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I checked my cell phone for the tenth time. Still no call from Devyn. I frowned and looked back at the text exchange with my buddy Marcus. It had been more than two hours since he’d responded that they were done in court. I reread the first message I’d sent him at noon.
Owen: Hey. Just checking in. Haven’t heard from Devyn yet. Is the hearing over?
Marcus: We were in and out in an hour. Pulled a few strings and managed to get her before a judge.
Owen: Everything go okay?
Marcus: I’ll let her fill you in—attorney-client privilege and all. But it’s safe to say, she left like most women who use my services—a very satisfied customer. ; )
I had the urge to punch him after that last comment—maybe even harder than I had the first time around. I took a deep breath and tried to ignore that it had been three hours since they’d finished in court, and Devyn still hadn’t messaged me to let me know how it went. Maybe I was being ridiculous, but I’d expected her to text as soon as she got out.
Of course, my jealous ass couldn’t help wondering whether she’d calledRobertfrom the courthouse steps.
Whatever.
Between missing work to go to Boston on Friday, being distracted when I came into the office on Saturday afternoon, and now staring at my phone all morning—I really needed to pull my head out of my ass. I had clients to call back, staff to check in with, and buildings that weren’t going to find buyers by themselves. So I forced myself back to work and didn’t come up for air until the receptionist, Missy, popped her head into my office an hour or so later.
“You have a visitor.” She smiled. “A very pretty lady.”
My heart leaped.
Devyn.
She came to tell me the good news in person.
Maybe she wants to go celebrate.
I couldn’t get out from behind my desk fast enough. But my racing heart screeched to an abrupt halt when I stepped out of my office and saw a beautiful woman, who wasnotDevyn.
Tarryn’s face lit up with a smile. “Hey, you.”
It felt like the wind had gotten knocked out of me. I had to mask my disappointment, pretending to be excited to see her. “Hey. What are you doing in New York?”
“I’m in town for the day.”
The receptionist, as well as two of my newer agents, now watched the two of us like a ping-pong match. Considering Tarryn and I had done business a few times, and things hadn’t exactly been professional, I thought it was best to catch up in private. I walked over and gave her a friendly hug.
“It’s good to see you.” I nodded toward the back. “Come into my office.”
Tarryn’s high heels clickity-clacked along the hardwood floors as she walked. I thought I might’ve caught a smirk on one of the agent’s faces, so I cleared my throat and pointed to her laptop.
“Did you get everything set up for the Prince Street showing this weekend?”
“Uh, no. I’m working on it.”
“Let’s finish that up today, please.”
She nodded and diverted her eyes to the screen.
Inside my office, I shut the door.
“Sorry to drop in on you like this,” Tarryn said. “But I was in the area, so I thought I’d take a chance and see if you were here.” She looked me up and down. “You look amazing, as always.”
I didn’t even have to check her out to know she looked incredible. Tarryn was gorgeous—a former Miss Kentucky who had moved to L.A. to do some modeling a decade ago and ended up becoming one of the most successful real estate agents on the West Coast. She’d opened her own brokerage two years ago, and I’d heard through the grapevine that she was killing it in the eight-figure-home-sales market in Malibu. We’d met when we were both starting out. She’d been working on a house sale out in California for a client who was buying a property from me in New York, and we’d been referring business to each other ever since. A few years back, we’d closed a giant deal, and I’d ended up licking celebratory champagne off her body at the end of the night. Since then, we hooked up once or twice a year, whenever one of us was in town.
I gestured to the couch in the corner of my office. “And you look like you eat those born-and-bred L.A. realtors for breakfast.”
She grinned. “I did just steal two listings from an agent on that real estate reality show. I heard she bitches about me on an upcoming episode.”
