"Fine, go, turn your ringer off and come back to bed," he said.
He was irresistible with his black hair all tousled and his blue eyes a deeper, sleepy shade. I gave him a long, deep kiss before I slid out of bed. "I'll be right back."
I grabbed an oversized white robe from the bathroom and tied it around me before I snatched up the phone and slipped into the living room to check my voicemail. Instead of my boss, it was my real estate agent. He sounded panicked. I glanced back in the bedroom and Fenton was curled up sleeping again, so I called him back.
"There you are, wait, are you still out of town?" my real estate agent asked.
"Yes, why? Oh, no, I scheduled the inspection for today," I slapped a hand against my forehead. "I'm sorry, but I got hung up with work."
"Kya, you can't afford to forget about this place. It's perfect for a young, single executive like you. And, there's been another offer, a cash offer. I can do the inspection for you. We can close on this place by this afternoon," he said.
I could not breathe. The idea of losing the house was not what choked me, it was the house itself. Once I closed on it, I would be putting down roots in Chicago. What if I belonged somewhere else?
"I don't want to rush into anything," I said.
"This isn't something to wait on, they want to take the other deal," he said. "I've got to tell them something today."
I cleared my throat. "Then, tell them I'm out. The other people can have it. There will be other houses."
"Not in this neighborhood, not at this price. Remember the equity you can build with it?" My real estate agent started to panic.
"I'm just not ready. I'm sorry. We can talk more soon," I said. I felt bad, but I hung up the phone. My guilt was forgotten as soon as I caught sight of Fenton sitting up in bed. His black tattoos stood out against the white sheets and he rumpled his black hair while he yawned.
r /> He pulled on a pair of boxer briefs and stood up. "I suppose you've got to be getting back to Chicago soon," he said.
I wondered how much of my phone conversation he had heard. "Maybe," I said.
"It'll be good, getting home, I bet. I mean, I'm happy you're here, but we both need to concentrate on work, stay focused. Right?" He stretched and headed for the bathroom without even looking at me.
"Work. Right," I said. I started to follow him, I needed to look in his eyes to understand what he was saying, but my phone rang. "Speaking of work, it's my boss."
Fenton waved me off and closed the bathroom door. I hesitated, but answered my boss' call.
"You pulled it off, you genius agent vixen!" James shouted.
"Too early for yelling, never a good time to call me a vixen," I said.
"I'll call you lord and master if you tell me the contract I sent out this morning is going to be signed by Fenton Morris. We will have the biggest party when you get back!"
I wandered out into the living room and leaned my forehead against the window. Vegas was bright in the late morning sun, and there were people teeming far below. The words "when you get back" sank into my stomach and I did not feel well.
"What if I don't come back?" I asked. "What if I stay in Vegas and work from here for a while? Would that be okay?"
"Okay? Okay? Are you freakin' kidding me? Can you imagine all the people you can sign? It'll be like shooting fish in a barrel. Plus, I'll have good reason to fly out on the weekends and check in," James chuckled at the thought. "Just get Fenton Morris signed and I'll add a move stipend on to your bonus."
"There's the door. Gotta go," I said. I hung up the phone, but Fenton beat me to the front door of the suite.
He signed for the papers and ripped open the manila envelope. "You don't waste any time, do you?" he asked.
"I sent my boss the message before we talked on the balcony," I said.
"Your boss. He's still going to give you a bonus for signing me, right?" Fenton asked. He grabbed a pen from the desk by the door.
"Actually, he just sweetened the deal," I said.
Fenton cut me off. "Well, here's to your picket fence and your private office and all the perfect stability that comes with it."
"You say that like it’s a bad thing," I snapped. "Like it’s so unreasonable to want a little stability. I guess that's not in your lone wolf agenda, huh?"