by Paula Cox
During their days of confinement to the house, they had shortlisted a lot of properties they could lease for their new business. One advantage of being in the property business was they didn’t need any outside help to select the place they wanted. All they had to do was consult the various estate agents, see the place, and then dive into the contract. From then on, it would be a lot of hard work and long hours until they established their firm, but Tania was sure they would make a success of it. There was no doubt Riley was savvy when it came to meeting clients, and she had full faith in her own abilities.
“We should set up base on the east end of town,” he said.
“Of course,” she agreed as they walked into a pizzeria. “That’s the place to be. Initially, we could manage with a small place.”
“It should’ve room for two offices and a waiting area.”
“Yeah.” She grinned. “That’s what I was thinking. We can expand later into bigger premises when we’ve generated enough cash revenue.”
“I give it six months,” he said.
“Maximum a year,” she agreed. “Before we’re the top agency.”
They slapped their hands together in high five as they moved to a corner booth. The waiter came to take their order and, after he left, Riley turned his attention to her. They chalked out the rest of their plan, which was more or less final at this stage. Their forced stay in the house had given them plenty of opportunity to think about their business plan. Riley prepared the numbers while she added the final touches. Tania had good contacts, and she possessed an excellent reputation in the market. Her company let her go, but she still had the guts to try out on her own. And she would succeed. There was no doubt in her mind about that. With Riley firmly in her corner, there was no way she was giving up without a battle.
A man came inside the pizzeria, and Tania jumped. A gasp escaped her lip. “What?” Riley asked , his gaze turning behind him to the guy who was reading the menu. “What?”
She shook her head, aware that her face had lost all color. “Sorry. It’s just…he looks a lot like that goon that Raymond brought with him.”
Riley touched her hand and patted. “It’s over,” he whispered. “We need to put it behind us or we’ll never be able to move forward.”
“You’re right.” She nodded. “It’s just…I’m scared, and I suppose until this case is settled, that feeling of dread would never leave me.”
“We need to get busy with our work as soon as possible. The quicker our minds work in another direction, the sooner we can forget all this.”
Their food came and they dug in. Tania quite agreed with Riley. Work was important. It would be their salvation. They couldn’t afford to worry about their future all the time, especially when it concerned Raymond and his gang. It was vital that she get busy as soon as possible, and that was the reason why Tania started calling her contacts the next day. Within two days, they finalized a space and began the tedious process of making it into an office they could be proud of. Thanks to Jason, they had enough money to splurge, but neither of them wanted to be extravagant.
Three days later, they were ready to start work. Tania touched the cream blinds they put on the window. “If there’s one thing I’ve learnt from this experience, it’s that we need to be more careful.”
“And how does that relate to the blinds?”
“Hey, I could’ve picked those ice-blue curtains that would’ve cost us a fortune, but, since I’ve a new found resolution to be careful, I decided to go with something less expensive and much more simple.”
He grimaced. “You’re right, of course. I’ve selected our laptops. You want to come take a look?”
She went over to his phone and checked out the secondhand laptops that he was buying. Tania sighed. “There is careful, and then there is careful. When it comes to my gadgets, I like them to be brand new.”
“Work with me, sweetheart, and soon you can buy anything you want.”
She stared at his clear, beautiful eyes and felt as if someone was squeezing her heart. The man was too good-looking for his own good, and the best part was that he didn’t have eyes for anyone except for her. She’d gone through hell and back but he was her gift – and she intended to hang on to him. “Sure, okay.”
Within two weeks, everything was exactly as they wanted. The office was set, the ads were placed in the paper, and they started to get calls from their clients. As a matter of protocol, Tania called all her old clients and told them that she’d quit the agency and, if they wanted to work with her, they could contact her in her new premises. Much to her delight, three of them visited her within the first two days. She handed one over to Riley who whisked them away to see the houses and, within two days, they signed on the contract. Another client of hers also approved an office space that she showed him – and just like that, their business was off to a running start.
It felt good, great even.
Of course, two days after that, she got a personal visit from her ex-boss, Brin. He sauntered into her office, took a look at the small space, and wrinkled his nose. “My, my, how the mighty have fallen.”
She glanced up from the paperwork that she’d been dutifully filling and leaned back. Tania was surprised to see him. It wasn’t often that Brin ventured out. “To what do I owe this pleasure, Brin? Take a seat.”
“I don’t have time to stick around. Just wanted to see what you were up to.”
“My usual.” She waved her hand. “As you can see, I’ve set up my own company with a partner.”
“Yeah, well, word on the street is that you’ve lost your mind.”
Tania considered him. Brin was always a competitive soul. It wasn’t necessary a bad quality. She admired people who could set and adhere to high standards, but the thing with him was that he didn’t really like to work hard himself. He enjoyed pushing his agents, making them sweat, while he was usually seated in his air-conditioned office. The fact that he was here showed her company rattled him more than he was prepared to admit.
Tania was perverse enough to admit that she enjoyed seeing him squirm. “I might’ve,” she admitted. Knowing that he was trying to goad her and not giving him the opportunity to do so was gratifying. He was here because he didn’t like her as competition, and Tania was quite aware of that little fact.
“You can’t really make this a success.”
“I already have, actually. We’ve been in these offices for a little less than three weeks, and we’ve got three sales under our belt already.”
He curled his upper lip. “So you’re poaching on my old clients.”
She didn’t mind the insult. “That always happens in this business, or in an any other. I just gave my old clients a call, and they walked right over. Some of them decided to stick with you. That’s great and I don’t mind.”
“Why should you mind? You would take anyone in as long as they paid you.”
“So would you,” she retorted in a calm voice. He was losing his cool. Brin walked here so he could make her squirm, but he was the one who wasn’t having a good laugh now.
“You won’t last long in this business.”
“Don’t be silly, Brin. I’ve been in this business for years. The only difference is that now I’m working for myself and not taking your shit.”
“You bitch! I taught you everything I know, and you’re turning it against me.”
She still didn’t rise to the bait. He could call her all the names that he wanted; she didn’t care. He was here because he was sweating in his boots, and she was glad that she could make him do this. “It’s nothing personal, Brin. I’m trying to earn a living, and so are you.”
“I’ll sue you for taking my clients.”
Now she laughed out loud. He was far more worried than she realized. “Don’t be silly. There isn’t a court in the world that is going to entertain such a crazy lawsuit. I’m free to solicit clients and it doesn't matter which agency they used before me.”
“You won’t get away with i
t.”
“I already have,” she replied.
He lost it. She saw his color flush as red as a beetroot, and then he walked over and picked up the paperweight that was lying on her desk. For the first time since he walked in, she was scared. A scream rose to her lips and it might’ve burst free as he moved his hand.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” drawled a familiar voice. Her gaze traveled to Riley who was leaning against the frame of the door. His face was set as hard as a stone, and there was a fierce glow in his eyes. “If it as much as nicks her, I’m going to bash it on your head but only after I pull your arms and legs out of their sockets. I’ll plead insanity later and probably get off scot free while you’ll spend the rest of your life in a fucking wheelchair.”
His voice was so cold that even she felt a tremor of fear run through her spine. This wasn’t the man she’d gotten to know so well. He was an animal who was defending his territory, his woman, and he would do anything to achieve that end. It appeared Brin also got the same impression, because he immediately put the paperweight on her desk. Tania breathed a sigh of relief while he wrung his hands together.
“It was just a joke.”
“Good for you,” said Riley in that scary, cold voice. He didn’t move a muscle, but Tania could tell he was coiled tightly, and his shoulder muscles were bunched. If Brin made one wrong move, he would be toast. “Now get out.”
Brin swallowed. “It was good seeing you, Tania.”
She nearly laughed out at the pale color of his skin. He was nearly shitting in his pants. Riley could be scary when he wanted to be. “Sure, Brin. Next time you feel the urge to talk to me, it would be better if you called.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He spared a glance at Riley who was still at the doorway. There was enough space for Brin to step around but he appeared to be reluctant to get close enough to the man whom he obviously considered to be a threat.
Tania took pity on him. “Riley.” Understanding what she wanted, Riley stepped inside the room and Brin took that opportunity to run out. A laugh escaped her lips but she waited until they both heard the front door close. “That was mean.”
“He was going to hit you with that thing.”
She shook her head. “In all the years, I’ve worked for him, he has never been violent. Aggressive, yes. Mean, yes. Rude, yes. But he never hit anyone or threw things. I think what irked him most is the realization that we’re going to beat him at his own game. He doesn’t like losing, and now that we’re fast becoming a threat, he’s just scared.”
Riley ran a hand through his hair. “He should be scared. We bagged another client. I closed the deal an hour ago on the Truman building.”
Her eyes widened. Tania stood and walked out from behind the desk. “That’s our biggest contract yet! I thought that old woman would never give way. How did you win her over?”
“Sweetheart, you underestimate my charm.”
She winkled her brow, walked over, and delivered a kiss on his lips. “That’s very bad of me. What can I do to make it up?”
“Hmmm…that’s a tempting offer.” he stole another kiss. “Let me think about it, and I’m sure I can come up with the right punishment for a naughty girl like you. In the meantime, why don’t we go out and celebrate our latest victory?”
“Sure. Let’s wrap up and meet in two hours.”
After he left, Tania went back to work. Already, she felt a lot more hopeful about their business. With Riley, she’d the perfect partner. He was keen, eager, and worked as hard as her. Together, they would rule this city but first, of course, they had to put in the hours. Tania didn’t have any doubt that they would succeed. No doubt at all.
Chapter Twenty Seven
Riley was deliriously happy with his life. Sure, once he’d imagined making it to the board in the biker’s club, but now he had different goals in his mind. Once Tania was in his life, he didn’t want anything else but to make her his, and now that they were working together, everything was great.
Nothing excited him more than to wake up next to the woman whom he loved and go to work alongside her. They were already working enough hours and making a good pile of money despite it just being the beginning of their business. The good thing was that they complimented each other; her strengths were his weaknesses and his strengths were her weaknesses, so, together, they covered each other well.
As they walked into the restaurant to celebrate their latest win in the dog-eat-dog real estate world, Riley felt good about a lot of things. Sure, it took them a lot of time to come to this state but now that they were here, he felt on top of the world. Nothing could beat his happiness. He drew out a chair and helped her sit and took a seat opposite her.
“This feels good,” he declared.
She accepted the menu from the waiter. “What? The restaurant?”
“No, being here with you, working with you, celebrating our successes together. That’s what life is all about.”
“So gone are the days of the dangerous rider, the biker dude,” she teased.
He pulled a face. “Misspent youth. Well, not youth, exactly. Actually…I’ve located another biker’s club.”
“No, Riley.” She shook her head. “Please, no.”
He held her hand while she tried to tug it free. “Listen to me. It’s not what you’re thinking. I’ve questioned them at length, and they’ve assured me they’re not involved in any illegal activities. All they do is meet on the weekend and go for long rides.”
“They don’t have plans to blow up warehouses and collect insurance money?”
“No, I asked them point blank and their chief informed me that they wouldn’t even know where to begin.”
“I hope you didn’t give him blow by blow account of how it could be done.”
He paused, looked away, and then smiled. “No, I didn’t. Do you think I learnt nothing from that experience? Trust me, these guys are legit. They love to ride, and best of all…there are as many women as men in the club.”
She puckered her lips as she considered his words. “So I can join?”
“Oh, obviously. It would be something we could do together.”
He could see the temptation in her eyes. If there were one thing he was absolutely grateful for – apart from, of course, the entire package that was Tania – it was that she loved to ride. He was the one who introduced her to it, and she took to it as if she were born on a bike. She gazed at him as if seeing how serious he was about the whole proposal and he kept his face appropriately somber. Just because he got into trouble with one biker’s club didn’t mean he intended to ban them from his life until the end of his days. It would be good if she agreed because he wanted to enjoy this activity with her.
“Okay, sure. We’ll give it a trial run and see how it goes.”
He didn’t pump his arm in the air even though he wanted to. “Wonderful.”
The waiter came to take their order and they placed their requests. She chose pasta while he went for snow fish. Life was settling back into a good pattern. He loved the work they did together and took a great amount of pride in it.
“I’ve to go back to pick up some things from the apartment,” he told her after the waiter brought their food.
She pulled a face. “Going back to that place gives me the creeps. You nearly died in there.”
“We nearly died in there,” he corrected her. “It was just plain dumb luck that we got away…but you don’t have to go with me. In and out, it will take me fifteen minutes. Now that Raymond is behind bars, I don’t think we would have any trouble.”
Tania ate. “I’ve been thinking…”
“What?”
“It’s just that your apartment has been sitting empty for a long time. You’re always over at my place.”
“Already bored of me?”
She glared at him and then resumed eating. “Don’t be silly. You’re the love of my life.”
“A man could never tire of hearing that.” She smiled and her beauty h
it him in the gut like a punch. He took a breath to calm his mind.
“Yeah, well. It’s true. So since we’re working together and practically living together, I think it might be a good idea to live together.”
It was his turn to stare at her. Although his heart was doing somersaults inside his chest, Riley didn’t give away his emotions. “You’re asking me to move in with you?”
She frowned. “You don’t have to make a big production out of it. It just seems practical to get rid of that apartment. Why pay rent on it when you’re not even living there anymore?”