Damn, I liked her sense of humor. Clearly, she was as unimpressed with the post as I was.
I clicked on her profile. She only had a picture of a glass of wine and what looked like a complete teardown of a home in the background.
Was that the house she’d mentioned? No, she couldn’t possibly live there. I wasn’t even sure it could classify as a house. It seemed to be under construction. But still, the coincidence was too big. Phoebe wasn’t that common of a name. My instincts nudged me to contact her, and I direct messaged her before I could second-guess myself.
Griffin: Is this Veronica’s friend Phoebe?
She answered right away.
Phoebe: Yes, it is. And if this isn’t the infamous Griffin, whom The Loft doesn’t know whether he went there looking for business or pleasure.
I laughed. The woman definitely had a great sense of humor.
Griffin: What do you think? Should I call them out on it?
Phoebe: No, I don’t think they’re actually open to feedback. I just needed to get my frustration out, and I guess I took it out on them. The night didn’t end well.
Griffin: Fuck. How come?
Phoebe: Long story.
Griffin: Do you have a phone number? I’d love to hear it.
Dots appeared and then disappeared before reappearing once more. Obviously, she was contemplating what to write.
Phoebe: Why?
That was a good question. And I didn’t have an answer. She just seemed vulnerable, and I hated the idea of that moron hurting her.
I didn’t reply, but she did, typing her phone number. I called her the next second.
“Hey, this is Griffin,” I said as soon as she picked up.
“I figured.” Her voice was so incredibly shy and different from her sassy messages that for a split second, I figured maybe I was talking to someone else. But no, I recognized her voice. She’d been shy at the bar too. It hadn’t kept me from drinking her in, though. Even now, I could picture her perfectly in my mind. The image of her in that tight dress was permanently marked in my mind.
Don’t flirt with her, Griffin. Don’t flirt. She’s in it for the long haul.
“Did anything happen when you went home?” I asked.
“Yeah, he called me.”
“Why the hell would he call?” Anger pumped through my veins.
“About this damn house. It’s gonna come crashing down on me soon.”
Fuck.So she really lived in that run-down thing from her profile pic.
“He wanted to discuss the asking price. I want to lower it so that we can finally get rid of it. But if we lower our price, then we’re going to make very little profit, and God knows that I could use it right now. So, hello, rock, and hello, hard place. I’m right between the two.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I just told you that!”
I couldn’t imagine the nightmare she was in. “Want to talk about something else?”
“Yes, please. What happened to your business deal? Did you manage to turn it around?”
I’d almost forgotten that I even told her about it. “No. I even shared everything with my brothers this morning in our business meeting.”
