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Silence on the other end of the line. Then, “Of course. I lost an offer on a penthouse there last year.”
She started to say she didn’t know much about the place, but she didn’t want to reveal that. If Ella said it was amazing, it would be. Ella wouldn’t steer her wrong. But Jesse wouldn’t have that much faith in someone he’d barely met.
“If you have time to pop over, we can take a look at it,” Kimmie said. She tried to keep her tone as casual as possible. No big deal if he turned her down. They’d just do it a different time.
“Sure. I’ll meet you in the lobby.”
Kimmie had been so prepared for a no, she wasn’t sure what to do with a yes. It meant she had to brace for seeing him again. She had to make herself keep things professional and ignore the weirdzingof attraction she felt when he was around.
The parking situation downtown was always a nightmare, but it was just the right time of afternoon. She was able to snag one of the guest spots in the condo’s garage—something she’d fought for more than a few times over the past couple of years.
As she walked toward the door to the stairs that led up to the lobby, Kimmie remembered how clumsily she’d escaped the conversation that morning. Jesse had specifically asked if she was ready to settle down, and she was. She wanted the husband, the kids, the white picket fence…
Of course, she’d never say any of that to a man unless she wanted to send him running. She’d learned that the hard way.
Not until she was in the lobby did she remember that Ella had sent instructions over. She opened the email app on her phone, and sure enough, the top message was from Ella. Luckily, Jesse wasn’t around yet. She had time to figure out what the deal was so that she seemed to be in charge of all this.
Easy enough. It was fairly standard. Code for the elevator, code to get off the elevator, which opened directly into the suite. That was one thing Jesse didn’t have where he lived now. In fact, Kimmie had to exit the elevator and pass four other suites to get to his door yesterday.
“Waiting long?”
Kimmie jumped at the sound of Jesse’s voice. Or maybe it wasn’t his voice as much as his nearness. She turned to find him behind her—of course, he’d come from the front entrance and not the parking lot.
“You parked out front?” She was still trying to catch her breath, so the question came out a bit timider than she’d meant.
“Nope. Had my driver swing by.”
Kimmie’s eyes widened. Yes, she definitely knew that superrich people had drivers cart them around, but she saw Jesse as more of an independent type.
“Ready to go check it out?” Jesse asked.
That question pushed her into motion. She walked over to the closest elevator button and pressed it, then stepped back.
“How did your meeting go?” he asked.
Kimmie stepped back and looked at him. She was honestly touched that he was interested in her day. Granted, he probably was merely being polite, but she wasn’t used to working with clients of his stature who even bothered. To most of them, she was the hired help, as were their drivers, assistants, and personal chefs.
“Pretty good.” Kimmie sighed. “No, that’s not true. I’m dealing with a couple who can’t seem to make up their mind. They’ve decided to put their house search on hold until after the first of the year.”
Why was she telling him this? He was a client. She shouldn’t be venting her work frustrations to him. But even in this short time, she felt like he was someone she could trust.
“Wishy-washy people suck.”
Kimmie laughed as the elevator doors slid open. That pretty much summed it up. Even though Jesse hadn’t committed to selling his condo at this point, at least he was a decisive person. If he saw what he liked, he’d have no problem saying so.
She wondered if that decisiveness would translate to his love life.
Shaking that thought off, she walked onto the elevator, and he followed. The doors slid closed as Kimmie input the code to get to the top floor. She’d shown penthouse suites here before, but never without being able to prepare in advance. She was going into this one completely cold, aside from the information Ella had forwarded.
“How much?” Jesse asked.
“Huh?” Kimmie had looked down at her screen again, trying to quickly grab some information from Ella’s email. “Oh. Price. One-point-seven.”
He didn’t even flinch. Just one-point-seven million dollars. What was the equivalent in her world? She struggled to pay her twelve-hundred-dollar rent on a townhouse twenty minutes from work.
The elevator slowed to a stop, and with a ding, the doors opened. “Let’s see what this bad boy has,” Jesse announced as he stepped out of the elevator and into what was an awe-inspiring condo. The ceilings were high, and the windows were huge. She could only dream of living somewhere like this.
“Association fee?” he asked.
