Page 16 of His Hot Mess

I looked away. Had he seen where my eyes landed?

“Your building’s in great shape,” I said to Charles. “The other good news is Grayscale is prepared to do the cosmetic work as you wanted. I’m ready to sign a lease for immediate possession.”

“You work fast!” Charles said, a clear note of admiration in his voice.

My chest bloomed with pride. Then the nerves squeezed in at the edges. The next part was going to make or break this deal. I looked up at Chris once more. His eyes were on me. Those deep, blue-green eyes…

Focus, Sadie!

“There’s just one more thing,” I said, making my voice as firm and professional as I could. “Those upgrades we talked about—I’d like to include them in the lease. Grayscale is prepared to do the work, but it’s coming in higher than I’d budgeted for. I just sent you an image of how they’re going to make it look.”

I took a breath.

“Would you be prepared to cover the cost?”

“Hang on…” Charles said.

I held my breath. He’d talked about how he wanted to modernize the space, and he’d been enthusiastic about my suggestions. But he could very easily say no, especially to the big price tag. That would mean failing in front of Chris.

And failing myself.

I needed this win. And for some unknown reason, I needed Chris to see it. I wanted him to know I was a woman who got shit done. Not a mess who was always in trouble.

Charles came back on the line. “It’s stunning. How much are they estimating?”

I looked at Chris.

“We’d need a budget of twenty-five thousand,” I said.

Chris’s eyebrows went up at the additional 10k I’d thrown on, but he said nothing.

It wasn’t a lie. Adding contingency was good business sense. Or so I’d learned from all the home reno shows I watched on HGTV.

Charles whistled on the other end of the line.

Heart thumping, I kept going. “If Grayscale is doing it, you know it’s going to be top quality.”

I could practically hear Chris’s head inflating.

“Graydon Mitchell is an exceptional builder, as you know,” I said.

Chris’s face fell slightly and I twisted my mouth to hide my grin.Score one for Sadie.

My confidence rose.

“I’ve seen his work, yes,” Charles said. “Still, that’s quite the price tag.”

He hasn’t said no.

I crossed the threshold into the bathroom. “Your resale value will be through the roof. Plus, a place like this will attract a New York hipster vacation crowd and, trust me, those folks like to buy.”

I stopped at the doorway. “Didn’t you say you own some vacation properties too? They’ll need places to stay while they’re here.”

Charles made a clicking sound with his mouth.

Chris still sat on the edge of the counter, his skeptical expression softening into something I couldn’t read.

“I’ll backdate the lease to the beginning of this month to cover your vacancy loss,” I said, hoping I wasn’t slipping towards sounding desperate again.

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