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I paused. “You mean… Cameron Mercier?”
“Who else, María?”
“I’m not sleeping with the client.”
“Bullshit. You’ve been too different since you’ve started with her. And taking a day off with no notice? To charm her?” She shook her head. “Not to mention, for such a supposedly difficult client, you’re damn confident. And I know you. If you’re that confident, it’s because you have the chance to close right in front of you, so why the hell aren’t you taking it?”
“You think maybe the reason I don’t take time off is because when I do, people theorize I’m fucking my married clients?”
She sighed hard. “I’m not going to tell anyone or tell you how to live your life. Just… be honest with me. Especially if you’ve got her husband harassing you now, it’s a matter of your well-being.”
I pushed out a smile. “Thanks, Ruth. I really don’t know what to tell you, though. It’s not like she isn’t attractive, but I’ve had attractive female clients before. I can keep it in my pants. Thanks for getting Kevin off me. Now, is there anything else, or can I get back to work?”
She studied me a while longer before she stood up, her expression tart, and she pulled an envelope from her bag, dropping it on my desk. “Miguel asked me to give this to you and not let you know it’s from him.”
“Son of a bitch,” I muttered, picking it up. It was light—just a piece of paper inside. “Think I should toss it?”
“Might as well read it. If he’s threatening you with some shit, we can bring it to María and get something done about it.”
“I don’t want to rock the boat.” I set it down with a sigh. “I’ll look at it later… thanks, Ruth.”
“You hide from reality all the time, or is it just while I’m looking?”
That one stung. I pursed my lips. “I’ll look at it as soon as you’re out. I just want to be alone.”
“You’d better damn well read it. And let me know if he’s pulling something, okay?”
“I will,” I said, watching as she turned and left, and—despite the temptation out of spite alone to just toss the letter, I opened it. Not even a piece of paper—a single note card inside, scrawled in handwriting that looked distant enough from Miguel’s handwriting I wouldn’t have been able to see through it if Ruth hadn’t told me.
Find another job.
I sighed, folding it up and tucking it away on my desk. He needed to up his scare factor. This was borderline cliché.
Chapter 15
Lousy weather today. I parked the car at the edge of the garage and watched out the window ahead of my spot where heavy rain gushed down in spurting gusts, palm trees bending in the wind, flashes of lightning in the distance lighting up the dreary gray sky at intervals. Taking a long breath, I gathered myself, gave myself the customary dream check of pressing my finger into my palm, and I stepped out of the car, into where the air was muggy and heavy and rain droplets splattered through the window and over the concrete, splashing up over my shoes.
I’d told María I liked the rain. Ruth, too. Even my ex. It was a lie—I hated rainy weather ever since I was little and my mom made me stay inside and do housework whenever it was raining—but I wanted to like it. Turned out no amount of saying it made rain feel any less depressing.
My footsteps echoed through the garage as I made my way towards the glass doors that led into the apartment complex, and I stopped at the sight of Cameron there by the wall, staring out the parking garage entrance into where visibility barely got across the street in the downpour. Her expression was miles away, and there was something… missing.
“Don’t like the rain?” I said lightly, approaching her. She didn’t look at me.
“Would I live in Miami if I didn’t?”
“I mean, maybe. I can’t stand it.”
That got through to her—she gave me a quick smile, but her eyes still felt like they were looking through me. “And it hasn’t driven you away?”
“There’s things here I like more than I dislike the rain…”
She laughed, a hollow sound as she stepped away from the wall. “Flirting so soon, London?”
There was something different to the way she said it. I must have had a knack for reading Cameron, because it fell into place after a second, and a pang of guilt coiled in my chest. “You heard from him again, huh?”
Her expression tightened, and she turned back to the doors. “Let’s go see this property, shall we?”
“In a minute.” I stepped in front of her, turning to face her. “Are you safe?”
