Chapter 10
"Tell me about the office complex."
He was still trying to steady his breathing. Furthermore, he felt shaky on the inside. All week long, he had been trying to come up with an answer as to why he was feeling this way and was cowardly enough to try and put it all aside. He was afraid of what he would find. So, he had put it aside for now.
"Why?" He clamped his hand over hers as she continued to explore the wide expanse of his chest. The woman was lethal, he thought grimly. She was powerful enough to derail his train of thoughts and everything else. Even when he wasn't with her, she occupied his space.
He could smell her perfume and body essence. And taste her lips. It was coming to a point where he could not envision a night without her. That in itself screamed danger.
"I just want to know."
"About my day at the office?" His thick brows winged up. "You don't hear me asking about your ingredients, do you?"
"Would you like me to enumerate them?"
"Christ, no!" he said feelingly.
"Well, I would like to hear about your day. So, go on."
He glowered at her, but she held his gaze steady. "Stubborn as hell," he muttered. "What would you like to know?"
"Why did it take almost two years for your company to acquire the place?"
"If you were watching the news, and evidently you were, you would have heard that the owners, or former owners, had a difficult time letting go." His eyes wandered over her face and settled on her lush lips. "Anyway, turns out the father was the one who was holding on. The building has been in their family for several generations."
"Then why take it over? Why not inject capital and leave them to continue running the place?"
His brows elevated at her astute observation. "We suggested that at first." He curled his fingers through hers, amused at her intense expression. "The board vetoed the idea. The place was a wreck. It's a solid building of course, but has not been maintained over the years. The offices are shoddy and theplumbing leaves a lot to be desired. The bottom line is, the place has been going to hell over the years."
"The sons have their own interests. One is all the way in Boston, Mass. The other migrated to Canada where he's married and has his family. That leaves the father, and his health is failing. It took some convincing to let him see that it's time to let it go."
Unable to help himself, he lifted his head and brushed his lips against hers. The thought occurred to him that Lizzie had never been interested in what he did or even encouraged a discussion. Because the thought made him feel guilty, he shied away from it and continued. "I suppose you want to know the plans we have for the place?"
Her tapered brows lifted. "Naturally."
When he grinned at her, she felt her heart turning over. "Like I said before, the structure is solid, but it's going to take a hell of a lot of work to get it to what it was before. Unlike the rumors you might have heard, we have no intention of tearing the place down and putting up apartment buildings. It's in the middle of a busy downtown area."
"We did our research naturally, and after the extensive renovations, we will be taking bids from companies that would like to do business with us. We'll keep the lease at anaffordable rate, but we will insist on quality services. McDermot Enterprises prides itself on offering the best for less, or something like that."
"And the current business owners? What will they do?"
He shrugged. "Some of them have already moved out. A few had not been paying their lease. There's a strip club on the ground floor, and because of several illegal activities, the police are threatening to close it down. The entire place is a den for drug addicts and suppliers. They will be the first to go. We're already getting trouble from the operators of the club. Threats have been made-"
"Threats?" The look of alarm on her exquisite face had him reaching up to cup her cheek. "What kind?"
"Nothing our lawyers cannot handle. And we have a fleet of very expensive ones on retainer."
"Were the threats to you specifically, or-"
"Some were to me." His thumb caressed her cheek. "Which I'm completely ignoring." He shook his head. "I can take care of myself. And besides, the threats are just idle words from two punks who think they can intimidate us by playing tough."
"The police are aware of the situation and have issued a warning to them. If that does not work, our lawyers are prepared to file an injunction and get them evicted sooner than they are expected to leave."
"I'm just-"
"Worried?" A smile played around his sensuous lips. "Is that a requirement to what we have going on here?"
She rolled her eyes and made him laugh.
