66

“I like my building. However, it was easier to build a new building than to try and renovate an old one into exactly what I needed.”

She shrugged. “I didn’t say that I didn’t like your building. I just said that it’s out of place in the town. Although, if you sell it to someone younger once you retire, it might do better on the market.”

“When I retire?”

She smirked. “You have to be pushing eighty at this point.”

My eyes nearly bulged out of my head as she laughed. I was thankful that the clients weren’t here yet to hear her taunting me. Although, that relief was immense because everyone in Silverlake knew everyone else.

Gossip spreads like the plague around here.

“Forty-five, if you must know.”

“Close enough. I mean, once you’re that old, it stops Mateoering, doesn’t it?”

I ground my teeth together, trying not to let her get to me. However, reminding me of the twenty-one-year age gap between us only made me feel worse about the other night.

“Let’s go inside, and you can take a look instead of bothering me about my age.”

Gina grinned and walked inside the office, gasping when she looked around. Though the outside of the building looked old, the inside was both modern and industrial. Everything was open to metal and brick.

“This office is way too cool for you,” she said, looking over her shoulder at me with a small smile. “You never would have been able to pull off the look.”

“Gina.”

She held up both her hands and shrugged. “It’s true. Your best bet for moving this place is to a young start-up. I see an open office where everyone works out in the communal space. There are some focus rooms and a couple of conference rooms, but the kind of person who would buy this place is a lot cooler than you.”

I sighed and didn’t bother to acknowledge the little dig. It wasn’t worth my time or my effort. However, following her around and listening to her as she talked about the features of the building, passion shining in her eyes, made me realize that she might not be like the other girls Amalia was friends with.

Gina had an eye for detail and knew what she was talking about. There was confidence in everything she said as she walked through the building.

It was attractive. More attractive than I would have liked to admit.

“Great,” I said as she finished walking through the building. “You’re going to be the one giving the tour. Two people are coming in half an hour. After talking with them, they are the most likely buyers.”

“Why is that?” she asked, perching herself on a window ledge and stretching her legs before her.

“They’re about your age. Young, looking for a place to run their handmade household items company. This place has the space for manufacturing and other work.”

She nodded, taking out her phone and pulling up the notes app. Though I couldn’t see what she was typing, I was sure it had something to do with the showing. She was the kind of person who wanted to do a good job.

“Alright,” I said as I heard car doors slamming outside. “Time for the showing.”

Gina nodded and took a deep breath. She put on a smile that could charm the meanest man before opening the front door. I stayed where I was, listening to her greet the prospective buyers before bringing them inside.

I listened as she asked them questions, quickly talking with them as if she had known them forever. A part of me was envious of how she made people feel immediately comfortable with her.

The more I watched her, pride swelling through me as she showed the property and got an offer, one thing became clear.

When she cast her spell, you had no choice but to fall under it.

Gina

“Hewantstoseeyou,” Shelby said as soon as I walked into the office one Friday morning. I had been working with Brandon for the last two months, and in that time, he and I had kept a professional relationship.

It wasn’t easy; every time I saw him, I thought about how his hands felt on my body or how his mouth moved across my skin. It was impossible not to see him and then think about every moment we shared.

“Thanks, Shelby,” I said, giving her a smile before heading to my desk.

I dropped off my coat and bag, running my hand through my damp hair. I hoped it didn’t look like a complete mess, but the pouring rain outside did nothing to help my appearance.

For the last two months, Brandon showed me more and more of the business. We spent late evenings together, pouring over listings and discussing the new properties he was acquiring to develop and sell.

I would be lying if I said I didn’t want him, but nothing else had happened since that night, even though I wanted it to.

He wanted something more, I think, but neither of us was willing to cross that line. So instead, we danced around each other with sexual tension burning hot.

After smoothing my skirt and checking my mascara, I entered Brandon’s office. He looked up from the paperwork before him, his gaze trailing down my body.

Everywhere he looked, a fire ignited my body. I thought about how his fingers felt when they dug into my flesh, gripping me tightly.

“Close the door,” he said, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms.

I shut the door before heading to the little seating area he had near a massive window that overlook the town outside. The windows were tinted so nobody could see inside, but he could still watch everything happening outside.

Brandon exited his desk and crossed the room, sitting across from me. He looked conflicted as he leaned forward slightly, resting his forearms on his thighs.

“Did something happen?” I asked, wondering if I had failed to do my job correctly. Of course, I couldn’t remember anything wrong, but I wasn’t sure either. So much had been happening in the last several weeks that I couldn’t keep track of it all.

“Nothing happened. We have to discuss your future here, though.”

“Are you firing me?”

Brandon chuckled and shook his head. “Why would I fire you when profits are skyrocketing? You’re selling more properties than several other agents and were hired as an intern. Not to mention your interest in the corporate end and how you have excelled there.”

“But you want to talk about my future here?”

“You once said you would start your company and put me out of business. I don’t doubt that you could after seeing the way you work. However, I would like to make you another offer.”

My heart skipped a beat. I stared at Brandon momentarily, trying to determine whether or not he was messing with me.

“I would like to start pushing you up the ladder for promotions within the company. One of my current agents is moving away, and a position will open. It’s yours if you want it. It’s a good stepping stone for moving through my company.”

It’s a good offer, and it comes with commissions. I knew that if I were talking to some of my friends, they would say I was an idiot not to take it. However, my goal wasn’t to move up in his company. If I started working as an agent, I would spend less time learning the corporate end.

“With all due respect, thank you for the offer, but I must turn it down.”

His eyes widened slightly as if that wasn’t the expected answer. Although to be fair, it wasn’t the answer most would give. Most people would jump at leaving a paid internship to become an agent.

I, however, wasn’t like most people, and moving within his company wouldn’t serve my goals.

“Why would you turn it down? There is a significant pay increase to discuss, as well as added benefits.”

I shrugged and crossed one leg over the other. “I told you before my goal to run my own business. I already know how to sell properties, and I do that working as an intern for you. If I agree to become an agent, I start missing out on the business side, which I need experience building my own company.”

He studied me for a moment; his lips pressed tight together. There was a thin line between his eyebrows, and how he looked at me made me feel like a puzzle he couldn’t quite figure out.

“You’re turning down a job that would only help you.”

“You and I have very different ideas of what would help me. I know where I want to go with my life, and it’s a pretty set idea. Amalia said you offered when I agreed to the internship; I knew what it would get me. So that’s why I took it.”

“You have no interest in the money that comes with the promotion?” He arched an eyebrow and leaned back in his seat. The expression on his face told me that he thought I was crazy.

“Money makes the world go around. I’m not naïve about that. However, I want to build my real estate empire. I don’t feel like riding around on the coattails of yours.”

Brandon looked out the window, watching the people walking by. His jaw tightened, and I could see his muscles twitch as he worked through what I said.

To some, it might seem insane, but to me, it was the right career move.