“You just bought the building kid, not the entire street,” the man said, getting up and dusting off the seat of his pants. “Don’t get carried away.”
“Thanks for the advice,” he said, watching the man make his way through the broken chairs and tables that littered the room. “But sometimes you’ve got to think big.”
The man just waved at him and stepped through the open door onto the sidewalk, leaving him alone in the first piece ofreal estate he’d ever owned. He watched him get into his car and drive away before turning to look at the huge space again, his mind stripping away all the garbage. The possibilities began to run through his mind, but he took a deep breath and stopped himself before he got lost in daydreams. He had work to do and limited time to get it done.
Grabbing a notebook and a tape measure, he started with the old dining room and worked his way through the building, spending extra time in the apartment on the second floor, since that’s where he’d be living after graduation. When he’d gotten all the measurements he wanted, he sat down at the dusty desk again and drew up the floor plans for the building, then moved on to making lists of everything that needed fixing.
Three hours passed before he knew it, and he was forced to pack up or miss class. With only a couple of months to go before graduation, he couldn’t afford to screw up. His dreams of wealth were finally coming true, he just had to stay the course and before long, he’d be rolling in money. Real estate was going to be his ticket to the good life and he’d taken the first step toward amassing the empire he’d been dreaming about for as long as he could remember.
After packing up his things, he grabbed the key off the desk and sat looking at it for a second, a big smile on his face before heading out. He’d just locked the door when a man walked up and stood in front of the building staring at the Sold sign plastered across the window, a disappointed look on his face.
“Can I help you?” he asked, walking over to the man.
The man looked over at him, then down at the key in his hand, “Are you the new owner?”
“Just bought the place,” he said. “Were you interested in buying it? I was under the impression no one wanted the building.”
“My client only recently became aware of the building; she’s currently looking to relocate to somewhere quieter than the city and open a café,” the man said. “She was thinking about buying the building and fixing it up, but I suppose we’ll have to look for another location, unless you’re willing to sell.”
It was clear from the man’s expensive suit and the Rolex on his wrist that money wasn’t an issue, he could probably sell the property right then and show a little profit, but his gut told him not to take the quick buck. Looking up at the building, he gave himself a second to make up his mind, then shoved the keys into his pocket.
“No, I’m not looking to sell,” he said, then paused before adding. “But I might be in the market for a partner. I’ve got an appointment I need to get to so I can’t talk right now, but let me give you my card, maybe we can meet for drinks or dinner later and discuss the details.”
After class, he headed to work, floating on a cloud of happiness. He’d only owned the building for a few hours, and he already had a possible tenant on the line, even better, one with money. If he worked it right, he could have the first floor not only rented, but some of the costs of remodeling it covered by the new renters. It was almost too good to be true and he told himself to slow down, buying the building was enough for one day.
When he walked through the doors of the main office, his first thought was to find Rose and tell her the good news. It shocked him enough that he stopped in the middle of the lobby and just stood there for a few minutes, sorting through his thoughts, his heart sinking when he realized that he might be feeling more than friendship. Pushing the idea from his mind, he told himself they were just friends, she didn’t want anything more than that either, and it was best that way.
His heart still leapt with happiness when he saw her, but he told himself that was a normal response and pushed his doubts away. “I did it,” he said, holding up the closing paperwork, grinning at her. “I’m now the proud owner of a rundown building on the bad side of town. Aren’t you going to congratulate me?”
“Oh, Malcolm, that’s great,” she said, rushing over and giving him a hug. “I can’t wait to see it.”
He held onto her just a second longer than necessary, unable to let go any sooner, and smiled down at her. “How about tonight?” he asked. “I need to take another look around. I’ve already got a potential renter, if you can believe that.”
“I told you it was all going to work out,” she said, smiling up at him. “We’ll have to go out to celebrate afterward, my treat.”
“That’s a deal,” he said, grinning down at her, the sudden urge to kiss her nearly overwhelming him, and he forced himself to step back. “We can go right after work.”
***Rose***
Legs trembling, Rose slowly made her way across the room, cursing her attraction to Malcolm and the way her body reacted any time he was close to her. It had only gotten worse over the last week, progressing from just a few tingles to full-on need, leaving her frustrated and lately, feeling guilty. No matter how she looked at it, she just couldn’t imagine Malcolm or any of his friends having anything to do with the two men who had disappeared from campus. The whole thing had never really made any sense to her, and now that she’d gotten to know them all, it seemed even more ridiculous.
She just couldn’t see any of them being involved in something so shady. Her stepfather must have gotten it allwrong, and she was about ready to tell him that, but knew he’d need more than just her opinion. As much as she hated to do it, she was going to have to start asking more questions, find a way to bring the conversation around to the missing men. There was no more avoiding it, and dinner that night would be the perfect opportunity.
But first, she had to do her job, she thought, looking around the room at the stacks and stacks of invoices that still had to be entered into the computer one by one. She’d already missed her deadline, it was still going to take weeks to finish the job the way Sandra wanted it done, and the infuriating woman was already clogging up her work email demanding to know when she’d be finished. Looking at the mess one more time, she decided there had to be a better way to log the invoices in the computer and sat down at the nearest terminal.
Her skills were a bit rusty, but it wasn’t long before she found a shortcut that would only take a bit of coding to activate and got to work, hoping the archaic machines were up to the task. Half an hour later she was adding the last line of code and wondering where she could get her hands on a scanner when Sandra appeared in the open doorway of the training room, a scowl on her face.
“I’ve been emailing you all morning. I was beginning to think you didn’t show up today,” she growled. “Now I find you on the computer messing around, no wonder this project isn’t finished. I should fire you right now for your incompetence.”
She got to her feet and turned to face the woman, silently reminding herself not to let her walk all over her. “I messaged you on Friday that the only way I could finish by today was to work all weekend, and you refused, if you’ll recall,” she said. “And I’m not messing around, I’m writing a program to make it easier to log the invoices. All I have to do is scan them, then the computer will do the rest.”
“And who told you to do that?” Sandra demanded. “I don’t believe you asked my permission to change the computer. Besides, those things can’t be trusted; they make mistakes all the time. We won’t be using your program, we’ll be entering everything by hand like we always do, and I want it all done by the end of the day. Do I make myself clear?”
“I can’t possibly get this all finished by the end of the day doing it the old way,” she said, shaking her head. “If you’d just let me…”
“I gave you my orders,” Sandra snarled. “Are you deaf or just stupid?”
Rose was shocked for a second, then began to get angry. “Please don’t talk to me like that,” she said, careful to keep any emotion out of her voice. “It’s very offensive.”
