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“No,” he said flatly. “That was the landlord.”
His expression was unexpectedly troubling. I matched it.
“Good news on that, at least?” I asked hopefully.
Tyler’s face told me everything I needed to know. My heart sank.
“No,” he confirmed. “Not good news.”
I sighed and straddled one of the armless chairs. Folding my forearms over the back, I prepared for the worst.
“What is it, then?” I grunted. “More delays? More citations, or fines, or—”
“Even worse,” Tyler cut in. “Apparently, he doesn’t own the building anymore.”
I blinked. “What?”
“The entire group of stores has changed hands, virtually overnight.”
A cold feeling stole over me. It felt like the room suddenly dropped ten degrees.
“Someone bought the whole strip mall?”
He nodded slowly. His expression was grim.
“So who owns it then?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
Tyler coughed, bitterly.
“Do you really need to ask?”
Forty-Two
JENNA
The house looked different all tidied up, and without any of the tools lying around. All evidence of the construction crews was gone. Only the unspackled walls and tied-off electrical wires remained.
“There’s only one thing left to do, then,” I said glumly.
I was sitting on the couch, staring blankly into the empty fireplace. No one had been in the mood to start one.
“Go over there and shove his head up his own ass?” Jay suggested.
“No. I’ll have dinner with him.”
The guys let out a collective grunt of disapproval. Tyler swore beneath his breath.
“There’s no fucking way you’re ever—”
“You don’t get it!” I shouted him down. “Elijah is rich and powerful, with unlimited resources. All his life, he’s never been told the word ‘no.’”
“He’s a spoiled brat is what he is,” Luca growled.
“Yes,” I agreed. “But he’s also like a robot. He’ll keep going and going, and he’s never going to stop until he gets what he wants.”
“Like the Terminator!” Jay jumped in. Luca and Tyler frowned at him.
“And what he wants right now,” I finished, “is for me to sit down and have dinner with him.”
