Page 75 of Lease to Love

Roman was trying to discretely spit out the cheese when a food-truck owner called out to him.

“Sterling!”

Roman turned. The man's face broke into a grin. “What's good?”

“Business!”

“That's what I like to hear.”

They shook hands. I stood beside Roman, listening while the man asked him about the initiative.

Not defensively. Not suspiciously. Curiously.

That distinction mattered.

Roman noticed it too. He didn't launch into a presentation or start talking like he was standing in front of a boardroom. He asked questions.

“What do you think the neighborhood needs?”

“What businesses are struggling?”

“What's stopping you from expanding?”

He listened to the answers. Really listened. Then he explained what he was trying to build in a way that didn't sound like a pitch.

No charts. No jargon. No revitalization.

Just people. Businesses. Ownership. Community.

I watched him for a while.

This was different from the block association meetings. Different from the questions from people who'd already decided what he was.

He wasn't fighting for the room… He was talking to one person.

And the man was listening.

By the time we moved on, I'd forgotten I was supposed to be watching him for strategy. I was just watching him.

A few hours later, the market began to thin. I was tired—not physically, but people tired. The kind of tired that settled behind my eyes after too many conversations and too much smiling and too many voices competing for my attention.

I leaned against the Bentley while Roman finished talking to another vendor. My phone was in my hand, and I was scrolling through the pictures we'd taken. There were a lot. Too many, probably.

I posted a few. The comments came almost immediately.

Rich, tall AND fine? @SunnyDays202 has officially won this breakup.

Another:

A PROVIDER! @AyeYoAyo could never.

Then somebody tagged Ayo again. And again.

I loved that for him.

Roman's shadow fell across the screen. I looked up. He studied me for a second, then asked the last thing I expected.

“You hungry?”