Just One Night: Part 5 (5 page)

“Everything all right?” he asks me, looking over at me with concern. “You haven’t said anything since we left the executive suites.”

“I’m fine,” I say, not very enthusiastically.

“Did I do something wrong?”

“No, don’t be silly.” I pat his hand as it rests on the gear shift, trying to assure him that I’m not mad at him. “You did everything right.”

“Why do you make it sound as if doing everything right is doing it wrong?”

I have to laugh at that. “Because I’m a screwball?”

“I’m sorry, but I cannot agree with that. You’re my business partner, which shows a distinct lack of screwball-ed-ness on your part. I find you quite brilliant, in point of fact.”

“You’re right,” I say, nodding my agreement. “You’re absolutely right.” I’m smiling now and it’s real. I can feel the good mood down to my toes. It’s weird to be this happy over something this risky. And I’m not just taking a personal risk, I’m taking a business risk too. I must be insane. Forget screwball … that doesn’t even begin to cover it.

William breaks into my thoughts, stopping them short. “So tell me about these clients of yours. Give me some insight into your dealings and the property itself so I can be prepared for their questions and concerns.”

This is good. We’ll talk business and it will get my mind off our personal life and the fact that I can still feel him between my legs. Did we really just go at it like rabbits on my bed an hour ago? Our whole plan to hold off and date first went right out that window. I wish I could drum up some regret over that, but I can’t. It felt way too good.

Focus on business. That’s what I have to do. Focus, focus, focus…

“Well, they’re a married couple who’ve been together forever. They have several kids who I haven’t met. They’ve owned this property since they were first married, so maybe fifty years. They used to run a jewelry business out of the bottom floor and lived above, but now the entire thing is vacant. They just want to sell so they can move to Florida and buy a condo there.”

“And you mentioned it’s in the Heights …”

“Yes. As you know, it’s been a depressed area for a long time, but I’m thinking it’s ripe for a new look, a new generation of buyers to come in and renovate.”

“Have you taken a look at the crime statistics?”

“Yes, and they’re encouraging, actually. They have several new people on the staff of the local police department who are really making some headway along with some government funding that’s helping with some specific task forces. I’ve pretty much looked into everything else too. Schooling, big business moving into nearby areas, city planning maps, and so on. And the building itself is great. Good bones and some really nice architectural detail.”

“So you’re not thinking tear-down?”

“You could. Or you could just renovate. It has a lot of possibilities.”

“What about the neighboring properties? Are they for sale? What’s the status with them?”

“I haven’t been able to reach the other owners for the properties on either side. One is deceased, so I think it’s all being held up in probate. The son of the man who owned it hasn’t responded to my letters. And the other, pretty much the same thing. I’ve sent letters but I get no response. As far as the rest of the block, I haven’t done any work there.”

“Perhaps a personal visit to the ones who you’ve already started with would be in order.”

I shrug. “Sure. If you think it’s best.”

“Any reason why you haven’t already done that?”

I shrug, feeling less than businesslike with my answer. “I guess I didn’t want to be pushy. These are older people and they don’t really appreciate the hard sell.”

He nods, but says nothing.

“Just turn here and find an empty space,” I say, pointing out the windshield. “This parking lot comes with the building, by the way.”

“Excellent,” he says, turning into the nearest space and shutting off the engine. “We’re right on time.”

“They’ll appreciate that. They’re retired but they still keep regular hours as if they weren’t. I think they play a lot of tennis too.”

“Good to know.” William gets out of the car and comes around to get my door, which I’ve already opened. I feel like a princess giving him my hand so he can help me out.

“And I thought all the gentlemen in the world were extinct,” says a voice from the sidewalk.

I turn around with a smile. “Hello, Mrs. Goodman, so nice to see you.” I walk over to shake her hand.

“And you,” she says, but her eyes are on William. “And who is this young man you’ve brought with you today?”

I hold out my hand in introduction. “Mrs. Goodman, this is William Stratford, my business partner.”

William steps up and takes her hand gently. “It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance. Please call me William.”

“William, nice to meet you. Call me Agatha.”

He nods once and takes a small bow. “Agatha, thank you for taking the time to meet with us today on such short notice.”

I am not going to be jealous over the fact that he’s on a first-name basis with her before I am because it’s obvious she’s taken with him. I’m trying not to get too excited over that. She could go with her choice of brokers and realtors, so I have to work hard to be sure she never has a reason to leave us. William’s charm alone will not be enough to keep us in business.

“What happened with that man … Henry or Hank I think his name was?” Mrs. Goodman is looking at me now. “I thought he was your partner.”

My face burns pink. “Actually Hank and I haven’t worked together for many months.”

Mrs. Goodman frowns. “That’s not what he said just yesterday. He told me you were on his team and that I could be working with both of you if I just agreed to the new contract he gave me.”

I’m so angry I can’t think of what to say in response to that awfulness. I’m afraid I’ll come right out with the bold truth about what a horrible, lying sack of shit Hank is if I say anything at all. Thank goodness William is here to save me from myself.

“How about you give me a tour of your property? Then we can discuss teams and contracts after, if that’s what you wish to do.” He looks up at the facade of the building and rubs his hands together. “This place looks like it has a very interesting history.”

“Oh, it does,” Mrs. Goodman says, her expression shifting instantly to one of pride. “My husband and I have been coming here six days a week for nearly fifty years …” Her voice fades in the distance as she moves off to lead William on a tour.

“I’ll just wait here,” I say to their backs. They continue on without me, but William looks over his shoulder and gives me a wink before they disappear through a door, so I know they heard me.

I cannot wait to get my phone out and call that bastard Hank.

He picks up on the second ring. “Are you ready to come back to me?” he asks without even saying hello first.

If he were in front of me, I’d punch him right in the face. God, what did I ever see in him? I must have been blind, or at least very, very near-sighted. I feel a little sick thinking about how much time I spent with this man. What a snake. He wasn’t even good in bed.

“Hank, get over yourself. You are the very last man I’d ever go back to, trust me.”

“I find that hard to believe,” he says, completely full of himself.

“Whatever. I’m calling because I don’t appreciate you telling my clients that I am part of your team, and I also don’t appreciate you lying to them and trying to trick them into signing on with you. That’s low, Hank, even for you.”

“It wasn’t a lie. Technically you’re still on my team since I run the show over here now. You can’t go rogue, as you well know. You’re not a broker. Your license is here, so you’re on my team. Simple.”

I can’t keep the satisfaction from my voice. “Actually, you’d better check the records again, dumbass. I’m not with you any longer, I’m with William Stratford, so you can back the fuck off my clients and go find your own business elsewhere.”

“William Stratford? I read about him in the paper. That guy got fired from his last job. You can’t work for him.” Hank laughs. “He’s just as jobless as you are.”

I sigh loudly so he’ll get the point that he’s a complete idiot. “You really are clueless aren’t you? Oh well. Not my problem. Have fun with your new girlfriend.”

“Wait!” he yells. “I need to talk to you still!”

“Sorry. I’m busy. And don’t call me ever again because I won’t be answering.” I hang up before he can reply.

“Trouble in paradise?” a man says behind me.

I turn to find Mr. Goodman there. He’s less than five feet tall, mostly bald, and covered in liver spots. I love him to pieces.

“Oh, hi there, I didn’t see you before.”

He waves his hand around in dismissal. “I was around the corner watering the flowers.” We walk into the building together and he looks towards the door separating the jewelry business from the rest of the building. “Agatha inside?”

“Yes, she’s giving my business partner a tour.”

“Hank?”

“No, he’s not my partner. He didn’t realize that I’d moved on to another broker, so I guess that’s why he approached you and said that I was still with him. Agatha’s with William Stratford. He and I recently started our new partnership.”

Mr. Goodman nods his head. “Good. I never did like that Hank person. Seemed kind of sleazy to me.” He gives me an apologetic look. “He was lucky to have you. If it hadn’t been for you we would have gone elsewhere.”

I beam with happiness. “That’s very kind, Mr. Goodman. Thank you for telling me.”

He points at me and pokes the air a few times. “You’ve got the right attitude, missy. Respectful, smart, and full of good ideas. Me and the missus believe in you. That’s why we’re sticking with you.”

I want to hug him, but I restrain myself by folding my hands together and squeezing. “Thank you so much. I promise to work really hard to find you the right buyer.”

“Good. How about a cup of coffee?”

I nod. “That would be wonderful.”

I’m just finishing up the cup he poured for me when William and Mrs. Goodman come back downstairs to join us.

Mrs. Goodman is the first to talk. “Lionel, you’re here! Good. You can meet William Stratford.” She turns to glance at him. “He’s been sharing the most interesting ideas with me. I can’t wait for you to hear them.”

I blink a few times, making sure I don’t let any negative emotion show.
Ideas? What ideas?
I’m getting a sick feeling in my stomach as I think of Hank trying to work around me and take my clients. This isn’t happening again, is it?

I give myself a mental shake. It can’t be happening again. William is my partner. Not only that, he’s my roommate.

Ugh.
Hank was my roommate too!

My heart fills with dread. What have I done? I pray it’s not something stupid, like repeating mistakes I should have kept in my past.

“Nice to meet you, William,” Mr. Goodman says, shaking his hand.

“Nice to meet you as well, Mr. Goodman.” William turns to me. “Actually, the ideas that I was sharing with Agatha are not mine. They’re Jennifer’s. She’s got quite the vision where this neighborhood is concerned. When we originally spoke, I had it in my mind that a demolition was in order, but she convinced me otherwise. Now I find I quite like the idea of a renovation. This building has character.”

The Goodmans look at me and smile.

“We knew she was the one for us,” says Mrs. Goodman. “Right from the start, she just knew what we were looking for.” She looks at William almost with an apology in her expression. “I know you probably think we’re silly old fuddy duddies, wanting our building to go to the right person … it’s only real estate after all. But we’ve spent a large portion of our lives here.”

Mr. Goodman takes her hand and continues the explanation. “All of our children grew up inside these walls. They graduated high school and college and came back here to celebrate with us. Our grandchildren play on this floor when their parents are out for dinner.” He looks at the scuffed surface. “Memories like that are hard to kill.”

“I assure you, we are not interested in killing any memories,” William says. “We want to bring this place back to its former glory. Some of the rooms will need to be changed around and obviously electrical and plumbing will need to be brought up to code, but that should be easy enough.” He steps in closer and puts on a serious expression. “What would be really nice would be to be able to discuss the properties on either side of you and perhaps down the block as well. We could make a really big project, a cohesive one that could bring in some serious investors if we could put them all together.”

The Goodmans share a look before Mr. Goodman responds. “We could put you in touch with most of our neighbors.”

My eyes bulge out. When I mentioned it before they didn’t really answer me or acted distracted.

Mrs. Goodman looks at me. “To be fair, Jennifer did ask us for that information before.”

I nod, keeping my words and my hurt feelings to myself.

“We didn’t want to say anything until we spoke to them first, and then with this Hank person calling us non-stop for weeks …”

“Weeks?” I ask, wondering if their old age has caused them to forget dates.

“Months?” Mrs. Goodman looks at her husband. “Lionel, it’s been months, dear. Remember? That first call was on Sandy’s birthday. That was back in February.”

My ears are ringing. I was still dating Hank in February, still living with him. He was going behind my back in
February?
I feel sick to my stomach. He was planning to steal all my clients before I found out about him and that twit. What a devious son of a fuck-faced liar he is. He is so lucky he’s not here right now. I’d borrow William’s keys and run him over for sure.

“Do you have the neighbor’s permission for us to contact them?” William asks, either oblivious to my distress or helping us all move past it.

“I don’t think you need their permission,” says Agatha. “We can send you the phone numbers by the email if you want.”

Mr. Goodman smiles. “She uses the email all day long. I still don’t know how to use it.”

“Please. Send it by the email, that would be perfect,” William says, giving no indication at all that he’s noticed their misnomer.