
“Impressive. You made the right decision then. But if she fails to prove her worth, then cuts will have to be made.” He patted my shoulder. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to Karina.” A smirk crossed his lips.
I shook my head as he walked up the stairs.
Chapter 10
Bella
I settled in bed for the night and Duchess jumped up and curled herself next to me. Reaching over, I began petting her soft fur. Slowing closing my eyes, I fell asleep and dreamt of a memory that was created fourteen years ago.
“You look really pretty.” Grant smiled as he took my hand and led me inside his suite where music was playing.
“Thank you.” A bashful smile crossed my lips.
It was the second day and second time we were spending with each other.
“Where’s your dad?” I asked.
“He met some woman and they’re down at the beach.”
“I thought your parents were married and your mom couldn’t come because she got sick.”
“Uh, yeah. I kind of lied. Sorry about that. They’re divorced. I guess I was too embarrassed to tell you that.”
“Oh. It’s cool. Lots of kid’s parents get divorced.”
“Before we head out, I’m going to have a glass of scotch. How about a glass of wine?” He held up the bottle.
“Your dad won’t care?”
“Nah. He’s cool.”
He poured some in a glass and handed it to me. Slowly bringing the glass to my lips, I took a sip and he chuckled.
“You don’t like Sauvignon Blanc?”
“It’s fine.”
He stared at me and cocked his head.
“Have you ever had wine before?”
I swallowed hard because I was embarrassed to admit it. Who hadn’t had wine at sixteen?”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to drink it.”
“No. Actually, it’s pretty good.”
Over the speakers in the room, the song “You Want to Make A Memory” by Bon Jovi started playing. Grant took the glass from me, set it down and grabbed my hand.
“What are you doing?” I laughed.
“I like this song and I want to dance with you.” He flashed a sexy smile as he twirled me and then pulled me into him.
We swayed back and forth to the melody as his arms were wrapped around my waist and mine around his neck. The smell of his cologne invaded my senses. Crisp, clean and woodsy. A smell I would never forget. Our eyes gazed into each other’s, and my knees grew weak. I felt as if I was melting in his arms. He leaned forward and brought his mouth mere inches from mine and hesitation was the enemy. With a subtle movement, our lips touched as the song still played. My body trembled as our soft kiss turned intense and his tongue met mine. I’d kissed boys before, but I had never been kissed like that. I broke our kiss and shyly smiled while he brought his hand up to my cheek and gently stroked it.
“You’re so beautiful, Bella. I’m really happy I met you.”
“Me too, Grant.”
My eyes flew open and as my heart raced at the speed of light, Duchess let out a meow alerting me that I had disturbed her slumber. What the hell was I thinking accepting his offer?
It was five-thirty a.m. when I climbed out of bed, threw my hair back into a ponytail and slipped into my running clothes. As I ran along the Hudson River, the sun rose, and more people emerged to get their morning run and bike ride in before starting their hectic day. It was six a.m. when I dialed Ami. I knew she was up because she went running at that time every day.
“Hey you.”
“Hey. I need to talk. Are you running?”
“I just left the house. What’s going on?”
“Grant came over last night.”
“And?” she asked.
“I accepted his job offer and now I’m regretting it. Being near him has brought back so many memories of Hawaii. Memories I fought so hard to forget. Not only the memories of our time together, but the memories of how I was after. I knew this would happen. I thought I was over it all.”
“You’re going to have those types of memories. He was your first love, and he broke your heart. That’s something that never goes away because first love never dies. But you can’t let it control your life. Let’s meet for dinner tonight at Coco Pazzo in SoHo. I’ll call and make the reservations and we can talk.”
“Okay. Sounds good.”
“I have my last patient at six-thirty, so I’ll make reservations for eight o’clock. Just take a deep breath. You’re not that same young girl anymore.”
“I know.” I let out a sigh. “Thanks, Ami.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll see you tonight.”
By the time I got back to my apartment, showered, and dressed, it was twenty minutes after seven. I had ten minutes until Grant was picking me up, which I couldn’t believe I agreed to. Duchess rubbed against my leg so I bent down, picked her up and gave her a kiss.
“Wish me luck today,” I said to her as she purred.
The knock at the door startled me as I set her down and opened it.
“Good morning.” He grinned.
“Good morning. You could have just shot me a text and I would have met you downstairs.”
“I could have done that. I guess it’s the gentleman in me.” He smirked.
Gentleman my ass.
“Are you ready?” He looked at his watch.
“Come in for a second. I just need to grab my purse.”
As I walked to the bedroom, I snickered when I heard him tell Duchess not to rub against his expensive designer suit.
“Ready.” I opened the door and we headed down to the lobby.
“My car is just down here,” Grant said as we stepped onto the sidewalk.
He opened the door to his Range Rover, and I slipped inside.
“Bella, this is my driver, Mateo. Mateo, this is Bella Marcus. She’s a new broker at The Roman Group.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mateo.” I extended my hand over the seat.
“The pleasure is all mine.” He lightly shook my hand.
I would admit that sitting in the back of his car was a little uncomfortable and weird. Not as weird as it was having him at my apartment last night,
but nonetheless, weird. As I sat there while he was texting on his phone, the same clean, woodsy smell invaded the space in the back. The same smell that drove me crazy fourteen years ago.
“My dad wants me to go with him to check out a building this afternoon, so I’m going to send you to a listing pitch I have scheduled at West 18th in Chelsea.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
Mateo pulled up to the building on Fifth Avenue and Grant and I both climbed out. Stepping through the double doors, I looked around the modern lobby.
“We occupy floors sixteen through eighteen. Floor sixteen is the financial floor. Seventeen is where my office and my team are. And the eighteenth floor is where my father’s office is and his development team. I’ll take you up to meet him first.”
“I’ve already met him, remember?” I arched my brow as we stepped inside the elevator.
“Right.” He smirked.
When the doors opened to the eighteenth floor, a young woman with auburn colored hair sat behind a glass desk.
“Hi, Grant.” She smiled in a flirtatious way.
“Hi, Lacy. This is Bella Marcus. She’s a new broker I hired.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Lacy.” I extended my hand.
“Nice to meet you too,” she spoke with uncertainty when she placed her hand in mine.
“My father is in his office, right?”
“Yes. He just got in a few minutes ago.”
We walked down the hall and to the large corner office made up of glass.
“Hello, son,” he spoke as he stood up from his desk.
“Dad, you remember Bella?”
“Wow. Look at you all grown up.” He smiled as he walked over and kissed my cheek. “It’s good to see you again, sweetheart.”
“It’s nice to see you again, Mr. Roman.”
“Please, call me Myles. Welcome to The Roman Group, and congratulations on closing that deal.”
“Thank you. It wasn’t hard.” I smirked.
“I think you’re going to do just fine here.” He gave me a wink.
“I’m going to take her down and introduce her to the staff,” Grant spoke.
“Okay. Meet me in the lobby at one o’clock so we can go take a look at the building.”
We took the elevator down to the seventeenth floor where Grant introduced me to everyone.