What's Yours is Mine (24 page)

Will sat down and took Janet’s hands in his. “Maybe you could open your own realty office. Have you considered that?”

Janet brightened for a moment, then looked crestfallen. “There aren’t enough listings to go around, not even if I expanded my reach to Santa Maria, which I don’t know well enough anyway. And Alina and Roger, I’m afraid they wouldn’t be very nice about it.” She continued talking, but Will was no longer listening with his complete attention.
 

With the door cracked open, he could now overhear snatches of Darcy’s phone conversation. She wasn’t talking to someone at work. Far from it.
 

“No, I won’t discuss this over the phone. I need you and Roger both here. No, sooner. An hour. I don’t care if you have a
hundred
open houses. Send some of your other people to cover them. You don’t make sales at open houses anyway. Even I know that. Yes, I am in fact truly prepared to make a deal, but only if you don’t piss me off in the interim. So don’t be late.”
 

She hung up and swiveled toward the back door. Will must have been looking as dumbfounded as he felt, because she gave him a slow smile and a wink as she came outside, before turning her attention to the other woman. “Janet, I love you, but can you clear out? I’ve got an appointment in an hour, and Will and I both desperately need showers.”

Janet looked nonplussed. “But I—”

Will nodded at her. “I think this meeting will help you.” He didn’t know how. Was Darcy really going to make a deal and move out to save Janet’s job?
 

Should he offer to do it in her place?
 

Was Darcy doing the right thing when he wouldn’t?
 

When she got out of the shower, smelling like his oatmeal soap mingled with her lavender shampoo, her hair damp but her clothes business casual, all sharp lines and dark colors, Will was waiting in the living room. “Are you going to make a deal with them? Are you really moving out to let Janet keep her job?”
 

She walked past him, heading into the kitchen. “Why don’t you stick around and see for yourself?” She turned and made a show of sniffing deeply in his vicinity, wrinkling her nose. “Not that I don’t find you sexy like this, all manly and outdoorsy, but maybe you should take a shower before they get here too.”

He went to take a shower.

~*~

Huh. He actually did what she’d asked. That was some kind of milestone. Darcy hummed happily to herself as she made a sandwich, layering it with ham and pickles, then swiped a slice of Will’s ripe avocado. Surely he wouldn’t mind.
 

She sat down at the dining table and took a huge bite. Crunchy, salty bliss. She could hear the water running in the bathroom, imagined Will naked, the water pounding on his back. Another kind of bliss.
 

By the time the realty agency partners came to the door, Will had changed into khaki shorts and a loud Hawaiian shirt. Almost as if he was trying to take the opposite tack from Darcy and say he was relaxed, in his element, not at all businesslike or formal. Well, at least the clothes were clean.

~*~

Alina and Roger showed up exactly one hour after Darcy’s phone call. They both wore suits. Alina gave a practiced smile as Will opened the door. “Will Dougherty, I assume?”

“I am.”

She looked around for Darcy, who came forward, offering Alina what looked to be a bone-crushing handshake.
 

Roger entered behind his wife, glancing around. “I like what you’ve done with the place.” His gaze fell on the two couches. “Unusual arrangement.”

Darcy smiled, her fangs almost but not quite showing. “Isn’t it, though?”
 

Will sat down on Darcy’s couch to watch the fun.
 

Darcy didn’t offer the twosome any tea, he noticed. She got right to business as soon as they all sat down. “I heard from Janet Gillooly today. It seems you’ve let her go.”

Roger and Alina exchanged glances. “If you’d like her to work up your cancellation agreement, that can be arranged,” Roger said smoothly.
 

“I’d like you to rehire her.”

Another exchange of glances.
 

Will leaned forward. It was fascinating to see Darcy in this role. Sharp, controlled, on top of her game. And astoundingly sexy.
 

“That’s not going to happen,” Alina said with another toothy smile. “We had good reasons for our decision. You don’t need to concern yourself with her. Trust us, we have your best interests at heart, always.”

“I’m sure you do. But I also suspect you’re worried about the hit your firm’s reputation will take as word travels about this mess.” Darcy gestured around the room. “People might justifiably be nervous about using your agency. I wouldn’t be surprised if the
LA Times
picks it up as a curiosity piece for their real estate section.”

Alina shuddered. Roger nodded, grave. “You understand, then. We had no choice.”

“See, I think you did. Don’t you agree, Will?”

He nodded. “Absolutely. It’s always a bad idea to forget the human element.”

Darcy gave him an approving look. “Yes, and Janet is oh so very human, isn’t she?”
 

They all chuckled.
 

Darcy turned serious. “But here’s the thing. Firing her would be a grave mistake for two reasons. First, it wasn’t her fault. Your software is obviously seriously flawed. It should have immediately flagged the double entry and kicked it out. Where did you get it?”

Alina crossed her legs. Roger frowned. “It’s proprietary, tailored to our specific needs. We paid a lot of money for it, and it’s been solid for the past five years. This is the first time we’ve had a problem.”

Alina recrossed her legs. “Our software is irrelevant.”

“Unless Will and I choose to sue you and your programmer. Then it’s very relevant.”

“We worked out a deal with Tim Farrow. Whoever moves out will get fairly compensated and then some. You don’t have a case.”

Darcy splayed her hands on her knees. “Bad publicity is bad publicity. And this will become very public very quickly. I’ve already spoken with Stan Golden about it. He was dismayed enough to consider switching firms.”

Golden Organics was
the
company in this town. If he withdrew his support, if he told all his employees to take their business elsewhere, the real estate office would shutter for good.

Alina blinked. “You know Stan Golden?”

“I’m a senior executive at Golden Organics. Stan has been my mentor. He’s also my godfather. He’ll do anything for me.”

“We value Stan greatly. If we’d known…”

Will coughed. “You’d have kicked me out sooner?”

Her cool gaze swung his way. No toothy smile anymore. “I realize Tim Farrow likes your work, and he claims he promised you this unit in particular, but…”
 

Of course. Bread, buttered. Money, followed. Darcy had finally succeeded in getting him out of the condo by playing hardball with Janet’s career. He’d admire it if he wasn’t too busy feeling unaccountably betrayed.
 

But Darcy jumped in unexpectedly. “I’m not asking you to kick Will out.” She glanced at him, her gaze troubled. “It wouldn’t be right.”

He sat back on the couch, trying to avoid showing just how much this statement floored him.
 

“I am, however, asking you to rehire Janet.” Darcy put her hand up to forestall protests. “I understand the reasons for your decision, though as I said, the software is at least as much to blame as she is. But that’s beside the point. It’s one single incident. And you know Janet. She’s the beating heart of this town. She knows everyone. More, she cares about everyone. She’s not merely selling you a house; she wants you to find the perfect home to fit your personality, the one that will make your life work better. Yes, she talks too much and takes a while to get to the point, but she’s genuine, and she’s brilliant at the only parts of her job that matter. Partner her with someone who can handle the paper shuffling and bring her back. Otherwise, Golden Organics will take our business elsewhere.”
 

She leaned back with a sweet smile.
 

The agents looked like they didn’t know what hit them.
 

All Will knew was that she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, sitting there perched on the other end of that silly couch, a lock of hair that had escaped her barrette falling over her eyes. In her passion, she hadn’t noticed.
 

In her passion.
 

Yes. She was stunning in her passion. Fully alive, fully engaged. Fighting for someone she didn’t even know that well. Fighting for justice, apparently. Because it was the right thing to do.

He had a lot of rethinking to do, it seemed.

~*~

Darcy walked the real estate agents to the door and shut it behind them with a relieved sigh. It had worked. It had actually worked. They’d fallen all over themselves to assure her that they understood exactly what she meant about Janet, she was a prize indeed, and yes, the software must be at fault, and of course they’d do everything in their power to make her and everyone else at Golden Organics happy. Then they glanced at Will and assured him that they cared about him too.

Will. That was another thing. The look in his eyes as she finished her defense of Janet, it was almost proud. That, and something more. Something she couldn’t quite identify but that made her toes curl with delight.
 

As soon as the door shut behind her, she felt Will’s hand on her arm. She froze, unsure.
 

“Darcy.” His voice was so soft it rumbled under her skin, subterranean.
 

She turned. His gaze was soft too, gentle and warm, aglow with that same something more.
 

“Darcy.” He repeated her name, like an incantation. “That was…” He shook his head. “That was.”
 

And then he kissed her.
 

Had they even kissed that first night? Yes, she remembered mashing her lips against his, a punishing, angry contact. Today was completely different. A different man holding her. A different Darcy melting into his kiss. Salty and sweet, tongues twining and lips soft, smiles against the mouth and unfamiliar sensations fluttering in the chest. His body felt so warm, lean and strong, leashed power. His fingers traced the line of her spine, drawing her close, and she reached her arms around his neck, tangling her fingers in the soft hair at the nape of his neck. A delicious kiss, a bittersweet-chocolate-melting-on-your-tongue kiss. A kiss that was exploration and discovery and yes-I-know-you all wrapped into one.

Chapter Twenty-One

He’d meant to kiss her lightly, just a peck on the lips, a
thank you
and
wow, that was cool, what you did,
and then go about his business. But it had immediately turned into something more.
 

He tried to pull away. At least, in his head, he tried. In reality, he ran his hands over the sweep of her back, the delicious curve he’d been longing to caress all day. He couldn’t resist the feel of her body plastered against his, her lusciously welcoming mouth, her tantalizing tongue, and so he kept kissing her, feeling like he was drowning and she was oxygen. Crazy-mad kissing. Lost-to-all-reason kissing. Insanely turned-on kissing. If they kept this up, they’d be on the couch, yes, even that faux-velvet couch, in the next five seconds, their clothes half-off, their bodies entangled in lustful bliss.
 

Using every ounce of willpower, he gently removed her hands from their grip on his shoulders and stepped away. “I’m sorry. I don’t think, I didn’t mean—I’m sorry.”
 

It was a mistake to look at her. Her breathing was ragged, her eyes dilated, her hair mussed and her shirt wrinkled and half-unbuttoned. Delectable.
 

He turned away to prevent himself from going back to her and compounding the mistake. “I have to, um, I have to catch up on my work. I’ll be in the bedroom. Knock before you come in.” Grabbing his laptop from the dining table, he fled.
 

Once inside the bedroom, he closed the door and leaned against it for support, clutching his computer to his chest. What had just happened? What had he done? He felt like Pandora opening that box, bracing himself for the demons pouring out. Abandonment, loneliness, heartbreak.
 

A kiss. Just a kiss. He’d kissed women before and not felt this way. Hell, he’d kissed Darcy herself that first crazy night together. But that was easy compared to this. That was frustration and pent-up anger and a streak of what-the-hell. This was… This felt a lot like… Love. Not something he could allow into his life. He’d learned that lesson early and often. Learned it well. And with a woman like this one?
 

He walked over to the bed and sat down, shaky. Just a kiss? Hell if it was. He’d never let a woman get close to him. If a casual girlfriend said, “Let’s move in together,” he took it as a sign that it was time to move on. If she said, “I want to have children someday,” with that certain tilt to her head, he smiled and said, “I love my nephews, but they’re a handful, I don’t know if I’d be up for that,” and watched as she lost interest in him. He had his sister, he had Alex and Jakey, and that was all he needed. He trusted his sister. She was loyal to a fault; she’d never abandon him.
 

A woman could break his heart. Could smash his hard-won serenity. His mother had taught him that. She’d begun distancing herself even while his father was still alive. The moment he was in the ground, she was gone. Kids? Responsibility? She was all about herself, progeny be damned.
 

He’d made a promise to himself on those dark nights after his mother had left him in Sheila’s irritable but loving care. He’d never let a woman hold his heart in her hands. He’d never get that deeply entangled. He’d certainly never move in with someone.
 

But Darcy was already living here. How ironic was that? She wasn’t his girlfriend—far from it—and yet they were living together.