REESE
“You call me if you need anything.” I smiled at my newest tenant. “The concierge is available anytime, day or night.”
I handed them the packet with their keys and all the information they needed for their new home. After showing them out, I was on my way to the coffee shop when I felt a negative energy blowing through the lobby. I looked around and spotted Thea. She hadn’t seen me yet.
“Thea!” I called out and waved.
She marched toward me. A smarter man would have picked up on the narrowed eyes and the swinging arms as a sign of danger. I did not. I, the oblivious moron, eagerly walked into the storm I didn’t see coming. I reached for her only to have her jerk her arm out of my grasp.
“How dare you?” she seethed.
“Babe?”
“You really must think I’m an easy victim!” She was wagging her finger in my face. I didn’t miss the looks from the people in the lobby. She wasn’t exactly being quiet. I had seen her talk this way to Peppy after the bed incident. She was acting like I chewed her shoe or shit on the rug.
“Babe, what’s wrong?” I asked quietly.
“I saw what you’re doing. Were you even going to tell me?”
“What did I do?” I asked and tried to steer her toward one of the quiet office spaces we had for our tenants.
“I saw your little sign! I saw the information about Sky Tower East!”
I opened the door and practically shoved her inside. “You did?” I grinned. “It’s awesome isn’t it!”
I was glad I closed the door before she could answer. “Awesome! Are you really going to stand there and act like this is a good thing? I can’t believe you! Again! I should have known better!”
“What are you talking about?”
I generally thought of myself as an intelligent person, but clearly, I was missing something here. I was trying to do a mental rewind in my head to determine exactly what went wrong, but she kept yelling at me. I couldn’t think straight.
“You’re buying my warehouse and tearing it down,” she said so low I almost didn’t hear her.
“I have to,” I said. “It’s part of the project. It’s going to renovate that whole area. People like Don and Peggy are going to be able to feel safe walking down the street to grab groceries or food. If they’re sick, the urgent care will be right there. Everything they need will be within walking distance.”
“And my shelter just disappears! God forbid we muddy up your pristine new village with my stinky dogs. You sound just like Mr. Wedge. You could have told me what you were going to do. You could have given me a heads-up. This is so like you! You love a good ambush!”
“Baby, please calm down,” I said. “I don’t know why you’re upset. I thought you would be thrilled about it. I was going to bring home the mockup tonight. I’ve got my team busting ass on this. We’re trying to strike while the iron is hot. They are already working around the clock to get the permits and drawings submitted.”
“I’m supposed to be happy for you?” she asked. “Are you kidding me right now? You’re destroying my shelter and putting hundreds of animals back on the streets and you think that’s going to make me happy?”
“I’m not putting animals on the street,” I said. “They’ll be in their new shelter. They’ll have AC and comfortable lodging while they wait for a new home.”
“Where do you think I’m going to find a new shelter?” she asked. “I can’t afford that. We can’t even afford the one we’re in.”
“Baby, baby, baby,” I said.
She batted away my hands when I tried to touch her. “Don’t you dare baby me.”
“If you would have looked at the website, you would have seen the new shelter we’re going to build. It’s going to have security and a dog park will be next door. The shelter will have its own private courtyard for the dogs as well.”
“I did look at the website,” she snapped. “There isn’t a shelter.”
“I guarantee you there is,” I said. “I’ll show you.”
I pulled out my phone and quickly pulled up the file with the very rough draft of the project. I zoomed in and showed her the drawings.
“I don’t see anything,” she pouted.