Hot Property (12 page)

“You were right. Skylar Blakewood is an
arrogant, self-centered, egotistical--”

“I’m almost afraid to ask what happened.”
Betsy eased into a chair in front of Mary’s desk.

Mary slammed another drawer and flopped down
at her desk with a disgusted grunt. “The man is impossible. I told
him you had a full schedule today. But that didn’t seem to faze
him. He demanded that you be in his office within the hour.”

“Oh he did, huh?”

“If you’re not, he’s releasing you of your
contract obligations. He’s firing us.”

Betsy jumped to her feet. “We’ll see about
that.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’ll be in his office within the hour all
right. And it won’t be because he demanded it. He can start looking
for another agency to represent him because we’re firing him.”

Chapter Eight

“You can’t go in there without being
announced first,” shrieked the receptionist, jumping up from her
desk.

Betsy didn’t break her stride as she charged
toward the closed door to Skylar’s office.

“Mr. Blakewood--”

Before the panicky young woman had a chance
to finish, Betsy barged inside. Her fierce stride was brought to an
instant halt the second she saw him.

“I tried to stop her,” insisted the blushing
blond as she came to a stop next to Betsy.

“It’s okay, Crystal. Obviously Miss
Alexander needed to see me immediately.” Betsy returned his sharp
gaze, determined to stare him down. She was successful when Skylar
looked to his receptionist. “You can return to your desk, Crystal.
And please close the door on your way out.”

Betsy’s heart pounded feverishly. Her pulse
raced while breathing became difficult for her. Extremely so when
she heard Crystal shut the door. They were alone. And for some
reason Betsy was terrified of that fact.

“I know I told your partner I had to see
you, but I really didn’t expect you quite this fast.”

Betsy started to tremble but knew it had
nothing to do with fear. Her anger had returned when he began
grinning like he had succeeded in getting her to jump at his
command.

“You can wipe that smug grin off your face.
I came to tell you to take your business elsewhere. The Alexander
and Gold Agency is no longer representing you.” The words came so
fast Betsy felt dizzy. But that didn’t stop her from turning on her
heels to head for the door.

“Then I’ll pick you up at six for
dinner.”

If his words were intended to stop her, it
worked. Betsy took a deep breath and silently counted to ten before
turning back to him. “I beg your pardon?”

The smug grin returned. Maybe it never left.
In any event, the very next second it was gone and he looked
serious as he leaned forward in his seat. At first, his eyes
avoided hers when he spoke. “I need you, Betsy.” His eyes found
hers and Betsy began to melt. God how she wanted to rush over to
him and feel those strong arms around her. Feel the touch of his
lips on hers. “If we’re no longer doing business, I’d very much
like to start dating you,” he explained.

Betsy was a second away from following her
heart’s lead that had jumped toward him. Go ahead and let down your
guard again. I don’t have to remind you what it will lead to. Miss
Sensible had returned just in the nick of time. And Betsy
immediately willed herself to fight the powerful sensations
invading her.

“If you were rude to Mary because you
thought I’d react as I have so we could have an affair, you were
wrong.”

“I will apologize to her. And I didn’t mean
to be so--”

“Demanding?”

“Perhaps. But I did have something of vital
importance to discuss with you. And it pertained to business.”

“Well what is it?”

“Does this mean you’re back on the job?”

Silence.

He was clever, she’d give him that. Being
able to think on her toes, Betsy believed was a contributing factor
in her answer. “If you’re serious about apologizing to Mary--”

“I said I would.” He paused. “Why don’t you
sit down and I’ll bring you up-to-date.”

Betsy hesitated only to reinforce her
earlier decision to follow her head instead of her heart in this
man’s presence. Even as she sat, she promised herself she wouldn’t
be enticed by the scent of his cologne that had been swirling about
the room ever since she entered.

“Fire away.”

Her choice of words brought a smile to his
face. Then he cleared his throat and got down to the business at
hand. “The supervisors called a special meeting last night. Along
with the planning committee they decided to reject my proposed plan
to develop the fifty acres.”

“You can’t be serious?” gasped Betsy in
disbelief.

“I had trouble believing it at first, too.
And I’m almost ashamed to say I did a lot of shouting about
it.”

“So now what?”

“Now that I don’t get a variance to change
the zoning from agriculture to residential, I sell it as one
piece.”

“I don’t know if I want to hear the price
we’re talking.” Betsy was already certain the price tag would
exceed any of her present buyers price range.

Skylar used his fingers to comb threw his
dark hair. “I know it’s going to create a problem, but anything
under a quarter of a million and I take a loss. Of course, I could
scale down the finishing work. Possibly eliminate the pool--”

“We both know you won’t cut corners,” Betsy
insisted.

Skylar’s eyes steadied on hers. “Can you get
me three hundred?”

Betsy took a deep breath to replenish her
lungs with a new supply of air. “That’s a lot of money. But then,
we do have a lot of professional people moving into the area
willing to pay top dollar for quality work.”

“Can you get me my price?”

Betsy desperately wanted to. And she knew it
wasn’t because of the handsome commission she’d earn, more because
that’s what the man needed without taking a loss. “What are your
buyers’ comments about the house so far? I mean, you have mentioned
it to some, haven’t you?” Skylar wrinkled his tanned brow. His eyes
narrowed. Obviously the man was puzzled when he said, “You
haven’t?”

Betsy wasn’t sure herself why she hadn’t.
Now when she thought about it, she remembered a man stopping by the
office the other day to inquire about any available new homes for
sale in the country. Price didn’t seem an issue. But he was adamant
on new and country. Not once had she mentioned Skylar’s house
during the conversation.

“You know, I’d hate to see you lose out on
your commission, but before I’ll take a loss, I’ll keep the house
for myself.”

“Yourself?” Betsy was surprised.

Before he could respond, Betsy remembered it
wouldn’t be just for him, but for his new bride as well. Somehow it
didn’t really bother her if Skylar kept the house for himself. But
the thought of Stephanie living there with him was a different
matter. After all, that hill had almost belonged to her. And
knowing it might soon be Stephanie’s was more than Betsy could deal
with right now.

She shot to her feet. “I’ll get your price,”
she professed firmly.

“Good luck.”

Betsy had a feeling it would take more than
luck to succeed. But she vowed she would and made her exit as
swiftly as she had burst inside.

The instant she slid into her car and began
driving, she remembered she was supposed to be meeting a client in
her office several minutes ago. And yet, she wasn’t driving in the
direction of her office. She was turning onto the country road that
had become her favorite months ago.

When she pulled off to the side of the road
at the foot of that grand hill, her eyes immediately searched out
the peak. Oddly enough, the towering white masterpiece hanging down
from heaven begun to resemble her dream house. Or perhaps, she was
so awed by its beauty that she couldn’t remember the original
design of the house she had fantasized about for so long.

In any event, admiring the place was a
mistake. Next, she’d be falling in love with it like she had its
present owner. And if that were to happen, selling it would mean
trying to deal with another emotional trauma she feared she was not
strong enough to cope with at present.

Betsy had no idea what kind of mood she’d
find Mary in when she arrived at the office. To her relief, she was
all smiles.

Mary glanced from the computer monitor to
Betsy. “You didn’t have to rush back. Mr. Wayne is already taken
care of.”

“He signed the agreement?” Betsy’s voice
reflected her skepticism.

“Sure did. He read it from beginning to end
and signed without a single question.”

Betsy eased into a chair and pulled the hem
of her sweater dress over the right knee she had crossed over the
left. She knew she was stalling. But there was no way of avoiding
what she had to do.

“Mary, we’re still representing Skylar.”

“I know.”

“You do?”

“I got off the phone with him right before
you came in.”

Betsy was temporarily speechless. Then, even
though she felt confident of the answer, she asked anyway. “Did he
apologize?”

Mary sighed as she smiled. “Did he
ever.”

Betsy looked across the desk at her
starry-eyed partner and didn’t want to hear what he’d said to make
Mary look that way. But she sensed he must’ve used that deep
seductive tone of his. The one Betsy had found irresistible. Well
not anymore.

For Pete’s sake, the man was engaged to be
married. Had he no morals? Of course not, Betsy answered her own
question. If he had, he wouldn’t have invited her to dinner,
expecting God only knew what afterward. Seducing Mary over the
phone was almost as bad. Betsy wondered if Stephanie knew what she
was getting. It didn’t matter, Betsy decided. The two of them
deserved each other.

The wealthiest pair of unscrupulous sneaks
in town, Betsy snickered at the thought to keep from crying.

“What’s so funny?” Mary asked.

Betsy had to think fast and came back with,
“The outrageous price tag on the place now.”

“I don’t know why you think that’s funny.
Skylar told me you said you’d get his price.”

Betsy stiffened as she stood. “And just
maybe I will.” With that, she stomped up to her own office.

She flopped down behind her desk,
frustrated, angry with herself for making such a statement. She
stewed for several minutes, then remembered.

Yanking open desk drawers and rooting
through the papers she had shoved in one of them the day she
cleared her desk top, she finally pulled out the piece she was
looking for. The sheet of paper that listed the names and telephone
numbers of her A buyers. Her serious buyers who wanted to purchase
immediately.

She quickly scanned the list of names. Her
hand was already on the phone when she spotted the doctor’s
name.

After the third ring, Betsy answered the
greeting. “Doctor Coleman, this is Betsy Alexander from the
Alexander and Gold Agency…. Yes, I think I have found you a house…
Oh it’s brand new and in the country…. Six o’clock would be
fine….I’ll meet you here at the office.”

When Betsy replaced the receiver back in its
cradle, she knew she should feel excited. But what she felt was a
sense of loss. And it almost felt as bad as having her heart
broken.

She kept herself busy the remainder of the
afternoon. She spent an hour at the bank on a settlement. Then
there were house showings. She had even managed to wolf down a
turkey sandwich she picked up at the mini-market on her way back to
the office where she stood waiting at the door for Doctor
Coleman.

At six o’clock on the dot she saw him
stepping out of his luxury car across the street. There was no
point in him traipsing into the office. Might as well get it over
with, Betsy told herself and went out the door locking it behind
her.

She didn’t question his decision to follow
her in his own car instead of riding with her. She kept her speed
down as she led the way to Skylar’s house even when her desire to
get the showing over with grew more intense with each mile she
traveled.

It was a relief not seeing old Betsy parked
on the hilltop as Betsy pulled in near the front entrance to the
house, which she instantly noticed was still minus a front
door.

“The view is magnificent,” gasped the young
doctor after stepping out of his car and slowly turning in a
complete circle to take in the sight.

“I’ve seen better,” quipped Betsy as she
headed inside.

“Well I haven’t. It’s exactly what I’m
looking for.”

Betsy didn’t respond. She was still trying
to figure out the one she gave to his first comment as she began
walking him through the unfinished interior.

“As you can see, there’s a lot of work to be
done yet. And did I mention the price is three hundred thousand?
Pretty steep wouldn’t you say?” she inquired with arched eyebrows
as she studied him from across the living room.

A cozy room in which she envisioned herself
curled up on the sofa in front of the fireplace on a cold winter
night.

“Like I told you, Miss Alexander, price is
no object.”

“Okay. But it is quite a drive to your
office from here.”

The man slid his hands into his trouser
pockets and gave Betsy and inquisitive look. “I believe you’re
trying to talk me out of purchasing this property.”

“Now why would I do that?” Is what she said,
though that’s exactly what she was doing and didn’t understand
why.

“My wife is out of town for a few weeks. If
the house is still available, I know she’ll want to see it the
minute she returns.”

“Of course. And hopefully more of the work
will be completed by then, too.”

“I’d like to be in by Christmas.”

“I’m not sure that’s realistic,” Betsy told
him, knowing perfectly well Christmas would be perfect.