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The Fairchild crew was quiet as they scoped out the ballroom, occasionally pausing to point out something or confer with each other. I drifted along the large windows overlooking Manhattan, allowing myself to get lost in the cityscape beyond.
“Are the taxes current?” Axel asked suddenly, heading our way with a fire in his eye. I was so affected by the intensity pouring out of him that I forgot how to speak. No words came to my lips. Not even a croak.
“That’s a pretty ridiculous question,” Eli filled in for me.
“Of course they’re current,” I finally blurted, glancing at Eli. “But we can provide the city records if you’d like to see.”
“That’s unnecessary,” Eli told me. “He can take our word for it.”
“I’d like to see every bit of documentation available,” Axel said, his gaze focused on Eli. “Unless that’s too ridiculous for you.”
“It’s embarrassing—foryou,” Eli spat. “Needling the nation’s most respected realtor over presumed back taxes?”
“I didn’t presume shit.” Axel’s voice had a growl at the edges. My heartrate picked up.
“Clearly.”
“Do you always have an issue with prospective buyers asking basic questions?” Axel asked. “Or is that a benefit reserved solely for us?”
Eli’s laugh couldn’t have been more bitter. “Trust me. Our usual prospective buyers have a bit more class.”
“More class?” Axel challenged.
“Eli,” I hissed.
“Class would beknowingthat a company such as yours does not sell buildings that are in arrears for property taxes,” Eli said to me, as though this clarified everything.
“Please,” I said in the lowest, most threatening tone I could muster, “just be quiet.”
Eli was unfazed as he looked back at Axel. “That sort of attitude could really get in the way of getting what you want.”
“I’ll give you a million dollarsextraif he doesn’t say another word,” Axel said, his jaw flexing as he stared at Eli. Then his gaze cut over to me. “Deal?”
The stormy blue swirl of his eyes finally made contact with me, and I was not prepared. My insides seized. I was certain my heart stopped beating for a full five seconds. All the unspoken and tamped-down emotions of the last eight years came rushing back through me, a walloping force that turned my throat into a clamp.
I drew a deep breath, hoping no one would notice the sheen of tears in my eyes. I turned to Eli. “Can we have a word?”
I brushed past him, heading for the hallway near the elevator. Once we were both hidden from the Fairchilds’ view, I spun on him. “Okay, what the fuck are you trying to pull here?”
“Keeping things in line.” The satisfied air floating around him was so thick I thought I’d choke.
“By ruining the deal?” I asked. “Do I need to remind you that a fifteen percent gain on asking price would be beneficial to the company?”
“How do you even know they’ve got it?” Eli retorted.
“How do we knowanyonehas it until the deal advances?” I asked. “I don’t understand why you insisted on coming if all you planned to do was get in the way.”
Eli leaned in, the corners of his mouth dipping downward. “I came to make sure you do what you promised.”
“And I’d be able to do it if you weren’t hellbent on getting in the way.”
He hefted with a laugh, peering over my shoulder to look at the ballroom. “Am I getting in the way? I thought your goal was to talk them up. And which one of us actually did that?”
“You can’t be serious. You almost cost us the deal.”
That snide laugh again. Sometimes, the ring on my finger burned so badly I wanted to chuck it into a landfill.
“The board wanted a higher price. Which one of us got it? Come on. Be honest with yourself. You were so busy being fuckingcompliantwith your little lover boys you forgot how to work the crowd.”
