“There he is!”said Briggs.
“That’s the buyer?”Sal turned to him, suppressing her surprise.
“Yes,” Briggs said as he hurried inside the house, no doubt in search of servants to assist their boss.
Sal remained in the garden, seeing if she could recognize him from afar.Eccentric he may be, but one thing was as clear as the sun shining bright upon them—he was handsome.The stirring, striking a kind of handsome.It was only when the boat docked that she saw who he was.It was Harmon.Her breath caught in her throat.
His attention fixed on her when he stood at the dock, and though she felt uneasy, she couldn’t take her eyes off him as he walked up the narrow stone path to the mansion.
He was wearing a thin white linen button-down tucked loosely into trousers.He had folded the sleeves to his elbows, and with a book in hand, he continued to the mansion and to her.
When they were finally at eye level, he raised a quizzical eyebrow and smiled, as if they were back in the loggia under the moon again.“I sometimes lose track of time when I read.Does that happen to you?”he asked as though he was talking to someone he had known all his life.
“That’s a really terrible excuse for being late to your own meeting, Mr.Moon.”
“Harmon,” he corrected her again, his eyes narrowed and with a restrained grin.
Sal pursed her lips in response.Her eyes drifted to his neck, and she noticed that the top few buttons were undone, revealing the upper part of his chest, glistening with sweat.She could feel her cheeks warm up.“I almost didn’t recognize you with your glasses,” she said, distracting herself from whatever she was feeling.
“Reading glasses.An occupational hazard,” he said, tapping his thick-rimmed spectacles.
“Sir, you are late.”Briggs interrupted approaching them while holding a glass of water, and offering it to Harmon.
“So I’ve been told,” Harmon responded and took the glass from Briggs.
“Please hydrate, sir,” Briggs said, half-accosting, half-rushing him.He turned to Sal.“I see you have already met Madame Sal.”
“Yes.We met at the art show.Thought I’d meet the artist before purchasing the art,” he said, and took a few gulps from the glass of water.
Sweat from Harmon’s brow dripped down his temples as he closed his eyes and drank the cool water.She felt her cheeks burn again at the sight of him enjoying his drink.
When he was done, Harmon turned away and said with a stiff nod, “Enjoy lunch with your fiancé, Sal.Let’s talk again soon.”
RAFA
After a quick lunch, Briggs whisked Rafa and Sal away to a large study.It was not unlike Rafa’s home office at Cannon Beach, but the place admittedly had more character.It was smaller and more intimate, filled with old books and old paintings.Perhaps the most curious part of the room was the dome-shaped sunroof, which lit up the whole study with a soft glow from the midday sun.Rafa read little, but he appreciated a good study.
Not long after, Briggs arrived with Harmon.Harmon had once again donned an impressive three-piece suit; its blackness contrasted against a crisp white shirt, a black tie, and polished black shoes.Rafa knew for a fact that the man had money since he made a show of wearing it.
After entering and offering a modest bow, common to Korean pleasantries, Harmon languidly walked to the table and sat opposite Rafa and Sal.A suffocating silence befell the room as Briggs offered the paperwork to him.Harmon scrutinized it with an unreadable look.
“I like your study,” Sal said so softly it sounded like a gentle whisper.Rafa loved the sound of her voice.Harmon looked up from the paperwork and appeared to be keen on her voice as well.Rafa assumed that such a voice would stir any man who heard it.He watched as the corners of Harmon’s eyes slightly dipped.His hands gripped tightly.He wasn’t sure he liked how Harmon looked at his fiancée.
“Thank you,” Harmon said after going back to the contents of the folder.“I assume you like to read books too?”
Rafa remained fixated on Harmon, but could hear Sal smile as she responded.“I do.I thrift them if I can too.By the way, what book were you reading at the lake?”
“Remind me to tell you after the negotiations.”He smiled with dimples showing at both corners of his mouth.
“Negotiations?”Rafa repeated.
Harmon signed the paperwork and handed it to them.He turned to Rafa for the first time.His smile collapsed, but his eyes remained teasing.“Yes.”
“But this is a straight sale,” Sal said, sounding confused.“We delivered the entire collection.There’s nothing to negotiate.”
“You own Autumn Town Center, am I correct?”It sounded more like a statement than a question.
“Well, yes,” said Sal.
