emotional whim?”
“My actions have nothing to do with you not knowing your business and everything to do with me broadening your horizons. I’m simply showing you that you have choices outside the limits of the Eastern Suburbs.”
“Thank you, Mr. School Teacher, for your concern and willingness to help us explore different horizons. We could never have done that without your innovation.”
Ouch , again. She’d just hit him where it hurt. In his inexperience with the property market. “I fucked up, Claire. I leased the shop you’d been promised. I’m trying to make reparations. I’m doing this as much for me as for you. Hoping to find something else that’ll suit you.”
She shook her head in distaste. “So tell me, how much are you asking for the Mosman shop.”
“Eighty thousand per annum.”
Claire’s outraged laugh almost silenced him. Almost. “But we’ll offer you a discount. A big discount, to make up for my earlier mistake.”
“Unless your big discount is somewhere in the ballpark of fifty percent then you are out of your mind.”
He cleared his throat. “I was thinking closer to ten percent.”
Again she gave a derisive bark of laughter. “You’re talking about a rental of more than six hundred dollars a weekover and above what we’d agreed to pay in Rose Bay, and what, you expect me to be grateful?”
“It’s a good deal. One Big Jack agreed to because of my mess up.” Okay, so it wasn’t such a good deal for the Jones sisters. Too expensive, as he’d known all along. But there was method to his madness. If he showed her something out of her price range now, maybe when he showed her something cheaper later, she’d be more interested.
And he had a property he suspected she would be very interested in.
She regarded him in silence for a long moment, her eyes narrowed, her head shaking from side to side. “You don’t even have my lease for the Rose Bay shop, do you?”
No, he didn’t. Though fuck knew he’d tried to convince Parker.
It was Jack’s turn to purse his lips and once again avoid the question. He kinda wished he could put up the volume and sing again, but she wouldn’t fall for the same trick twice.
“You never explained the situation to the other tenant, did you? Instead you chose to broaden my horizons, and hope you could net two leases in the process. Mine and his. How gallant of you, Mr. Wilson. I can only assume you’re doing it with your grandfather’s best interests at heart. Saving him the trouble of finding something else for my competition when he gets out of hospital.”
He shook his head. “This has nothing to do with my grandfather. I’m simply trying to show you areas I’d thought you may not have explored before.”
“Get me the lease, Jack. Let me sign it and take me back to my car. Soon as we have everything squared away, I promise not to bother you again.” The air around her was charged with static electricity and a whole heap of suppressed lust. Just inhaling that air seemed to light Jack’s blood on fire. “I’ll happily wait until your grandfather is well enough before I have any further interaction with Wilson Property Management.” Claire’s voice was icy and her arms were folded across her chest—in a defiant, stuff-you gesture—yet sparks of awareness flew all around the car.
“And I’ll understand if you don’t want to deal with me professionally once Big Jack is back on his feet. But don’t try and kid yourself that there’s nothing else going on between us. Whatever happens with the lease, I suspect you and I are going to be seeing a lot more of each other.” He smiled, letting the innuendo in his words seep into her mind. “A lot more.”
“Don’t try and use the attraction between us as a means of avoiding the problem.”
There was something about arguing with Claire that set his blood on fire. And from the way her nipples poked at her shirt — how could he not notice, with her arms pushing those
“My actions have nothing to do with you not knowing your business and everything to do with me broadening your horizons. I’m simply showing you that you have choices outside the limits of the Eastern Suburbs.”
“Thank you, Mr. School Teacher, for your concern and willingness to help us explore different horizons. We could never have done that without your innovation.”
Ouch , again. She’d just hit him where it hurt. In his inexperience with the property market. “I fucked up, Claire. I leased the shop you’d been promised. I’m trying to make reparations. I’m doing this as much for me as for you. Hoping to find something else that’ll suit you.”
She shook her head in distaste. “So tell me, how much are you asking for the Mosman shop.”
“Eighty thousand per annum.”
Claire’s outraged laugh almost silenced him. Almost. “But we’ll offer you a discount. A big discount, to make up for my earlier mistake.”
“Unless your big discount is somewhere in the ballpark of fifty percent then you are out of your mind.”
He cleared his throat. “I was thinking closer to ten percent.”
Again she gave a derisive bark of laughter. “You’re talking about a rental of more than six hundred dollars a weekover and above what we’d agreed to pay in Rose Bay, and what, you expect me to be grateful?”
“It’s a good deal. One Big Jack agreed to because of my mess up.” Okay, so it wasn’t such a good deal for the Jones sisters. Too expensive, as he’d known all along. But there was method to his madness. If he showed her something out of her price range now, maybe when he showed her something cheaper later, she’d be more interested.
And he had a property he suspected she would be very interested in.
She regarded him in silence for a long moment, her eyes narrowed, her head shaking from side to side. “You don’t even have my lease for the Rose Bay shop, do you?”
No, he didn’t. Though fuck knew he’d tried to convince Parker.
It was Jack’s turn to purse his lips and once again avoid the question. He kinda wished he could put up the volume and sing again, but she wouldn’t fall for the same trick twice.
“You never explained the situation to the other tenant, did you? Instead you chose to broaden my horizons, and hope you could net two leases in the process. Mine and his. How gallant of you, Mr. Wilson. I can only assume you’re doing it with your grandfather’s best interests at heart. Saving him the trouble of finding something else for my competition when he gets out of hospital.”
He shook his head. “This has nothing to do with my grandfather. I’m simply trying to show you areas I’d thought you may not have explored before.”
“Get me the lease, Jack. Let me sign it and take me back to my car. Soon as we have everything squared away, I promise not to bother you again.” The air around her was charged with static electricity and a whole heap of suppressed lust. Just inhaling that air seemed to light Jack’s blood on fire. “I’ll happily wait until your grandfather is well enough before I have any further interaction with Wilson Property Management.” Claire’s voice was icy and her arms were folded across her chest—in a defiant, stuff-you gesture—yet sparks of awareness flew all around the car.
“And I’ll understand if you don’t want to deal with me professionally once Big Jack is back on his feet. But don’t try and kid yourself that there’s nothing else going on between us. Whatever happens with the lease, I suspect you and I are going to be seeing a lot more of each other.” He smiled, letting the innuendo in his words seep into her mind. “A lot more.”
“Don’t try and use the attraction between us as a means of avoiding the problem.”
There was something about arguing with Claire that set his blood on fire. And from the way her nipples poked at her shirt — how could he not notice, with her arms pushing those
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