Tempting the CEO(19)
When she did, Bob got right to the point. “Jed talked to your client directly. I couldn’t stop him.”
“What? That’s not cool!” Especially if he was getting me in trouble on that sleeping-with-him thing.
“For once, Angie, I agree with you. Clients talking directly to each other…well, I don’t have to tell you what an extremely dangerous precedent that is.”
Dangerous to his fees, he meant, but I sort of saw his point.
“Anyway, they want to do a European-style closing.”
“What?”
“Simultaneous signing and closing.”
“What?” I was losing a little of my eloquence after the day I’d had, especially since I was feeling like a cat lady. So I elaborated, “I mean, we just signed. There are closing conditions to be met. Stuff like that.”
“That’s what I’m saying. Jed wired the purchase price to your client and, against my advice I might add, a signed cross receipt in which he waived all closing conditions. If your client will sign, and frankly, Angie, he probably already has, we’re closed.”
The doorbell rang, which in itself was a surprise. Even Cassie didn’t drop by without texting or phoning first. Maybe it was some other cat lady in the apartment building, seeing I’d made it home safely and willing to share her Tupperware dinner with me.
“Yep, check out your email,” Bob added. “The fully executed cross receipt, signed by your client and mine, just came across. Jesus, I hope to God this kind of thing doesn’t catch on. It’ll put us out of business.”
I opened the door without even looking through the peephole and said into the phone, “What was the rush, anyway?”
“Hey,” a deep voice greeted me when I did.
And there he was, totally out of context. Gorgeous Guy, right on the steps to my humble abode. No power tie or fancy suit this time. Just well-worn jeans, like last night, and that same sexy smile. My mouth fell open.
“I don’t know what the rush was, Angie,” Bob responded in a voice I hadn’t so far heard in his repertoire, reserved for private conversations instead of conference rooms, apparently. “But I’m guessing you do. And by the way, no hard feelings. If you’re ever in New York again, I’d like to, ah, take you to brunch sometime.”
“Fuck you, Bob.” I hung up and held the cell to my chest.
“Bob give you the news that we’re on the same side now?”
I nodded.
“So does that mean I can come in?”
“What? Oh, yeah, sure.” I stepped aside and he brushed past me. “What are you doing here?”
“I was looking for a girl named Suzy. Great hands. Somebody said she lives around here.”
I shut the door behind him. “Okay, so what’s Fred doing here?”
“Stalking you. But in a cool, totally non-Fred way.”
“In that case, I’m sorry I was such a bitch before I left.”
“Actually you were pretty sweet before you left, all that hot sex and everything. It was while you were leaving that you were a bitch.”
I pursed my lips. “Thanks for the clarification. What were you, a couple rows behind me on the plane or something? I just got here.”
“No, afraid I have to fess up to a rich-guy thing, even if it makes me more of a creep. I fly private. Saves a lot of time. It allowed me to stew for a good, I don’t know, hour or so after I left the restaurant, before I decided to come after you.”
“Come after me for what?”
“To say I was sorry for being high-handed.”
“You could have called to say that.”
“There wasn’t a working group list for the deal. I didn’t have your number.”
“You had my client’s, though. And my address, I guess.”
“I can be pretty resourceful when I need to.”
“I can see that.”
I put the cell down, fighting the absolute—okay, I admit it—thrill that he had come after me.
“I know you said it was just a hookup, and I guess if you really meant that, I have to, er…” He seemed to be struggling for the concept.
“Back off?”
“Well, I was thinking more like try to talk you out of it. But I don’t know, that might be cutting it a little close to that high-handed thing again.”
“I guess you’re used to it.”
“Kind of.”
“The Suzys of the world have come to expect it from you.”
He smiled. “I did like Suzy. Or I guess I mean I like the Suzy in you. And after meeting your mother, who I’m sure is a lovely woman inside and out—“
“My God, she gave me an earful after you left.”