Page 82 of Seeing Harper

“I’m angry with you, and I don’t trust you,” she hissed at him as he eased himself into the seat.

“I’m aware. But I didn’t do anything wrong,” he said, as he took his laptop out of his backpack, set it on the tray in front of him, then stowed the backpack beneath his seat.

“You know what you did. You all but smothered me, then when I made it clear I needed some down time, you continued by showing up at the pool, with pizza — how did you even know it’s my favorite by the way — and tried that cheesy move to pull me in with a towel and try to hold me there despite the fact that I tried to stop you, when you knew I was trying to keep from being so close. I put my hand out to stop it. And you knew it wasn’t what I wanted.”

“Yeah, I was a horrible person. Lord forbid I show any kind of interest or initiative to get closer to you.”

“Exactly,” Harper snapped.

“I wasn’t smothering you! I was genuinely enjoying your company. When you’re not angry, you’re a delight to be around. Not to mention, the whole meeting you at the airport and showing you around was your father’s idea. It just so happened that we clicked and I thought we were having fun.”

“Don’t think I won’t be passing on my dislike of the entire manipulation my father played in this whole thing, to my father when we land. And I can assure you we didn’t click. There is nothing about you that I find even remotely stomachable. There would be no way to know if we clicked or not, even if I could manage to tolerate your bullshit. You were so hellbent on steamrolling right over me that I don’t even know how much was genuine and how much was orchestrated. I’m leaning toward totally orchestrated.”

“You’d be leaning the wrong way. I did not say or do anything I wouldn’t have said or done with any woman that I have a genuine interest in.”

“How did they react to the overwhelming love bomb smothering and not getting a break from that kind of behavior? Did you threaten the future of their business relationship with your company, too, if they didn’t give in? I’m guessing they reacted much the same way I did.”

“I never once said love. That was all you, about ten seconds ago. I said I like you. I said I wanted to get to know you better.”

“Again, it’s all what you want. Doesn’t matter what anybody else wants. You want. You wish. You need. What about the other person? Have you ever heard a woman complaining about somebody that slid into her DMs with all his smooth talking like she didn’t have the brains to see what he was really after?’”

“Yes, are you inferring that I’m some sleezeball trying to slide into your personal life just long enough take advantage of you?”

“Exactly. You slid into my DMs in person. The only thing you didn’t do is send a dick pic. But, then again, I’m sure you might have. A full one, from your head to your toes, smiling in your fifteen hundred dollar suit. Probably sent it to my father and I bet it’s posted on your website, too. It says, Joel Beobaff, Dick pic.”

“Seriously, Harper?!” he exclaimed, turning his whole body toward her.

“Don’t raise your voice at me, or I might have to throw you through that window. We’re not off the ground yet, so I wouldn’t have much of a worry about doing it.”

“I didn’t raise my voice. And you need to stop berating me.”

“If you’d get off this plane, I will.”

“Harp…”

“Do not speak my name. Stay the hell away from me. I’m sure everyone around me has heard me and I’ll scream if you dare to put your hands on me again.”

“We got you, sister,” one of the women sitting on the opposite side of the aisle said.

Harper smirked at him, put her ear bud back in, and pointedly ignored him.

~~~

Saturday morning Clay’s phone ringing non-stop woke him up. He grabbed his phone, his subconscience telling him it might be Harper. “Hello? Harper?”

“Hello, this is Erica Griffith from Rune and Rune Estate Attorneys. We’ve were contacted by Mr. Robert Bigsby regarding the purchase and transfer of his land to you.”

Clay shook off the cloud of sleepiness and sat up as he tried to think of the words to speak so she wouldn’t think he was an idiot. “Yes, ma’am. I was interested in purchasing his land and everything on it, but when visiting with him, I realized how important it was to him and his wife, so we made an agreement that would work for both of us.”

“That’s exactly what he told us. I’ve drawn up the paperwork as he explained it to us, and I’d like to submit it to you for your review. Once you’ve agreed that nothing is missing, or let us know of anything that needs to be added or revised, we’ll take care of that, and then we can set an appointment to sign the paperwork and it’ll be official.”

“Wow, that was fast.”

“To be quite honest, considering the nature of the agreement, after I’d spoken at length with Mr. Bigsby, it touched my heart and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I put it ahead of all the rest of the sales and estates I was working on. I wanted to make sure it was done quickly and properly.”

“Thank you, Ms. Griffith. I appreciate that.”

“It’s not often that a buyer takes the needs of the seller into consideration and makes concessions so that an elderly couple won’t have to leave their home. It’s very generous of you, Mr. Vega.”