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“V-very l-lovely.” Cara’s teeth were chattering.
If only I could have reached out and warmed her up. I had plenty of ideas on how to do that.
“Over here, Cara, look at this —” Danny walked to her and grabbed Cara by the hand, pulling her away from me.
I quietly fumed as he pointed something out to her in the distance, whispering in her ear. Cara laughed politely, but I knew she was just trying to humor him.
I tried to keep my attention on the inspector, engaging in small talk as he knocked his boot against different parts of the structure and muttered complaints under his breath about the cold. All the while, my whole body screamed at me to follow its instincts and protect what was mine.
Cara was mine. She just didn’t know it yet.
Abruptly, the inspector stood up straight. “Okay. Whew. Done.” He started scribbling something on his clipboard and then scanned the three of us. “This place is in need of some serious TLC.”
I spoke first. “What are we looking at here?”
“Well. Plumbing needs a complete overhaul. Electrical is a mess. And I’m surprised this roof doesn’t have more damage than it already does. There’s no drainage system. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.”
I smiled politely, though I could feel Danny’s smoldering glare on me. “Let’s talk about it inside, hmm?”
The inspector continued to list issue after issue that he had found in the inspection. I was glad I’d steered Cara in the correct direction and pissed off Danny Morden. At least, I could tell he was melting with embarrassment.
“Well, thank you so much for taking the time to come out here.” Cara shook the inspector’s hand. “You’ve really done me a big favor.”
The man shrugged. “Just the job. Have a great day.”
As soon as he left, the three of us were plunged into silence.
“Well.” Danny laughed nervously. “That was…not as expected.”
I crossed my arms. “Really? You didn’t expect the bowels of this place to be a wreck just by looking at it?”
“Wesley…” Cara glanced my way.
Danny raised his hands. “Listen, you never know with old buildings like this. I was optimistic. Clearly, that was the wrong way to go about it.” He then turned to Cara, cutting me out of the conversation. “How about we go grab some coffee and talk over the offer? With all this information, I’m sure we can come to something that suits both sides better.”
I stepped between them. “Sorry, she’s not going with you.”
“All due respect, Mr. Taves, I’m trying to talk to Cara, so —”
“I think you’re abusing your preexisting relationship with Ms. Smith and I’m not afraid to point that out. I think the next best course of action is for us to take a step away and discuss how we’re going to proceed.” I narrowed my eyes. “But you can be sure the deal as it stands now is off.”
Danny stepped back from me. Intimidation was a necessary hazard of my job. I didn’t always love doing it. But intimidating a piece of work like Danny Morden filled me with satisfaction.
“What he means is…” Cara moved toward Danny, putting her arm out casually between the two of us, knowing there was tension brewing. “I still want the place. But I think we’ll have to lower our offer unless some changes are made.”
That’s exactly right.She’d known just what to say when my hotheadedness had almost interfered with the sale.
“I can appreciate that. Let’s talk Monday. Take the weekend to mull it over with yourbusiness partner. Alright?”
The three of us walked out of the building. I kept my distance from Danny and started for the car, else I would put my foot in my mouth again and let my jealousy ruin the negotiation.
This is why mixing business and pleasure is a bad idea, Taves.
Cara and Danny said their goodbyes and she hurried over to join me. As soon as the car door was shut, she tore into me. “Okay, what was that?”
“I knew this place was a mess.”
“That’s not — that doesn’t excuse the way you were behaving, Wesley. You almost lost me the building.”
