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“You mean to live?” I asked, dumbfounded. What else would it be for? “What’s the rent?”
“Don’t worry about the rent,” he said. “Let me make up twenty-three years of absence to you.”
That threw me. “If you didn’t know about me, why do you have anything to make up? It’s not your fault.”
“Let me worry about that. Crystal called me, and I made the decision that I was going to do everything I could to make up for the struggles you both had. I’ll take care of Crystal, too.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. Now, about the apartment. Do you want to see it?”
“Yes,” I exclaimed.
This was a dream come true. A wealthy father, a dream job on television, and now an apartment in Manhattan? One of my biggest concerns taking a job in Manhattan had been that I would have to live in a more affordable place and commute into the city.
“Great. We’ll look at it in an hour. You need to spend some time with Ryan, familiarizing yourself with the project so you can decide. And the rest of the day is ours.”
That was all the time I would get with Randy, for now. I couldn’t really blame him; I’d showed up unannounced. He led me to Ryan’s office, which was nicer than Randy’s, with a better view. Ryan stood at the desk, flipping through pages in a folder, and Randy tapped on the open door.
“You ready, Ryan?”
Ryan straightened, those eyes burning into me again. “I’m ready. I’ve set out a few things for Laura to look at.”
When I entered the office and our gazes made contact, I didn’t look away like I usually did with strange men, but the thought crossed my mind that I might regret this. Ryan Maddox oozed sexuality. In the past, a man who had that effect on me would give me the creeps because it meant that I might not have the upper hand like I needed to have with my clients. I didn’t want to like them too much, if you get what I mean.
I decided I was keeping Ryan Maddox at arm’s length.
“What am I looking at?” I asked, scanning the desk.
“We’re planning on twelve episodes of Saving New York Architecture. That’s our working title, but it feels too stogy to me. What’s your gut reaction?”
“The buildings we’ll be talking about have already been saved, correct?”
“Right,” Randy said, looking at Ryan.
“Yeah, good point,” Ryan said.
“I’m headed to a meeting. See you in an hour, Laura.”
Once Randy left, I was alone with this hot guy who seemed interested in me in more than a professional way. Standing next to him, I felt a rush of chills go through my body, the hair on my arms rising. I tried to focus on what he was pointing out to me, a photo of a dilapidated building next to a vacant lot strewn with car hulks and trash.
“This is one of the first structures that the firm saved.” Ryan sorted through a bunch of photographs. “Here’s the photo after restoration.”
“Wow, it’s a different place,” I said, taking the picture from him, trying to concentrate on it.
“Okay, but here we are today, twenty years later. The neighborhood never improved as much as the owners had hoped.” He handed me a third picture. “This is what it looks like now.”
“Oh, how sad.”
“It went into foreclosure last year, and the former owners basically gutted the place in anger over the bank taking it back. Randy bought it from the bank, and we’re doing a redo. That’s where the saving will come in.”
“That makes sense. I guess I’m confused. You’re not going to do a unique property, already restored, each episode, then?”
“We’ll still do that, but this one will be ongoing. The construction crew is already at work, and the production crew is recording the progress. I’ve made two tapes, the first one documenting the damage that had been done. For the second tape, I went through the building with the contractor to show what they planned. Fortunately, all the systems are intact, so this is a standard remodel.”
While he spoke, it took all my willpower to focus on the information. It was interesting, for sure, but his physical presence was more intriguing, his smell a combination of spicy aftershave and spearmint gum. I imagined leaning over to kiss the guy. My resolve to stay detached faltered.
“So, what do you think?”
