Connor rubbed his hands together. “So, what do you say we blow this joint and I buy you a beer to celebrate your new venture?”
Kyle laughed. “If you’re buying, then hell yeah.”
He pushed his chair back and stood up just as the intercom on his desk beeped and the receptionist’s voice came through. “Kyle, I have an Ella Fisher here to see you,” Daphne informed him. “She said she doesn’t have an appointment. Do you have time to meet with her, or should I schedule her for another day since it’s after five?”
“I just spent over two hours on the road and I’d really like to see him today, if possible,” Kyle heard Ella say to Daphne in the background, her tone almost desperate. And annoyed.
“Holy shit,” Kyle muttered beneath his breath. Ella was here? He was so shocked by her impromptu visit that it took a few extra seconds for him to wrap his brain around that fact.
“Kyle?” Daphne asked, clearly waiting for his answer.
“No, it’s fine,” he replied, his curiosity getting the best of him. That and it would be a total dick move to make Ella schedule an appointment for another day after driving from Woodmont, and being that kind of dick wasn’t his style. “I’ll see Ms. Fisher. Show her back to my office, please.”
The line disconnected. Kyle was dying to know what had prompted Ella to seek him out, though he’d bet money it had something to do with the building he’d bought. As much as he’d like to wish her reasons for this visit were more personal, he knew she wasn’t there to make up for lost time between them. No, any chance of a reconciliation had been diminished years ago.
Kyle glanced up at his friend with an apologetic look. “I’m going to have to take a rain check on that beer.”
Conner tipped his head speculatively. “Ms. Fisher must be someone pretty important.”
“She’s the woman I told you about. The one I bought the Piedmont building out from under,” Kyle said, rounding his desk before she arrived. “She had no idea anyone else was bidding on the property, so she was a little . . . blindsided.”
Connor’s eyes widened comically. “Oh, Jesus. So, in other words, you’re dealing with a woman scorned. I’m outta here.”
Kyle chuckled at Connor’s quick decision to avoid getting caught in the middle of any potential conflict between himself and Ella. “Chickenshit,” he teased his friend.
Connor took no offense and grinned. “I don’t do drama, so whatever it is between you and this girl, you’re on your own.”
His friend headed for the door just as the receptionist appeared with Ella right behind her, forcing Connor to abruptly stop or run into the two women. Not bothering to wait for introductions, Connor gave Ella a curt nod, then beelined it down the hall.
“Here you go, Ms. Fisher,” Daphne said, sweeping a hand through the doorframe. As soon as Ella walked inside the office, the young girl glanced at him and said, “Would you like the door left open or closed?”
Kyle casually leaned his backside against the desk behind him. Most everyone was gone for the evening, but the last thing he wanted right now was any kind of interruption. “Closed, please.”
The girl did as he asked, and then he was completely alone with Ella for the first time in ten long years. She stopped a good five feet away from him, and the silence in the room was absolute as she quickly glanced around his office while he drank in the sight of her.
Yesterday had been all about business, but as he looked at her right now, all he could think of was pleasure and how much he still wanted and desired her on a gut-deep level—despite all the past hurt and pain still lingering between them. Not to mention any anger she might be harboring after losing the Piedmont building to him. It was hard to believe she still had that kind of intense effect on him when no other woman had ever come close to making him feel—and want—like she did.
At the auction the day before, in her T-shirt and jeans and hair pulled back into a loose braid, she’d been the pretty, wholesome girl—who’d grown into a woman’s body—he remembered from high school. Today, she’d transformed into stunningly beautiful. She’d obviously put on just enough makeup to accentuate her light green eyes and long lashes, and the pale peach gloss on her lips drew his gaze to her lush mouth before he moved on to the gorgeous chestnut hair falling in soft waves around her shoulders and down her back. The overhead lighting caught on the natural red and gold undertones threading through the strands and made his fingers itch to touch.
If she’d meant to tease him with that short, flirty pale yellow skirt that skimmed a few inches above the knee and the white blouse that was buttoned low enough for him to glimpse a bit of cleavage and lace beneath—not to mention those heels that made her legs look endlessly long and prompted some indecent thoughts that would undoubtedly make her blush—then she’d succeeded. Why else would she wear something so fucking sexy, if not to addle his mind and divert his focus?
By the time he lifted his gaze back to her face, certain parts of his anatomy definitely felt heated and restless, but his concentration was just fine. It was a damn good thing he was an excellent multitasker, because he wasn’t done enjoying the enticing view she presented, and he was certain she wasn’t here for a social call. Balancing the two was no problem for him.
He gripped his fingers around the edge of the desk he was leaning against as they stared at each other for a long moment. Her gaze was guarded, her body language surprisingly composed despite the uneasy way she bit on that bottom lip of hers—which only served to remind him of how soft and pliant her sweet mouth used to feel beneath his.
“It’s good to see you, Ella,” he said, finally breaking the silence between them, though the raspy tone of his voice betrayed his casual air.
“You, too,” she replied automatically.
A half smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. He wasn’t quite sure he believed her. He doubted that she honestly felt it was good to see him, when she looked like she’d rather be anywhere but in the same space with him. He hated her polite reserve, her feigned indifference, and decided to use a little humor to cut through the tension a bit—because being on the receiving end of that cool facade of hers sucked.
“So, what brings you to Premier Realty?” he asked amicably, as if she were a friend instead of a foe. “Looking for a place in the city?”
Kyle laughed. “If you’re buying, then hell yeah.”
He pushed his chair back and stood up just as the intercom on his desk beeped and the receptionist’s voice came through. “Kyle, I have an Ella Fisher here to see you,” Daphne informed him. “She said she doesn’t have an appointment. Do you have time to meet with her, or should I schedule her for another day since it’s after five?”
“I just spent over two hours on the road and I’d really like to see him today, if possible,” Kyle heard Ella say to Daphne in the background, her tone almost desperate. And annoyed.
“Holy shit,” Kyle muttered beneath his breath. Ella was here? He was so shocked by her impromptu visit that it took a few extra seconds for him to wrap his brain around that fact.
“Kyle?” Daphne asked, clearly waiting for his answer.
“No, it’s fine,” he replied, his curiosity getting the best of him. That and it would be a total dick move to make Ella schedule an appointment for another day after driving from Woodmont, and being that kind of dick wasn’t his style. “I’ll see Ms. Fisher. Show her back to my office, please.”
The line disconnected. Kyle was dying to know what had prompted Ella to seek him out, though he’d bet money it had something to do with the building he’d bought. As much as he’d like to wish her reasons for this visit were more personal, he knew she wasn’t there to make up for lost time between them. No, any chance of a reconciliation had been diminished years ago.
Kyle glanced up at his friend with an apologetic look. “I’m going to have to take a rain check on that beer.”
Conner tipped his head speculatively. “Ms. Fisher must be someone pretty important.”
“She’s the woman I told you about. The one I bought the Piedmont building out from under,” Kyle said, rounding his desk before she arrived. “She had no idea anyone else was bidding on the property, so she was a little . . . blindsided.”
Connor’s eyes widened comically. “Oh, Jesus. So, in other words, you’re dealing with a woman scorned. I’m outta here.”
Kyle chuckled at Connor’s quick decision to avoid getting caught in the middle of any potential conflict between himself and Ella. “Chickenshit,” he teased his friend.
Connor took no offense and grinned. “I don’t do drama, so whatever it is between you and this girl, you’re on your own.”
His friend headed for the door just as the receptionist appeared with Ella right behind her, forcing Connor to abruptly stop or run into the two women. Not bothering to wait for introductions, Connor gave Ella a curt nod, then beelined it down the hall.
“Here you go, Ms. Fisher,” Daphne said, sweeping a hand through the doorframe. As soon as Ella walked inside the office, the young girl glanced at him and said, “Would you like the door left open or closed?”
Kyle casually leaned his backside against the desk behind him. Most everyone was gone for the evening, but the last thing he wanted right now was any kind of interruption. “Closed, please.”
The girl did as he asked, and then he was completely alone with Ella for the first time in ten long years. She stopped a good five feet away from him, and the silence in the room was absolute as she quickly glanced around his office while he drank in the sight of her.
Yesterday had been all about business, but as he looked at her right now, all he could think of was pleasure and how much he still wanted and desired her on a gut-deep level—despite all the past hurt and pain still lingering between them. Not to mention any anger she might be harboring after losing the Piedmont building to him. It was hard to believe she still had that kind of intense effect on him when no other woman had ever come close to making him feel—and want—like she did.
At the auction the day before, in her T-shirt and jeans and hair pulled back into a loose braid, she’d been the pretty, wholesome girl—who’d grown into a woman’s body—he remembered from high school. Today, she’d transformed into stunningly beautiful. She’d obviously put on just enough makeup to accentuate her light green eyes and long lashes, and the pale peach gloss on her lips drew his gaze to her lush mouth before he moved on to the gorgeous chestnut hair falling in soft waves around her shoulders and down her back. The overhead lighting caught on the natural red and gold undertones threading through the strands and made his fingers itch to touch.
If she’d meant to tease him with that short, flirty pale yellow skirt that skimmed a few inches above the knee and the white blouse that was buttoned low enough for him to glimpse a bit of cleavage and lace beneath—not to mention those heels that made her legs look endlessly long and prompted some indecent thoughts that would undoubtedly make her blush—then she’d succeeded. Why else would she wear something so fucking sexy, if not to addle his mind and divert his focus?
By the time he lifted his gaze back to her face, certain parts of his anatomy definitely felt heated and restless, but his concentration was just fine. It was a damn good thing he was an excellent multitasker, because he wasn’t done enjoying the enticing view she presented, and he was certain she wasn’t here for a social call. Balancing the two was no problem for him.
He gripped his fingers around the edge of the desk he was leaning against as they stared at each other for a long moment. Her gaze was guarded, her body language surprisingly composed despite the uneasy way she bit on that bottom lip of hers—which only served to remind him of how soft and pliant her sweet mouth used to feel beneath his.
“It’s good to see you, Ella,” he said, finally breaking the silence between them, though the raspy tone of his voice betrayed his casual air.
“You, too,” she replied automatically.
A half smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. He wasn’t quite sure he believed her. He doubted that she honestly felt it was good to see him, when she looked like she’d rather be anywhere but in the same space with him. He hated her polite reserve, her feigned indifference, and decided to use a little humor to cut through the tension a bit—because being on the receiving end of that cool facade of hers sucked.
“So, what brings you to Premier Realty?” he asked amicably, as if she were a friend instead of a foe. “Looking for a place in the city?”
