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I narrow my eyes at him, trying to gauge what went wrong since the last time I saw him. It gets even more confusing when he walks to where I’m sitting at his desk, reaches forward, grabs the stack of sketches, and tears them up.
“Um. Something the matter with the drawings?” My brows rise, sky-high.
“You can say that.” He doesn’t clarify what he means. Instead, he scoffs all the way to his chair and sits down.
He doesn’t waste any time reaching for the decanter and pouring himself a drink. He knows better than to offer me any because I don’t drink. Regardless of the fact that the idea of having one at this moment—to tame the anxious feeling rolling inside me—is looking better and better.
Instead, I think of milk and Oreos and my father’s laughter, and my heart rate finally begins to slow.
“Okay, so now that you’ve had your drink, do you want to tell me what’s going on?”
“The property for the restaurant is gone.”
I gasp. “What do you mean, gone? How can it be gone?”
He opens his mouth to say something but must change his mind. Instead, he shakes his head.
“It doesn’t matter how. It just is.”
I lean forward in my chair, placing my elbows on the desk.
“So then let’s come up with a plan. Just because the property is gone doesn’t mean we have to give up. This is New York City. There have to be plenty of properties that fit the bill.”
He nods his head as he places the glass next to his lips and takes another swig of the amber liquid.
But even though he’s in agreement with me, he still doesn’t speak. He’s lost in thought a million miles away, and I’m not sure how to bring him back to the here and now. What the hell happened to have him so despondent? Instead of bringing up what is obviously a sore subject, I trudge forward with work. It’s the best I can do.
“Tell me what you’re looking for. This is why you hired me. Let me help you.”
He mulls over my words, all the while watching me with an intensity that has me shrinking under the pressure of it. I’m not sure what finally has the hard edges on his face relaxing and the tension from moments ago dissipating, but I’m grateful.
“Okay.” He places the glass down and opens his desk drawer. He passes me a sheet of paper. On the paper are the specs from the original building. The square footage, not just for the whole space, but also broken down by how much space he would need for the kitchen, dining area, and then the lounge he wants to set up.
The next thing he pulls out is a business card.
“This is my realtor.” It’s all he offers.
“I’ll take care of all this. You relax and let me do my job.” A look passes through his eyes, and it’s filled with an emotion I can’t quite gauge.
“Thank you,” he finally says before going back to his drink.
I grab the stack of papers and make my way into the adjacent office to make the calls.
It’s about an hour later when I finally make my way back into Drew’s office. When I sit across the table from him, I slide over the papers I printed for him to look at.
“What’s this?”
“These are all the properties we are going to see today.”
“Today?”
“Yep. So take one last moment to sulk, and then get up and come with me.”
He looks down at the sheets, and one by one, he nods his head in approval.
“Good job.”
“That’s why you pay me the big bucks.” I wink.
He laughs, and the sound warms my heart. “Thank you for doing this for me. I’m sorry you had to see me like that.”
“It’s okay. We all have bad days. I’m here for you, Drew.”
Before I can say anything else, he stands from his chair and holds his hand out for me to take. I place my hand in his, allowing him to pull me toward him. He places a kiss on my lips, and I melt into it.
“Thank you,” he says again, this time against my mouth. His breath tickling my skin. “You’re . . .”
“I’m what?”
I pull back and look into his eyes.
“I was just going to say you’re special, Bailey.”
My heart starts to beat frantically at his words.
“When I first saw you . . .” He stops and shakes his head. “I felt drawn to you . . .” He smiles. But this smile is different; it’s soft and sincere. “You’re so much more than I even imagined.”
Tingles race up and down my arms at the reverence of his words and the look of wonder in his expression. The heartfelt way he talks about our first meeting, makes me wish for things I haven’t dared. Drew is cementing himself into my heart, and it’s scary as hell.
