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She appreciated that he didn’t yell out what the bet was, but had also hoped they wouldn’t bring it up. Sleeping with Adam would definitely count as her losing the bet, but she couldn’t admit that, so the only thing left was a big, fat lie.
“Good. Nothing’s changed, so I’m still winning. When does it end, by the way? Mama needs a new pair of shoes.”
They gave matching looks that said they didn’t believe her but were gentlemanly enough to let her get away with it—for now.
“Kate,” her sister called. “Your order’s up.”
“Well, gotta go,” Kate said with a hasty wave. She’d have to avoid them from now on. At least until she could admit she’d lost gracefully and ensure they wouldn’t ask any questions. And definitely not until Adam wasn’t her client anymore.
On her way out, she ran into the managing broker from the real estate firm she’d recently left.
“Hi, Doug. How are you?” she said, shoving a brown paper pastry bag into her purse and juggling the hot coffee cup to her other hand.
His incredulous look had a how-dare-she-speak-to-him undertone. So, that was how it was going to be? Fine. No skin off her nose.
Just as she made a move to head out the door, he responded, “I’m fine. I hear congratulations and condolences are in order,” he said with a smirk.
“Huh?” Kate had no idea what he was talking about, and was beginning to wish she hadn’t initiated conversation.
“Well, maybe not condolences, but I mean, it’s just too bad about all the stuff that’s happening to you.”
Her brows knit in confusion. What stuff? She didn’t know what he was referencing and didn’t care enough to get into the whats and whys of whatever he meant. “Okay, well, good to see you. Luna’s waiting in the car, so I’ve got to go,” she said, rushing out the door to avoid any further conversation.
Apparently, she’d overestimated his maturity level about her leaving the team. Nothing she could do about that though, so she put the matter out of her mind.
After scarfing down a cheese bagel, she sat back and sipped on her coffee, waiting for Adam. Only a month ago, she’d been in this same situation, waiting for him to interview. A lot had happened in that short time. Not the least of which was her carefree toss of ethics to the wind. Man, she hoped no one ever found out she’d slept with a client.
Once Adam made his decisions and she passed everything off to the attorneys and lenders, her part of the deal would basically be over. Was that when their “friendship” should end? It seemed like a good breaking point, and while she didn’t necessarily regret having a fling with Adam, she really should get back to looking for Mr. Right. Maybe she’d put it on her list of things to do and start again next week.
Adam showed up a few minutes early, and after a stolen kiss behind closed doors, they got down to business. “Okay, so you’ve got two big decisions to make. One, whose offer you’re going to take for your properties, and two, which property or properties you want to buy. Or at least which properties youmaywant to buy. You don’thaveto buy everything you declare, but you canonlyclose on something you have declared. Make sense?”
“Got it. So, better to overstate what I might want? Just put down anything and everything I’m interested in?”
“Well, sort of. I mean, this all happens more or less simultaneously, so you’ll need to have what you actually want pretty nailed down. The other properties should be fallbacks in case something goes south with your primary target. So, I guess it’s more like, pick the one you want for sure and a couple of backups.”
“All right. What have we got?” He nodded to her organized, color-coded packets.
Just as she pulled out the spreadsheet, she noticed her phone vibrating. “Hold that thought. It’s the attorney handling the exchange. This might be pertinent.” She pushed the button to answer and put it on speaker.
“Hey, Kate. It’s Colton Barnett. How’s it going?”
“Great. We’re just nailing down the final details and should have everything to you by the end of the week.”
“That’s great. I’m actually calling about something else though.”
“Oh, okay. What’s up?” Kate said.
“Well, it’s, um, a personal thing,” he stammered a little, which was totally out of character for him. Kate looked at Adam, whose eyebrows had risen. Perhaps she should have let Colton know Adam was in the room. Instead, she picked up the phone, took it off speaker, and walked a few steps away, holding up a finger and mouthing ‘just sec’ to Adam.
“I was calling to see if you’d like to go to dinner sometime,” Colton said.
Kate’s mouth dropped open. “Um, aren’t you married?” she asked somewhat bluntly. They’d had a business relationship for years, but never really talked about personal things. Last she’d known though, he had a wife and a few kids.
“We got divorced about six months ago,” he said. “We were separated for a while before that.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“We kept it pretty quiet. I was kind of a mess for a while, but I’m ready to put myself back out there, and I…Oh, I guess I should have thought to ask…Areyousingle?”
