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She smiled wryly, tipping back her empty coffee cup searching for more dregs before she tossed it in the trash on her way out. “Speaking of—anyone you’ve met lately?”
Cameron swirled in my head, and I pushed the thought away. We weren’t dating. “I’ve been a bit busy.”
“Might be worth giving it a try. You make work your whole personality, and your whole personality falls apart when work does.”
I frowned. She headed for the door.
“Take care of yourself, London,” she said, shutting it behind her, leaving me alone in the meeting room, staring down at my notes. At the script that I’d be standing in front of hundreds of high-paid executives and agents next week to deliver.
With a distant feeling, I pushed myself up and walked down the hall, my footfalls ringing in my ears like the dolorous tolling of faraway bells, and no amount of tapping my pen on my tablet once I was in my office got my thoughts out of my head and onto the screen. I found myself staring out the window, under the smear the pigeon had left, when a knock came from my door.
“Come in,” I said, turning back, shuffling the things on my desk to look like I’d been working. The receptionist leaned in, smiling.
“Hi, London. Mr. Farmer is here to see you.”
I paused. “Tell him… I’m not in need of any crops.”
“You’re very funny. Can I send him your way?”
“I don’t know who the hell that is.”
He stopped, eyes wide. “Er… Kevin Farmer? Cameron Mercier’s husband? He wanted to talk to you about the home search. Can I send him in?”
Chapter 14
Kevin Farmer was trying to be sleek. The suit, while nice, wasn’t properly fitted for him, and the slick haircut was a bit too salon-fresh. His wide posture, dominant, didn’t have any natural variance—something he was deliberately putting on. His wife, who he’d been the one to spurn, going and living in luxury while fucking women left and right must have done a number on him.
He was an attractive man, warm-hued skin with light brown hair and a strong jawline, a bit of stubble giving him a mature look, but the artificiality stank.
Plus, his shoes were scuffed. Who got a nice suit and had the guts to go with oxblood shoes, but didn’t even look after them?
“Mister Farmer,” I said, gesturing him to the couch. “Please. Have a seat.”
He looked between me and the sofa. “This your lounge? I don’t think I’ve ever seen an office with just a sofa.”
It’s because a couch is less likely to spontaneously break was probably not the move. “It’s making a point,” I said. “I don’t want people to feel stiff and formal working with me. It’s harder to be stuffy when you’re sitting on a couch. I’m sure you can tell from the linen upholstery. Do you want a drink? The café in the lobby downstairs is good.”
He sank slowly into the sofa, moving too carefully. Self-conscious. I wasn’t even on his radar—he was just thinking of how he came across.
A flare of jealousy hit me like a hot knife, even though it didn’t make any sense. He was technically Cameron’s husband, and what did he really have to impress her, anyway?
Talk about ridiculous. I pushed the thought away. Picturing Cameron reciting her vows to him made my throat tight.
“I’ll be all right,” he said. “Listen, I wanted to talk about my wife—”
“Cameron, yes, she’s lovely. We’ve found a few properties she’s really liked, and I’m excited to see where we end up getting her to call home.”
He frowned. “Listen, I know this doesn’t sound good, but… she shouldn’t be doing this.”
I pretended I hadn’t seen it coming from miles away, raising my eyebrows and sinking back in my chair. “Shouldn’t be doing what? Buying a house right now? The market’s good at the moment, especially in new luxury developments.”
He pursed his lips. “It’s not about the market. Or anything about right now. She shouldn’t be buying something in this budget range. She’s going to regret it.”
I made a show of relaxing, smiling. “Oh, I get it. Honestly, I think it’s commendable you’re trying to stand up for your wife’s happiness. And I completely understand your concerns—it’s obviously a big purchase.”
He frowned. “Listen—”
I put a hand up. “I just want to reassure you that we aren’t sleazy used-car salespeople. Long-term relationships and word of mouth are everything in our business. Buyer’s remorse is something we avoid as much as possible at our firm, and even if it comes to that—which it always does sometimes—we have a whole program to get someone out of the one they moved to and into something better suited. Especially with the developments Cameron’s looking at, they’re only going to appreciate in value, so she won’t lose anything from doing it even after factoring in taxes and fees.”
