Sighing, Kari went back to her phone call and I went back to flipping through the garments. I stumbled upon a cute dress. It was a simple cut that I could wear to work or out to dinner. And it was orange, my favorite color. I threw it on my arm with Kari’s green one as she ended her conversation.
“I’ll never understand you. You turned down Cane Alexander! I’m just so disappointed—I’m not sure we are even related right now.”
“Disappointed? Aren’t you being a little dramatic?”
“He’s gorgeous. He wants to take you out. He has money. And I bet he is fantastic in bed, Jada! What is there to lose?”
“Have you not heard anything I have been saying since I got here?” I took a breath as inspiration hit. “Look at it this way—how long have you known Cane?”
Kari shrugged. “I don’t know. A few months, maybe.”
“And have you ever seen him with a woman more than a couple of times?”
She thought about it as she took the green dress from me. “Come to think of it, besides the booblicious chick in the restaurant, I don’t know if I have ever seen him with someone at all.”
“Thank you for making my point for me,” I said, marching to the cash register.
“Aren’t you going to try that on?”
“Nope. This is how someone like me lives on the wild side.”
JADA
Anticipation coursed through me as I made my way to Solomon Place a few days later. A prospective buyer wanted to see the property. Alice had called Alexander Industries to inform them of the appointment. We had a key, so there were no assurances I would see Cane. I wasn’t even sure I wanted him to be there. But I wasn’t sure I didn’t want him to be, either.
I tried to push him out of my mind every day since walking out of Solomon Place five days earlier, but I couldn’t shake him. No matter how many different ways I argued with myself, nothing changed.
He was everything I wanted and not a thing I needed.
If he could have stayed the cocksure asshat I had initially met, I would have been okay. I could have passed off the sexual attraction as just that and moved along. But, just my luck, Cane had to start being a halfway decent person.
I never felt like I had Decker’s sole attention. He would be checking out other women while I sat next to him. But when I was with Cane, his focus was on me. That was a powerful feeling. And when that was combined with his playfulness and a bit of charm, it was a dangerous mix.
If I am going to get involved with anyone, they will be serious, mature, and capable of being monogamous. Cane is just a better looking specimen than what I’ve already had and I know how those things end. He is just going to have to replace Tom Brady as my fantasy. That’s as close as I can get.
“Are you even listening to me?” Heather asked, bringing me back to the present. I heard her sigh through the phone.
“Of course I am,” I lied, making a right onto North Scottsdale Road.
“You better be! I have sent your résumé to four places this week. I want you to be a Chicagoan with me.”
“I’m not sure that’s a word,” I laughed. “Look, I am meeting a client at a property and I’m pulling in. I need to go. Thank you again for everything. You are the best!”
“That’s what he said.”
I laughed. “Love you. Bye.”
I ended the call and placed my Jeep in park. I surveyed the scene quickly, trying to spot the prospective buyer, Simon Powers. The lot next to Solomon Place was crawling with people and construction equipment.
I grabbed my things and made my way to the front of the building, ignoring the catcalls from the construction workers. A man dressed in grey dress pants and a pale yellow dress shirt leaned against the wall. When he spotted me, he stood straight and smiled.
He was traditionally handsome with black hair and light eyes, his body thin but not exactly lean. His clothing was a little wrinkled, like he had thrown them on in a rush. Something about him appeared to be a little off, but I chalked it up to my nerves.
“You must be Ms. Stanley,” he said, extending a hand as I approached.
“I am. And you are Simon Powers, I presume.” I shook his hand, doing a quick appraisal. He seemed to be in his early thirties. “Let’s get out of this heat! It’s almost unbearable today.”
We entered the building and I noticed immediately that it had been cleaned. I smiled in relief and Simon looked around, appearing pleased with the property.
“Would you like a tour?”
“That would be great.”
I led him to the back, showing him the selling points. “There are a number of cubicles for staff, but as you can see, they can be removed. You could have one large space here. There’s a conference room over there and a spacious office in the back—”
“I would want to use it as an open space, so I’m glad to see these partitions can be removed.”
A slamming sound echoed through the building. Still feeling off kilter, I jumped and Simon grabbed my arm to steady me.