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I think about his words. It hasn’t been every day… I’ve been here in the city for most of this week.
“That's because I want her property.” Even though I have hardly thought about our expansion since she firmly rejected it at the bar.
“Keep telling yourself that, old man,” he says slyly, and I ignore him. “So I’ve got some info on her.”
“You waited this long to tell me?” I say, my voice a little raised as I look at him sharply.
“Calm down. I didn’t realize it was that important. My financial background check picked up that she rents an apartment close to the Upper East Side,” he starts, and I nod. It is a nice part of the city.
“She did work in advertising, until recently.”
I assume she left that to move to Whispers. Brave of her.
“Boyfriend?” I ask too quickly, and Connor watches me closely.
“That kind of information doesn’t come up in a finance search… but I did see some deposits for a wedding venue on her credit details.” He eyes me suspiciously, and I frown. “I also looked up Marie as well. She had a brother, so that must be the connection.”
“I had no idea. She never said anything about family, and I never met him over the years.”
“He looks like he has a bit of a sketchy past, been bankrupt a few years ago… but didn’t have the same address as Victoria for the past two decades, at least,” he explains, and my eyebrows shoot to my hairline.
“What else?” I ask. This level of digging we don’t normally do, but I am interested in what he found out.
“He doesn’t sound like an upstanding guy. He has a criminal history too. Nothing too bad, but nothing light either. Armed robbery and shoplifting, mostly.”
“So she is estranged from her father, raised by a single mother. Her father’s family left her their property, and now…” I trail off, my thoughts once again becoming consumed with the blond beauty.
“Now, you need to ask her out,” Connor says, and my eyes shoot to his with an exasperated sigh.
“Now, I need to get to the car; otherwise, I won't get home until late.” I stand, ending this conversation, not needing any more of his input on the topic of my neighbor. “See you at home in a few days?”
“Hopefully earlier,” he confirms, standing and giving me a hug. It’s only ever been the two of us. We are close. I slap him on the shoulder as I walk away and straight to the lift to get to my waiting town car.
I hate people driving me, but here in the city, it makes more sense. Within the hour, I am in my jet with both my tie and my jacket off. I have my helicopter at the Whispers airport to fly me directly to the distillery today instead of driving. We have some VIPs coming in for the weekend. They usually have a private tour with me, a long lunch in our restaurant, and I like to have my chopper there for them for any day trips or quick getaways after they finish their tour, lunch, and tastings.Thatis why I need to build accommodations. People would love to stay for the weekend, and I just need to start building.
Looking at my watch, I should land midafternoon. I wonder what my new neighbor is up to.
12
VICTORIA
After a full afternoon with little Kevin from down the road, I feel a little more relaxed as I finish drying my hair. He is a good kid. He has been here every day after school to milk the large cow that seems content, and he takes the milk home with him.
I realize I have no idea where exactly he lives, but if he needs milk for his family, I am happy to continue providing it. We spent time together today and he showed me how to handle the milking process. I was one hundred percent awkward, but I got the hang of it eventually. He tells me I should also milk her twice a day, so I might give it a try once renovations have finished.
The house looks amazing. After Jasmine and Lacy came over on the weekend for wine night, they ended up coming back the next day to give me a hand. Plus, with a surprise visit from Bob from the hardware store, who dropped by with a delivery and ended up staying, the four of us got a solid two coats on the outside by the end of the weekend, and I finished off the inside myself afterpainting each night this week. I am exhausted, but the place is already brighter, and when the sun shines through, it looks even better.
Now, as I walk around freshly showered from our yard work and cleaning up, I throw on my robe over my underwear and tie it around my waist, then duck outside to look for fresh eggs to make a late afternoon snack.
I find three eggs in the chicken coop and smile as I place them in my basket, next to the herbs I picked earlier from the small vegetable patch Marie started, feeling like a lady of the land. Locking up the chicken enclosure, I sit on the porch steps of the house and bask in the late afternoon sunshine. I couldn’t do this back in the city. It feels nice to have the sunlight on my bare legs, and I close my eyes, soaking up the warmth.
My cell ringing beside me interrupts my peaceful moment, and I grab it, already having a feeling who it is. And I’m right as I see Josh’s name on the screen. This is the fourth time he’s called just today. I should block him, but I answer instead.
“Josh, what do you want?” I ask through my irritation.
“At long last, you answer,” he says smugly.
“What do you want?” I ask again, no warmth in my tone. I shiver a little, my choice of being outside with just a robe probably not as smart as I first thought.
