Page 4 of Love and Loathing

Kevin knitted his fingers together and leaned forward on the table. “I’ll be honest with you. We’re not so keen on the idea of investing in such a small project, but we can’t deny that this land is phenomenal. So, what we’d like to do is have you sell us on this town, this build, this small development. Show us what’s so great about it that should make us invest even though it’s such a small project.”

“When is the first house expected to be finished?” Steve asked.

“July. They start work on it in March,” Alex said.

Eyes on Charlie once more, Steve said, “All right, be prepared to pitch to us again at that time.”

* * *

“Remind me why we need these guys again?” Alex tore out of Kevin and Steve’s conference room, Charlie on his heels, and right into a woman carrying an armful of papers. The papers went flying as Alex stretched out his hands to grab her arms and keep her from hitting the floor too. He hadn’t been looking where he was going; he’d just wanted out of there. He’d spent six months putting that proposal together, and it was airtight, but because Kevin and Steve wanted more money, he now had to sell them a unicorn?

The woman blinked up at him, her face flushing. “I’m so sorry.” She dropped to her knees to collect her papers.

Alex bent to help her. “I hit you; you have no reason to be sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

Charlie stooped to help as well.

She wadded her papers in her arms and stood. “Oh no. Really, I’m sure it was my fault,Alexander.” She fluttered her lashes at him.

Alex wasn’t sure what it was about celebrity that compelled smart women to act like weirdos around him. He forced a grin, grabbed the papers that Charlie had collected, and handed hers to her.

“Thank you,” she crooned. “You’re so sweet.”

Charlie chuckled. “I helped too.”

The woman didn’t bother to look in Charlie’s direction, even though objectively Charlie was a good-looking guy—tall and in good shape like Alex, but with blond hair.

Alex groaned. Men couldn’t take him seriously as a businessman and would barely look at him in meetings, and women couldn’t stop staring and would say whatever they thought he wanted to hear. It was infuriating. What he wouldn’t give to be judged by his merits and not his fame.

He held his smile but pointed to the hall behind her that she was currently blocking. “Do you mind if we—”

She glanced over her shoulder, jumped as if suddenly realizing what she’d been blocking the way, and slammed her back against the wall. “Of course. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine. No worries,” he said. He and Charlie stepped past, and he thought he was in the clear.

“Oh wait, can I get your autograph?” the woman asked.

He sighed, but he plastered on a smile and turned. “Sure.” He stared at her. She stared back but made no move to get something for him to sign for her. “Um … do you have a pen and a paper?”

“Oh right!” She handed him the top paper, which looked like some kind of legal document, then grabbed a pen out of her bun. It was warm.

“What’s your name?”

“It’s Connie,” she said.

He signed the paper to her and handed it back. As she regaled him with thank-yous, he waved goodbye and headed down the hall.

Charlie pulled up next to him from where he’d been waiting. “Talk about cool under pressure.”

“Not pressure,” Alex said.

Charlie nodded. “I know. They were kind of crazy. It brought me back to that time we went karaoking, and no one listened to me singing, even though I was amazing, because they couldn’t stop staring at you.”

Alex shot him a withering gaze.

Charlie cringed. “So much for lightening the mood. You’re mad. But we need these guys because they know where they’re doing. Buying and selling real estate and investing in builds is not the same thing as heading up a project ourselves. They have experience.”

“They think I’m an idiot, Charlie.” Feeling like the walls were closing in on him, Alex picked up his pace. “I have a master’s in business, for crying out loud.”

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