AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I live here,” I scoffed. “What the hell areyoudoing here?”
“Shit,” he breathed, raking his hand over his face, looking as uncomfortable as I felt. “Well, I… uh…. I own it.”
My mouth popped open in surprise at his words, my thoughts branching off in a million different directions.
“You’rethe buyer?” My voice was filled with disbelief, and I narrowed my eyes at him as one thought echoed through my mind louder than all of the rest. “Did Jourdan put you up to this?”
“What?” He cocked his head in confusion. “No. Why would he put me up to it? What are you talking about?”
I continued to glare at him, wondering if I could believe him, but somehow finding that I did. I wasn’t sure if that would come back to bite me in the ass later or not, but I guess only time would tell.
“So, that would mean you’re what, my landlord now?” I stuffed my hands in my pockets and shifted my weight uncomfortably between both feet.
A wind blew past us, blowing a lock of my hair up around my face, and I reached up to tuck it back behind my ear.
“It appears that way.” Now that Blake’s shock had seemed to wear off, a cocky, self-assured grin tugged up the corners of his mouth, right in line with the jackass I used to know. “Can’t say it’s an unhappy surprise.”
My lip curled in disgust as he continued to look me up and down. It was a shame he had seemed to have gotten even hotter in the last six plus years since I’d seen him because it would appear that his personality was just as shitty as ever.
“Ew,” I said plainly, not afraid to let my displeasure show.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, grabbing my attention, and I took it out. Looking at the time, I realized I was now running behind schedule, and Rob would arrive at the bar well before me.
“I’m late for something,” I announced, not bothering to tell him goodbye as I pushed past his large form that took up most of the sidewalk.
“A date?” He called after me, and I could swear that I heard the amusement in his voice.
“It’s none of your business, Blake,” I yelled back, not turning to look at him as I kept walking.
I half expected him to follow after me. It would be exactly like the guy I remembered from my childhood to insert himself into a situation where he wasn’t wanted. Which, I guess, he already had by buying the building.
Blake and my brother, Jourdan, had met at the beginning of their high school years. Two privileged peas in a rose-colored pod. They’d made my life hell when I was younger, always making fun of my sketches, paintings, and just about everything else I did.
They both knew they would grow up and be millionaire moguls, and I guess it had turned out to be true. And in Blake’s case, he had become a billionaire mogul. I scoffed at the thought.
Over the years, I had seen a few things, either in the paper or on the news, about Blake and sometimes even my brother. Blake Whitlock was now the most eligible bachelor in New York City, a frequent staple in the society pages of the New York Times, and a darling of the magazines and paparazzi.
I couldn’t really blame them. With Blake's face and status, of course he would be a topic of interest. I just wish they would have captured the whole story.
I tried to think of other things as I made my way to meet Rob, tried to put all thoughts of the past that I’ve been trying to escape from and how it had so thoroughly collided with my present.
But no matter how much I tried, as my feet crunched over the fallen leaves, the only thoughts that persisted were of Blake and of how I was pretty sure the universe was playing a sick, cruel joke on me.
CHAPTERFOUR
BLAKE
I walkedthrough the small office at the back of the apartment building, noting the file cabinets and old, outdated computers. I had combed through the blueprints earlier, marking all the units needing updating.
Juniper’s was among them.
“Nell,” I corrected myself. “She goes by Nell now.”
I blew out a breath, wondering what kind of fresh hell I had stumbled into.
She looked so beautiful when she stumbled out of that door that it almost fried my brain. Even an hour after I had run into her, I couldn’t push Nell out of my mind.
My phone rang, pulling my thoughts away from her and back to the present and this dingy office I occupied. I picked it up and glanced at the screen, then let out a silent groan.
