“Since you’re here, I assume you know about our deal.” Beck gestured for Linc to sit.
He preferred to stand. “If by our, you mean you and my father, yes. I figured it out despite your attempt to string me along, wondering.”
Beck didn’t deny it.
“What will it take to make this go away?” Linc asked.
Beck, dressed in dark jeans and a burgundy long-sleeve shirt, another stark contrast to Linc, who wore a suit, tipped his head. “I can’t. The contract for the property we agreed to buy is signed. We close in one month. I need your father’s share of the money to complete the transaction with the seller.”
Linc set his jaw. He had no doubt Beck had the money, or a bank or private lender he could turn to. Linc’s money, however, was tied up. He didn’t have the kind of liquid cash he’d need to fund his upcoming project and cover his father’s stake in Beck’s deal. The accountants had made it clear his father had been busy, leaving them cash poor, and right now he was stretched thin with his lenders.
His only option would be to sell property to pay Beck back, but there was no way he could close a deal in time to meet the one-month deadline.
Fuck.
But he refused to let Beck see him sweat. If Beck were someone he trusted with the information about his father’s condition, he’d tell him, and maybe they could work together to find a solution.
Linc didn’t trust Beck. Not with information and not with his company. “I’ll have the money for the closing.”
He’d find a way to pay. And then he’d get his hands on the contract and hope like hell he could sell his stake in whatever this deal was so he didn’t have to work with Beck on anything.
“Tell me something,” Linc said.
Beck folded his arms across his chest. “Yes?”
He studied the man who had once been his close friend. “How did you end up doing a deal with my father?”
Beck walked to his chair, sat down, and kicked his feet up on the desk. Linc got the point. He didn’t respect him. Fine. He waited for the explanation he wanted. One he could never get from his father.
“Your old man came to me. He’d heard about this property for sale. Said he wanted a partner who’d go in on it with him. I laid out my terms and he agreed.”
Linc stiffened but reminded himself Kenneth hadn’t known Linc’s history with Beck. The man happened to be someone in the business who Linc’s father could turn to in a real estate deal.
“Got all the information you need?” Beck glanced at his watch. “I have a meeting to attend.”
Holding on to his temper by a thread, Linc turned and walked out. Not slamming the door behind him took all the self-control Linc could muster.
* * *
Jordan returned from lunch, full from good food but without any information to help Linc. She knocked on his door to let him know she was back, but he didn’t answer.
After getting settled at her desk, she pulled out her cell to check her messages. There was one from Linc telling her he’d gone to see Beck. The notion made her nervous, and she waited for him to come back and fill her in.
But Linc didn’t return to the office, and by the end of the day, Jordan was worried. He hadn’t returned her calls or texts, which was unlike him. Chloe had left for the day, so she couldn’t ask his sister, so Jordan decided she’d stop by his apartment and check on him.
Because she was on his permanent list, his doorman let her up to his floor on the penthouse level and she knocked. When he didn’t answer, she waited and knocked again. Thinking she heard something inside, she banged harder. She waited, impatiently tapping her foot until she finally heard the sound of the lock and the door opened.
Linc stood in the doorway, a towel wrapped around his waist, muscled chest bare, and droplets of water clinging to his skin. Her eyes settled on one particular drop, watching its descent down his pec and over his nipple.
A strangled moan caught in her throat.
“Jordan? What are you doing here?” he asked, obviously surprised by her visit.
Dazed by the sight, she raised her gaze only to find a sexy, knowing smirk on his lips. He absolutely knew how he affected her.
Attempting to remain composed, she cleared her throat. “You haven’t answered your phone! I was worried after I realized you went to see Beck and then disappeared.”
An apologetic expression crossed his face. “I’ve been at the gym pounding a bag.”
Taking out his frustration, which made her assume his meeting hadn’t gone well. “I see.”
He stepped backward for her to come in.
She walked past him, the woodsy scent of his cologne surrounding her and heightening her awareness of his nearly naked body. Warmth curled in her belly and her nipples tightened. If not for her light jacket, he’d have visual proof.