SEVEN
CLAIRE WAITED FOR THE ANCIENT elevator to come creaking to stop and willed her stomach to settle. They’d looked at the entrance area and the basement level, but she was curious to see what one of the units looked like. When Luke told her his was interested in starting another property, she’d mistakenly assumed he meant a ground-up construction project. This job would be a remodel, more or less extensive depending on what the interiors of the units looked like. So far the changes were mostly cosmetic – new fixtures and finishes but no obvious structural changes that she could see.
When he’d asked her to fly with him to Norfolk, she’d said yes, if for no other reason than it got her away from the weirdness of their new living arrangement and she wanted to see the city. Before she met Luke, her travel experience had been limited to the Outer Banks and parts of North Carolina. Now that she’d been on a few trips with him and realized she loved it as much as she’d always thought she would, she’d caught a bit of wanderlust. She wasn’t sure what he’d expected her to contribute, but as soon as they walked into the older run down building, the ideas came on their own. In many ways, it was like the rush she got when she found a house she wanted to flip. She saw past the faded, stained carpet and peeling, grass cloth wall covering and pictured the space transformed with light finishes that referenced the port city.
“I have a middle unit and one on the end that we can take a look at,” said the realtor, leading them out into a dark, musty smelling hallway as soon as the elevator doors open.
The pretty if slightly over made up woman had gone from fawning over Luke and practically ignoring Claire to something civilized and much more professional as they toured the space. Luke made it clear from the start that he and Claire were together, keeping his palm on the small of her back or taking her hand in his as they looked around, but the realtor hadn’t really given up on him until he pulled Claire against him on the elevator ride from the lobby to the basement, wrapping his arms around her from behind and pressing a kiss to her hair. She’d watched the resignation settle on the woman’s powdered face, and as soon as she stopped treating Luke as a conquest and started treating him as a commission, things seemed to smooth out.
Claire wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to the way women looked at him – like he was a combination of Belgium chocolate and the answer to their dreams. She’d never been a jealous person, but it seemed like most of the women who saw him, did everything short of throwing their panties at him to try to get his attention, and she wouldn’t put that past a few of them. Even the men at the hotels and restaurants they frequented seemed to trip over themselves to please him.
“Here you go,” said the other woman, unlocking the door and waiting for them to enter before following. “With the exception of the units on either side of the elevator and the ones at the end of the building, which we’ll look at next, every unit is the same until we get to the penthouse.”
The apartment smelled like stale cigarettes combined with years of cooking odors. The space wasn’t large, but the way it was divided made it feel even more cramped, and Claire forced her shoulders to relax instead of hiking up to her ears.
“How many units on a floor?” asked Luke.
“Twelve,” said the realtor. “Including the end units. They’re paired so the unit beside this is reversed with things like the HVAC and plumbing keying together.”
Claire wandered through the dark living room, down the hallway past a tiny galley kitchen and a bedroom and bath. She came to a stop at a window with an extraordinary view of the city below and further out, the enormous cranes used to load and unload the ships when they came into port.
“What do you think?” asked Luke, standing beside her at the window.
“I think it’s a disaster,” said Claire, glancing around the dark, stale smelling room. “Just kidding. Mostly. It’s small. There are minor things you could do to the interior walls to divide the space more effectively, but none of that is going to change the fact that it’s just really small. Would it make sense to combine two units so you’d have another bedroom and space to put a decent sized kitchen and living room? You’d cut the number of units but you might actually be able to sell them.”
“Maybe. I have to run the numbers, and then if it seems viable, get preliminary drawings. It’s going to substantially increase the construction budget, but in this area the larger units could be a much better choice. The one bedroom caves certainly limit the market.”
She laughed and he caught her around the waist, pulling her to him. His face looked lighter and more open than she was used to seeing it. She’d seen his eyes filled with lust, seen him satisfied and triumphant, but in that moment, he looked happy. Simply and completely happy, and something inside her melted to think she might be the cause.
“Okay,” she said, ignoring the almost wistful looks from the realtor and focusing her attention on Luke. “Let’s go see the end unit, and then I want lunch.”
“I TOLD YOU what I thought,” said Claire, taking a bite of the soft warm breadstick. It was buttery and yeasty, and as wobbly as her stomach had felt hours earlier, it seemed to have recovered with a vengeance. She was starving. “What do you think? Do you still want it?”
He arched an eyebrow at her. “Sweetheart, I always want it.”
“Funny, Masters,” she said, pointing the half eaten breadstick at him. “But I was being serious. I’m curious. Are you going to make an offer?”
He sat for a moment, steepling his fingers, and she was reminded about how careful he could be sometimes. It made the impulsive times,like if you lose this bet you have to move in with me, more shocking.
“Yes,” he said, a smile spreading across his face. “I want to have the building inspectors look things over, and then the attorneys have to do their bit to make sure I’m not buying someone else’s lawsuit, but assuming everything checks out, I think it’s the kind of project I was looking for. I like your idea of combining units. With the way that block is trending, it could support more upscale spaces.”
Claire felt her face heat at his comment. It was a simple thing he would have thought of on his own, but it made her feel good to think she’d been some help to him.
“So what happens now?” she asked, leaning back so the server could set the steaming bowl of seafood chowder in front of her. The spicy old bay scent made her mouth water and she didn’t wait for him to answer before she picked up her spoon, blowing on the too hot chowder before taking a bite.
“After the inspectors and attorneys? I’ll work the numbers both ways, decide where I think the sweet spot is, and then offer under that. Hopefully by the time we’re done negotiating, the price will still be under what I want to pay. If not, I’ll reevaluate and decide if I want to up my offer or walk away.” He took a spoonful of his soup, and she tried to slow her pace to match his so she didn’t end up devouring her bowl before he’d made a dent in his. “Then drawings and specs from the architect, and it goes out for bid.”
“Did I hear you say something about bids?” said a voice behind Claire.
Luke looked up and she saw distaste crease his brow a moment before he schooled his face.
“What brings you here, Ed?” said Luke.
Claire forced a blank expression before turning to face the despicable man she’d met at the opening of Luke’s 609 West building. She’d walked away before it happened, but apparently Luke had punched the man, although it was hard to tell by the way he was old buddying Luke.
“Combining business and pleasure,” said Samson. “I have a job in the area and thought I’d make a long weekend of it. Ah, here she is.”
Claire looked up in time to see the gorgeous, dark-haired woman Luke had on his arm at the benefit weeks ago. She wore a tasteful, pale blue dress that showed off her eyes and accentuated every one of her curves, and she looked at Luke like he was more delicious than anything she could have possibly eaten for lunch. After a moment, she seemed to notice Claire, giving her an appraising head-to-toe look that telegraphed how little of a threat she found her to be.
