Page 69 of Landlord Wars
ChapterTwenty-Six
Sophia
Max had stayedthe night last night, and it would have been amazing—if I hadn’t fallen asleep on him.
Darn it! Why?
Though in hindsight, dozing off across his washboard abs wasn’t a bad way to go. But I was disappointed we’d been so rudely interrupted by my sister and her situation with Jack.
A note written on one of Max’s business cards rested on my nightstand, along with a foil-wrapped chocolate.
Rubbing sleep from my eyes, I blindly unwrapped the chocolate, shoved it in my mouth, and read the note.
Sophia,
Early morning meeting and long day of appointments for Cityscape. I’ll call you later. What do you think about grabbing lunch tomorrow?
Max
Why didI have to sleep so soundly? I’d missed the goodbye kiss.
I stumbled out of bed and hobbled around, preparing for the day, feeling better about signing the contract with Victor after talking to Max. On my way out the door for work, I set the proposal on the counter in front of Jack and his bowl of granola.
“I’ll pay you,” I said and reached for a banana. No harm in having a lawyer’s sign of approval.
Jack glanced at to the proposal, then dug back into his granola with a spoon. “Max already told me. Contracts are child’s play—no reason to pay me. I’ll get back to you with any changes.”
“You are the best roommate ever.” Not that I had experience with any roommates other than Elise, but I was sure Jack ranked high.
“Of course I am,” he said, though his energy wasn’t normal, and I didn’t know how to fix things.
“Sorry again about Elise,” I said, looking over with a frown.
He waved it off. “She already apologized. Found a note on the front door when I went for a run this morning.”
Jack wasn’t typically up this early unless he was on his way to bed after a long night of work/gaming. And I didn’t remember him going for runs, but then again, he was athletically built, so he must be getting exercise somehow.
He grimaced at his food. “I might have overreacted last night.”
I wanted to ask Jack more about Elise, but I assumed he’d shared his feelings with Max last night, and that was what mattered. As long as he talked to someone, because there seemed to be a lot of bottled energy going on. “Okay, well, I’m heading off to work. Don’t worry about my sister unexpectedly showing up or staying the night. She’s leaving for Europe soon.”
His hand paused while lifting a glass of orange juice. He set the glass on the counter, but he didn’t look up. “I’m not worried.”
Jack’s body language didn’t match his words, but I wasn’t about to push it. “Okay, well, thank you. And I’ll see you later.”
I raced out of the apartment, balancing the banana, my phone, and an umbrella, as the weather had called for rain, and froze on the landing.
Gwen, Max’s ex, was walking down the stairs. The rooftop had a separate entrance, and that meant she was coming from his apartment.
What the hell?
“Oh, hello,” she said, and gestured behind her. She was all made up in a red A-line dress with a fitted black jacket, her dark blonde hair floating in waves over her shoulders. “Max already left, in case you’re looking for him.”
“No,” I said lamely.
I knew Max had left because he’d left frommybed. But what was Gwen doing at his apartment?
I gave myself a swift mental shake. Even if Gwen and Max’s mother scared the crap out of me, with their cold smiles and rich-woman clothes, Max had been withmelast night, and I had nothing to worry about. “Have a good day,” I said and ran down the stairs ahead of her.
