I selected some blueberry white-chocolate fudge and took a bite. I was far from hungry. In fact, the thought of something sweet this early in the morning almost made my stomach hurt.
“I’ve missed this,” he said, holding the chocolate in the air.
He was talking about the dessert.
Part of me believed he was also talking about us.
“One of the negatives to living here,” I replied.
“The only negative.”
I laughed, placing the box back in my bag. “I can definitely think of a few more.”
He closed his laptop, his stare finding its way back to me. “Such as?”
I smiled, bringing the coffee up to my lips, keeping the cup there even though I wasn’t drinking. When I set it back down, still holding his gaze, I responded, “Jenner, you’re so cute sometimes.” I grabbed my phone from the table and hit the screen, pulling up something—anything—that made me appear busy.
But even though my attention had moved on, his hadn’t.
His eyes bore right through me.
And I felt their heat.
“The seller isn’t looking to negotiate,” the realtor said as we sat in her conference room.
Jenner was at the head of the table, the realtor and me on either side of him.
“Everything is negotiable,” he countered.
“But when there aren’t any comps in the area, we have nothing to use as leverage.” She pressed her fingers together, forming a triangle with her hands. “Not a single piece of land like the mountainside parcel has been listed for sale or sold in the last six months.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” He removed a piece of paper from his briefcase, placing it in front of her. He pointed at the center of the sheet, circling it with his finger. “This land right here isn’t identical, but it’s close.”
The realtor grabbed the paper, examining it. “This didn’t come up in my search.”
Jenner exhaled, crossing his arms over his chest. “Because it hasn’t hit the market yet. It’s a pocket listing.”
Her brows rose. “How do you know what they’re going to offer?” Her eyes returned to the sheet. “And how did you get this?”
“I spoke to the seller.”
“Wait …” She entered something into the laptop that sat on the table next to her, returning to us several moments later. “You mean to tell me, you found this land, you spoke to the seller, and he gave you this information?”
Jenner chuckled.
And it was the most confident sound I’d ever heard in my life.
“Renee, let me explain something to you. When my client asks me to get him a record-breaking low price, I go to any lengths to achieve that.” He nodded toward the paper in her hand. “Call him, talk to him. He’s looking for a realtor; maybe you can score yourself the listing.”
I was wet.
Again.
“I’d like you to bring that new comp to the seller’s agent and tell him his client needs to come up with a better price.” He stood from his chair, and I did the same. “The seller has twenty-four hours—and we will be countering, so don’t come back to me with a best and final.”
She nodded. “I’ll go make the phone call.”
We left the conference room and stepped into the SUV waiting for us outside.
“Wow,” I said as I put on my seat belt, looking at him across the backseat. “Like … wow.”
He laughed.
“I had no idea you had that little tidbit of info—and I kinda want to strangle you for that—but, man, that small snack you dropped on her straight-up sucker-punched her in the gut.”
“She’s on our side, Jo, but she gets paid on the total sale. She wants the highest price, whether it’s best for us or not. You have to remember that going into every deal.”
The stunning mountains passing by his window couldn’t even drag my attention away from him.
“Jenner, what you did back there, that was so smooth and flawless, in a way I’ve never witnessed before.”
And sexy as hell.
But I was going to keep that part to myself.
“It comes with experience.” He brushed his fingers over his trimmed beard, reminding me of the way those whiskers had felt against my skin. “You’ll learn the tricks, the longer you’re in the business.”
I continued to stare at him in awe. “How did you know about the property?”
“That’s what your father hired me for. To go into a situation and know every angle because you never know when that angle will need to come into play.”
“I have so much to learn.” A heavy blush moved across my cheeks. “It’s a good thing I’ve mastered the student role and I have an excellent teacher.”
His jaw flexed, like he was grinding his teeth together, his stare so intense that it was vibrating through me. “The student role …”
I took a deep breath. “Yeah, you know, just because I have my degree doesn’t mean I want to stop learning.” I dragged my teeth across my lip before I smiled. “And I’m going to be your student throughout this whole build-out.”
His gaze thickened, his face telling me he was making the connection I wanted him to—the little nugget I was dropping in his mind from the day I’d shown up to his hotel, wearing a naughty schoolgirl costume.
Just as he opened his mouth to reply, his phone began to ring. He reached into his pocket and said, “It’s the realtor. I’m going to put her on speakerphone.” He hit the screen. “This is Jenner.”
“Jenner, it’s Renee. I just spoke to the agent, and they’ve budged a little.”
“What’s a little?”