A Champion's Proposal

by Tina Martin

  He sat down with his legs spaced apart and said, “What do you think I want?”

  “Um—” she grabbed her head like it would help jog her memory. “That house. You want an update on the house.”

  “Are you alright?”

  “Yes,” she said, trying to force a smile, but it came across as weak and pathetic. “I’m—I’m—” Jemisha sighed. She’d finally had enough of faking happiness. Faking her success. She was in over her head and this was the pinnacle of it all.

  “Stand up for a minute,” Mordecai said.

  She frowned. “Huh?”

  “Stand up.”

  Exasperated, she said, “I’m having a really sucky day, okay. I’ll call you later.”

  Mordecai walked around her desk to where she was sitting. He extended a hand to her and said, “Stand up.”

  She looked at his hand then up at his face. He wasn’t smiling. There was no smirk. He was being genuine. Reluctantly, she took his hand and stood. “Now what?”

  “Close your eyes,” he instructed as he took her other hand.

  Jemisha didn’t want to but she went along with it. She closed her eyes and felt her hands tremble in his.

  “Breathe. Take a long, deep breath in and then release it through your mouth. Slowly.”

  She followed his instructions, pulled in a long breath and slowly released it. Several times she did this and then opened her eyes. “Why do you have me doing this?”

  “Because you’re stressed out.”

  “I’m not stressed out,” she said releasing his hands and returning to her seat. “I’m trying my best to make something work that isn’t working.”

  “What’s not working?” he asked even though he already knew the answer.

  “Juggling so many different things at once. Running a business is a lot harder than I imagined it would be.”

  Mordecai walked back toward the front of her desk and took a seat.

  “But you’re not here to listen to complaints. You’re here for your house,” she said, ruffling through a stack of papers on her desk. “Here it is—they countered your offer. You offered six-hundred forty-five and they countered with six-hundred forty-eight.”

  “Sold,” Mordecai said. “Write it up.”

  “Okay. First, I will need to let them know you’ve accepted the offer and then we’ll go from there. Actually, I’ll do that right now while you’re in my office.”

  “Good.” He leaned back in his chair and watched her for a minute. Then he stood up, walked around her desk and watched her work, admiring her penmanship. She had a beautiful signature, he thought.

  Busy with the paperwork, Jemisha wasn’t paying him much attention until she felt him looming behind her seconds before his strong, large hands circled her neck and applied gentle pressure. Her whole body locked up.

  “What are you—?”

  “Work. I’m just helping you relax.”

  Helping her relax…felt more like he was putting her to sleep. Jemisha couldn’t focus while his hands worked her neck and shoulders. Her body tingled at his touch and the strength of his fingers. If he had that much power in his hands, then the rest of his body must’ve been off the charts. She closed her eyes, just short of moaning. Drifting. Nothing compared to the touch of a man. Jeez, she could get used to this.

  Mordecai used his thumb in circular motions on her neck, working out the kinks that stress had caused her. The commission she’d make on this home sale would solve a lot of her problems, he thought, but he wasn’t privy to her finances. Maybe it would help, but for how long?

  Jemisha opened her eyes again and attempted to work. She said, “Um—okay I need you to sign and date at the bottom of this page.”

  Mordecai was in no hurry to take his hands off of her. He said, “Okay. Give me a minute.” He deepened the massage, applied pressure to her shoulder blades, then sent powerful strokes with his thumb up and down the center of her neck. He listened to her whimper a few times, then decided he’d done a good enough job. For now.

  He took a pen from her desk, signed and dated the paper.

  “As soon as they officially accept, we can get together with the closing agent, the buyer and sign all the papers, then the house will be yours.”

  “Who makes the arrangements for that?”

  “I do.”

  “And are you sure you can handle it?”

  She looked offended. “Of course. Why do you ask?”

  “Well, it’s a little unsettling that I can’t get ahold of you whenever I need you, Jemisha. You’re my agent, but three times I’ve attempted to contact you today and didn’t get a response. I had to come here.”

  “Um—you’re right. I apologize for that. It won’t happen again.” She checked her watch. “It’s still early. You’ll hear from me today.”

  “I’ll be waiting,” he told her, then said “And you’re stressed. When you get home tonight, take a hot bubble bath or something. You need it.”

  “And you can tell that from rubbing on my neck for five minutes?”

  “I can tell a lot by touching a woman.”

  She narrowed her eyes, not believing a word he’d said. “Like what?”

  “Like the last time she’s been touched. How stressed out she is. How comfortable she is in her own skin.”

  “And what did you find out about me?”

  “I’ll just say a hot bubble bath will do you a world of good.” He headed toward the door and said, “I’ll be waiting for some form of communication from you. Doesn’t matter how I get it. I just want it.”

  He closed the door.

  Left her to her thoughts.

  Goodness. She could still feel his hot hands on her neck. She could get used to those kinds of neck and back rubs on a regular, but they had to come from him. Only him.

  Jeez. What am I thinking, she asked herself, but there was no use in denying her obvious attraction to the man.

  Chapter 15

  “He’s actually buying a house. I can’t believe it,” Jemisha said to Savannah.

  “I can’t either. I’m impressed. My brother-in-law is growing up. Now, he can move you right on in that fancy house.”

  “He ain’t moving me nowhere! I said he bought a house. My only role is securing the deal.”

  “Yeah, and he’s securing a deal, too. You gotta be out of your mind if you don’t think Mordecai has a thing for you.”

  Judging by the way he stared at her and that impromptu backrub moments ago, she was sure he had a thing for her but she told Savannah, “Girl, Mordecai has a thing for every woman.” She said it but didn’t want to believe it.

  “Not lately. They say a man will change for the right woman.”

  “That may be true, but why do you think I’m that woman.”

  “There’s something about whenever we’re all together. Speaking of being together, when are you coming for a visit. I’m in desperate need of girl conversation and margaritas.”

  “Oh, gosh. Me, too. How about this weekend? I can leave tomorrow around noon.”

  “Wait—aren’t you in the middle of house-hunting with Mordecai?”

  “Well, no since he’s put in an offer on one. Plus, I seriously need to get away for the weekend.”

  “Okay, well call me when you’re on your way.”

  “I will.”

  Jemisha went about submitting the offer papers to the seller’s agent. Her phone rang about a half hour after she’d done so.

  “Rayford Real Estate.”

  “Hi, Jemisha. It’s Joan. I just got the offer. So, the buyers have accepted the counter-offer?”

  “Yes. He really fell in love with the house.”

  “Wait—he? Your buyer is married isn’t he? Please tell me he’s married.”

  “No, he’s not married. What does that have to do with buying a home?”

  “Oh…no,” Joan said.

  “I don’t like the sound of that. Please tell me there’s not a problem.”

  “There is and I’
m sorry I didn’t mention this sooner. I thought it was included in the listing, but—”

  “Just give it to me straight, Joan.”

  “Okay, uh…this listing is unique in that the neighborhood is a government-mandated community that controls who can move into the neighborhood. Right now, houses in this area can only be owned by married couples. Unfortunately, my hands are tied on this one.”

  “But my buyer really wants this house, Joan. Can you just put it through and see if it sticks?”

  Joan sighed. “I could, but I’m going to be upfront with you. I’ve run across another property with similar restrictions that’s right down the street from this one. I tried to put it through and it didn’t work. I’ll give it a go, but keep your fingers crossed.”

  This isn’t good. This is not good. “Okay, what if the buyer is getting married in the next few weeks?”

  “He’s getting married?”

  “Well, he’s engaged,” Jemisha said, lying, “But if he wants this house, the wedding date can be moved up.”

  “As long as I see a marriage certificate at closing, we’re good.”

  “Okay. Thanks, Joan, but in the meantime, let’s proceed as planned to see if we can secure the house without having to do that.”

  “Will do. I’ll let you know.”

  Jemisha hung up the phone without an ounce of optimism. Seemed every time she thought she was taking a step forward, she took two back. She wasn’t supposed to be working with Mordecai, but he found a way to schmooze her into being his agent, even after she did things to make him change his mind. Either way, it turned out well for her because he legitimately wanted this house. She stood to make a pretty good commission that would have her paying off the lease on the office space and taking care of other late bills. It would give her a boost. Make her see she was on the right path no matter how many times her mother told her to throw in the towel.

  Now, all the hard work could potentially go down the drain because of a stupid government ordinance.

  She couldn’t keep Mordecai in the dark about this one. She pulled in a breath, put on her big girl panties and sent him a text.

  Jemisha: Hi. Are you available?

  Mordecai: I’m always available for you.

  She tried not to read too much into his response although that’s probably what he wanted her to do.

  Jemisha: Always available regarding the house, yes, I know. That’s what I need to talk to you about.

  Mordecai: Is this your round-a-bout way of asking me out to dinner?

  Jemisha smiled. No, she wasn’t asking him out to dinner, but it was dinnertime and—

  Wait…was she really entertaining the idea of going to dinner with him?

  Jemisha: No. I’m not asking you to dinner.

  Mordecai: Well, I’m hungry. Throw out some restaurant suggestions

  Jemisha: I have to discuss something about the house with you. I can call

  Mordecai: If you were going to call me, you would’ve called me. Pick a restaurant so we can talk in person.

  “Urgh,” she grunted. “You are impossible, Mordecai Champion.”

  Jemisha: Okay. Fine. Can you meet me at The Fork ‘N’ Cork in thirty minutes?

  Mordecai: I’ll be there.

  She packed up her laptop and other papers she needed since she hadn’t planned on coming into the office tomorrow. She’d meet Mordecai, discuss the new developments with the house situation and be on her way out of town for the weekend to spend some time with Savannah – a much-needed break from the chaos of real estate.

  Chapter 16

  Mordecai arrived at the restaurant first. He sat waiting patiently for Jemisha for ten minutes, dodging eye contact with several women who tried to get his attention. It was hard being a wanted man. But he was the kind of man who preferred to pursue rather than be pursued. And the woman he wanted was late. She said she’d meet him in thirty minutes. Forty minutes later, she still wasn’t there. Was she going to be a no-show?

  He glanced at his watch and looked up quickly when he heard her say, “I know, I know. I’m late. Shoot me.”

  He looked her up and down. She had on a navy blue pantsuit today. “You came straight from the office?”

  “I did,” she said pulling out a chair. “I had to write up the paperwork, and I talked to the seller’s agent about the house.”

  “Wait—before you get into all that, take a breath, Jemisha.”

  “I’m okay, Mordecai. I don’t need you to tell me to take a breath. I can handle myself.”

  “I’m sure you can, but we all need a chance to breathe. You’re all work. No fun. No nothing. Why don’t you take some time to look at the menu, order a drink? Everything’s on me.”

  Jemisha picked up the menu and said, “Ooh, look at that. They make a ‘hot mess’ burger here. I should get that since it’s basically an accurate description of my life.”

  Mordecai broke his attention away from the menu to look up at her. “Your life is a hot mess?”

  “In more ways than you know.”

  “Enlighten me.”

  She glanced up, briefly connecting to hazel eyes that were filled with either concern or passion. “Ah…” She fanned herself with the menu.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “I just got hot all of a sudden. I need some water.”

  Mordecai threw up his hand to get their waitress’s attention then requested two glasses of water.

  Jemisha took the glass when the waitress came back and nearly chugged it all down in one sitting. “What were we talking about again?” she asked.

  “You were in the middle of comparing your life to a hot mess burger.”

  She laughed. “Yes, I was, wasn’t I. Well, the deal is, my life isn’t as well planned out as I lead on. A lot is going wrong for me.”

  “Such as—”

  “Well, this house situation for instance. I wasn’t sure I’d find a house for you. You were very particular with what you wanted.”

  “But you found a house.”

  “Yes, I did and now, it could be in jeopardy.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, I messed up, big time and you know what, Mordecai? I’m not going to order anything to eat because I probably couldn’t keep it down if I did. Let me tell you some truths about me since you seem so interested. I’m in debt. I owe money on my office space, my house. My car. I cleaned out my savings account to move to another state and start my business. In my mind, all I could see was success, but when I moved here, I realized how difficult it really was. My mother has been telling me to come home for the longest. She never had faith in me to pull this thing off and now I’m starting to believe she was right all along. Had I listened, I’d still be in Charleston with my old job, a good savings account and my sanity—well some of my sanity.”

  Jemisha hung her head then continued, “The agent informed me that the house – the house you want – is in some stupid government-mandated neighborhood. Only families and couples can move there. If I was a good agent, I’d known that upfront, but the truth of the matter is, I’m not a good agent. I’m a woman trying to make it as an agent, but I’ve failed. I’ve officially failed and this is proof. So, what I wanted to tell you is, you need to find a new agent, Mordecai, because I’m closing up shop.”

  Mordecai frowned. “You can’t be serious.”

  “I’m very serious. And truthfully speaking, you should’ve done that from the start, especially after pointing out all the mistakes I made.”

  Mordecai took a hard look at her. Why was she so quick to throw in the towel? He admired women who were fighters. Who stood tall in the face of adversity. Who did what they had to do to get by – but not a woman who gave up.

  “The seller’s agent is checking to see if the sale can go through with just you listed as the tenant but she wasn’t too optimistic about it. As soon as I hear anything, I’ll call you. I’ll be out of town this weekend.” She stood up and said, “In the meantime, do yourse
lf a favor and find a new agent.”

  “Jemisha,” he said but she rushed away from the table. Even after she heard him call her name a few times, she kept on walking. She was embarrassed enough. There was no sense in dragging it out unnecessarily.

  Chapter 17

  Mordecai pulled up at Zoya’s house on Friday afternoon. All last night his head was foggy, especially after Jemisha had left him in the restaurant. He couldn’t eat, so he’d left shortly after she had.

  He hadn’t planned on visiting Zoya and Harding this weekend – it just worked out that way. Who knew buying a house would be so stressful?

  He walked up to the door, rang the bell. Moments later, Zoya opened the door and leaped into her brother’s arms.

  “Mordecai!”

  “You act like you ain’t seen me in years,” he told her.

  “Oh, hush. Come on in.”

  Mordecai stepped inside and asked, “Where’s that knucklehead husband of yours?”

  “He’s at work. What are you doing here?”

  “Just relaxing—needed a break from it all, you know.”

  They stopped walking when they reached the kitchen. Zoya handed him a bottle of water.

  “Thanks,” he told her.

  “Welcome. How’s mom?”

  “She’s good. I was over there for dinner Sunday night.”

  “I know. Amira told me—said you were getting on her nerves.”

  Mordecai chuckled. “She’ll be a’ight.”

  “How’s house shopping coming along?”

  Mordecai sighed. “It’s not going as well as I would’ve hoped.”

  “Oh, no. Is Jemisha not working out?”

  “I don’t want to get into it, Zoe.”

  “Please do. Now, I feel bad because I’m the one who recommended her.”

  “I—she—it’s not her fault. Well, it is her fault to a certain degree, but she’s under a lot of pressure in her personal life. Long story short, she’s dropped me as a client—”