"Can you come to my place at ten?" His gaze darts back to his office. It's beginning to make me wonder who else he has hidden in there.
"I'd prefer dinner at seven. I'm celebrating. I'd like to do that with you." It’s a bitch move, and I know it. I'm setting a trap. I'm settling in to see if he'll take the bait and then I'll catch him so I can watch him writhe and squirm.
"Celebrating what?"
"I sold the Warton property today," I say proudly even though I'm standing in his office in my underwear holding the weight of the world on my shoulders.
His eyes search mine as a smile glides over his mouth. "That's incredible. That does call for a celebration."
"So we'll have dinner together? It will be our first official date."
His gaze drops to the floor as he swallows. "I have somewhere I need to be at seven. Unfortunately, I can't break those plans."
You can break my heart though. I feel it happening. I won't cry because that gives this void inside of me more space than I want it to have.
"I'll call you when I'm free, Maya. We can celebrate in our own way."
"Mr. Bishop? Sir?" His assistant is back on her feet. "I just received an email that requires your urgent attention."
"Take care of that," I say with a flippant wave of my hand.
He does. He rounds her desk, bends down and reads whatever is displayed on the screen of her computer.
I don't bother waiting for him to finish. I leave with the knowledge that I have a job to do. I have a penthouse to sell, and nothing, not even Julian Bishop and his ex-girlfriend are going to keep me from making that happen.
I stepinto the lobby of the Bishop Hotel Chelsea at ten minutes after seven. I had no plans to go out tonight. After I left Julian's office, I went back to my apartment and promptly fell asleep in the middle of my bed.
It was mid-afternoon, but I felt exhausted and even though I intended to make a quick pit stop there to put on clothes, I decided to soothe my aching bones and within minutes I was out like a light.
My phone ringing woke me up twenty minutes ago. I ignored it at first and wrapped a blanket around me, but when it rang again, and then again, I finally answered.
It was the manager of this hotel. She told me that she needed me down here as soon as possible. I questioned her because my bed was winning the internal battle over whether I wanted to venture out or roll over and stay the night wrapped in its warmth.
All she'd say is that it was an important matter that needed my immediate attention. Curiosity alone got my ass out of bed after that.
I pulled on a black dress, slipped my feet into a pair of heels and headed straight out the door.
"Can you find Lindsay for me?" I ask the clerk at the front desk. "She called me a few minutes ago about the penthouse."
"Are you Maya?" The young man behind the desk offers me a kind smile.
I nod.
"I was told to send you right up." He points toward the private elevator in the corner of the lobby. "You have your key card, right?"
I flash it in the air. "I'm all set. I guess I'll head up."
I make my way across the lobby wondering what the hell was so important that it brought me here on a night when all I want is to be left alone.
I hearsoft music when the elevator doors open. I step off and into the corridor that leads to the central living space.
"Lindsay?" I call out the hotel manager's name because I was hoping to have a chance to talk to her about what the issue is before I have to face it head-on.
On the way over here, I ran every possible scenario through my mind. This penthouse is secure and it's manned by a state of the art alarm system. If anything had triggered that, someone at Bishop's main offices would have been called, not me.
I'm the listing agent which means that the problem has to be related to that in some capacity.
"Lindsay?" I say her name again as I near the end of the corridor.
