He gave me a long look as he sat down across from me and made himself comfortable. His chair creaked as he leaned back,propping his feet up on the edge of my desk, right next to the untouched coffee someone had left there hours ago. It had gone cold. Just like my focus.
"And I think it's high time you did something about it," he added.
"Like what?"
Shrugging, he looked past me and out the windows at the gray, gloomy skyline. "I don't know. Be creative. And in the meantime, we've fallen behind on the Southside Flats project, whichyouspearheaded, and your father is going to start riding our asses about it any day now."
I ran a hand through my hair, leaning back in my chair. Shit.
Tomás was right. I'd been letting my obsession get in the way of business for five long days, and it needed to stop. I didn't give a shit about my dad though. I wouldn't do it for him. He'd been riding my ass for years now, so big fucking deal if he did it some more. But I did have a lot of other people counting on me, people that I actually cared about.
I exhaled, forcing my mind back to work. Southside Flats. Our latest acquisition.
"Right," I began. "Where are we on the buyouts?"
"We're getting there. A lot of holdouts. Apparently, people are pretty attached to the old neighborhood."
Of course they were. No one ever wanted to leave until you made staying unbearable.
"Get Andrew and his team on it. We need to apply some real pressure here, the usual, make their lives inconvenient. I know the board wants to get the plan pushed through by next quarter."
"Got it."
Tomás had become my right-hand man, someone I trusted with just about anything I could throw at him.
"What else?" he asked.
"Let's set up a meeting for early next week so we can all get on the same page, make sure we're closing any remaining gaps, see if we need to grease any palms to secure the city's approval, all the usual bull."
He nodded. "Okay. Will do."
I tapped my fingers against the edge of my desk, staring at the blinking notification on my laptop screen—another email from my father, undoubtedly filled with thinly veiled disappointment and yet another list of demands.
Great. Just fucking great.
My fingers went to the panties in my pocket, taking me away from my shitty reality.
I wondered what she was doing right now at this exact moment. Was she sketching a design? Pinning fabric to a dress form? Laughing over coffee with someone else? Was she really a fashion designer?
That dress had been phenomenal. And if she had actually designed it, she was very talented indeed.
Tomáscleared his throat. "You good, man?"
Shit. I'd been distracted yet again. "Yeah," I lied. "Just need to get my head back in the game. That's all."
He eyed me for a beat. "She must have been something special for her to get in your head like this."
I glanced at him, shooting him a glare. "You have no idea."
His laughter filled the air, although I had no clue what he found so funny. "You think I have no idea? Dude, I have a pregnant wife at home. I absolutely know what it's like to be consumed by a woman."
Consumed. The word made my jaw tighten.
I wasn't consumed. Just slightly obsessed. There was a difference.
Maybe.
Damn. This sucked.
