He was everything I wanted and not a thing I needed.
If he could have stayed the cocksure asshat I had initially met, I would have been okay. I could have passed off the sexual attraction as just that and moved along. But, just my luck, Cane had to start being a halfway decent person.
I never felt like I had Decker’s sole attention. He would be checking out other women while I sat next to him. But when I was with Cane, his focus was on me. That was a powerful feeling. And when that was combined with his playfulness and a bit of charm, it was a dangerous mix.
If I am going to get involved with anyone, they will be serious, mature, and capable of being monogamous. Cane is just a better looking specimen than what I’ve already had and I know how those things end. He is just going to have to replace Tom Brady as my fantasy. That’s as close as I can get.
“Are you even listening to me?” Heather asked, bringing me back to the present. I heard her sigh through the phone.
“Of course I am,” I lied, making a right onto North Scottsdale Road.
“You better be! I have sent your résumé to four places this week. I want you to be a Chicagoan with me.”
“I’m not sure that’s a word,” I laughed. “Look, I am meeting a client at a property and I’m pulling in. I need to go. Thank you again for everything. You are the best!”
“That’s what he said.”
I laughed. “Love you. Bye.”
I ended the call and placed my Jeep in park. I surveyed the scene quickly, trying to spot the prospective buyer, Simon Powers. The lot next to Solomon Place was crawling with people and construction equipment.
I grabbed my things and made my way to the front of the building, ignoring the catcalls from the construction workers. A man dressed in grey dress pants and a pale yellow dress shirt leaned against the wall. When he spotted me, he stood straight and smiled.
He was traditionally handsome with black hair and light eyes, his body thin but not exactly lean. His clothing was a little wrinkled, like he had thrown them on in a rush. Something about him appeared to be a little off, but I chalked it up to my nerves.
“You must be Ms. Stanley,” he said, extending a hand as I approached.
“I am. And you are Simon Powers, I presume.” I shook his hand, doing a quick appraisal. He seemed to be in his early thirties. “Let’s get out of this heat! It’s almost unbearable today.”
We entered the building and I noticed immediately that it had been cleaned. I smiled in relief and Simon looked around, appearing pleased with the property.
“Would you like a tour?”
“That would be great.”
I led him to the back, showing him the selling points. “There are a number of cubicles for staff, but as you can see, they can be removed. You could have one large space here. There’s a conference room over there and a spacious office in the back—”
“I would want to use it as an open space, so I’m glad to see these partitions can be removed.”
A slamming sound echoed through the building. Still feeling off kilter, I jumped and Simon grabbed my arm to steady me.
“I will call you back.” A familiar voice, cooler than I remembered, uttered behind us. Chills shot straight through me at the terse tone of his voice.
“Cane, it’s nice to see you.” I hoped that the cheeriness in my voice masked my nerves. I turned to face him, not sure why I felt on edge without even looking at him.
“What’s going on?” He looked at me and then at Simon. His jaw pulsed, his forehead creased as he stood with his fists balled at his sides.
“I brought Mr. Powers to see the property. Alice said that she called your office.”
Cane stared at Simon’s hand on my arm until he released it. “Have you finished?”
“We have, I do believe.” I looked up at Simon, hoping he wasn’t put off by Cane’s attitude. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but this wasn’t the way to treat a potential buyer. Surely Cane knew this.
Simon appeared amused as Cane stared holes through him. He glanced at me, then back to Cane, before a small smirk appeared on his face.
“I saw this listing and thought it may work for my new venture. Your agent did an excellent job showing me around.”
“I’m sure she did.”
Simon seemed unfazed—totally cool and collected. He turned toward me and winked. “Thank you for everything, Ms. Stanley. I will get with you tomorrow. Maybe we can meet for lunch?”
“I’ll check my schedule, but that sounds great.” I followed Simon to the door, Cane’s eyes never leaving us.
Simon exited first, the door closing snugly behind him. My hand was on the handle when Cane’s voice caught my attention.