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The look in Graham’s eyes said he didn’t believe her. He cleared his throat. “I’ve given your proposal serious consideration.”
The crucial moment was at hand. The breath caught in her chest. Her mind said that he was going to turn her down, but her heart hoped he wasn’t a cold, calculating businessman.
His steady gaze met hers. “And I’ve decided to take you up on it.”
“You did? I mean, that’s great.” She hoped.
“The reason it took me so long to get back to you was that I had to push the agreement through legal.”
Legal? He had his lawyers weigh in on their arrangement? Just then he withdrew some folded papers from his inner jacket pocket. Why was she surprised? Everything to him came down to looking out for what was best for his company.
Graham held out the papers. “They’re just waiting for your signature.”
She accepted the papers and stared at them. When she’d proposed the arrangement, she never thought he would take it this seriously.
He leaned back in the chair. “If you want your attorney to look over it, that’s fine. But I can promise you it’s straightforward.”
As she looked at the agreement, she found it was only two pages long and on the second page was Graham’s signature.
“Alina, it’s okay—”
She held up her finger for him to pause. She started to read it, line by line. And she was surprised to find the language was indeed straightforward, so much so that she could easily understand it. There was nothing in it they hadn’t discussed. And the agreement ran from tomorrow through Christmas Eve.
Alina reached for a pen on her coffee table. She signed her name and handed it over. “So you’ll be here tomorrow morning?”
He nodded.
“But you realize you’ll need to stay here.” When his eyes widened in surprise, heat infused her cheeks. “Not here. Not in my apartment. I... I meant here at the Stirling.”
He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs. “Where exactly do you envision me staying?”
She couldn’t let him back out now. Sure, they signed a formal agreement, but she was certain Graham’s legal team could get him out of it. “All of the units are currently occupied. But there’s the building manager’s office. It has a bed in the back as well as a small bathroom.”
He leaned back in the chair as though her words had knocked him off balance. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Well, you live too far away with the congestion of city traffic. If a pipe bursts or there’s a real emergency, you should be close by.” And she needed him to spend some serious time here so he would get to know the residents and learn how special Stirling and its inhabitants were to her.
He hesitated. Was he trying to figure out how to back out of this unusual arrangement? Her body tensed as she waited for his next words.
“Fine. I’ll be back in the morning.” He got to his feet to leave.
The morning? That didn’t give her long to make the manager’s office presentable, but then again it was small, so there wasn’t much to clean.
She glanced up in time to see Graham headed for the door. “Wait.” She rushed after him. “Before you go, I should take you around to meet everyone.”
“Everyone?”
“Sure. There’s sweet Mrs. Hanasey in 504 with her little dog, Louie. And then there is Mr. Jones down in 306. He’s always asking for help with his crossword puzzle. Come on. They’re anxious to meet you.”
“Now?”
“Sure. In the morning, everyone will be rushing around getting ready for work and getting their kids off to school. And we don’t want anyone mistaking you for a burglar, do we?”
He hesitated. “I suppose not.”
And so they set off to all five floors, knocking on door after door. Most people were hesitant but no one was hostile. Thankfully her stepmother and stepsisters had departed on vacation. Hopefully they wouldn’t return before Christmas, but then again, they never checked in with her.
When they stopped outside the building manager’s office, Graham turned to her. “Are you going to show me my new home?”
