“Aren’t you going to try that on?”
“Nope. This is how someone like me lives on the wild side.”
SIX
Jada
Anticipation coursedthrough me as I made my way to Solomon Place a few days later. A prospective buyer wanted to see the property. Alice had called Alexander Industries to inform them of the appointment. We had a key, so there were no assurances I would see Cane. I wasn’t even sure I wanted him to be there. But I wasn’t sure I didn’t want him to be, either.
I’d tried to push him out of my mind every day since walking out of Solomon Place five days earlier, but I couldn’t shake him. No matter how many different ways I argued with myself, nothing changed.
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 in our last interaction.
I never felt like I had Decker’s sole attention. He checked out other women while I sat next to him.Perhaps that’s how he found the next woman he would cheat on me with.Asshole.
Why was I thinking about my ex-husband anyway? He didn’tdeserve any more of my time. Maybe because I’d spent time with Cane, and when his attention was on you, it was a powerful thing. Add in his playfulness and charm and he was a dangerous mix.
Stop, Jada.
If I was going to get involved with anyone, they would be serious, mature, and capable of monogamy.
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 Charlie Hunnam 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’re 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 gray 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 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’re 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’ll 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.
