Page 15 of Enchanting the CEO

I laughed. "You strike me as a man who can convince anyone to do what you want."

"Believe it or not, some people manage to resist my charm."

Oh yeah, I was definitely not one of them. I felt charmed already and the man wasn't even trying.

"I'm easy to live with, I promise," he continued.

"Do you get visitors?" I wondered.

"I see my family often. They haven't been here yet, but they'll make an appearance at some point."

What I meant was female overnight visitors, but I couldn't ask that. It wasn't any of my business anyway. As far as I understood, the only thing I had to worry about was that staircase, as it was the only adjoining area where we’d possibly meet. Judging by the layout of the house, it was right next to the entrance, so we shouldn't cross paths too often.

"All right, then, I'll leave you to it," I said. "Have a great day."

"You too. Diane, this is going to work out great for both of us."

I grinned. "Oh, I hope so."

***

I wasn't expecting to hear from Gabe at all for another few days, but I was surprised when he called me four hours later. I was with a group of tourists, but I didn't want to ignore the call.

I glanced at my group. They were taking pictures in front of the Boston Common, so I picked up.

"Hi, Gabe."

"Diane, hi." His voice was tight.

“Uh-oh. What happened?”

"Listen, I actually convinced my roommate to let me see the attic." His voice sounded ominous, and I had a sinking in my stomach.

"And?"

"You should see it before deciding to move in."

"It's that bad?" I asked.

"Let's just say it's nowhere near as fancy as the rest of the home."

That could mean a lot of things. Still, it was better to see it. "When could I drop by?"

"Do you have time right now?"

"Not for another ninety minutes. I'm doing a tour."

"That’s fine. I'm going to tell him that you're coming so he's aware and lets you in."

"Listen, Gabe, I honestly don't have high expectations. I'm sure it's going to be fine."

"Wait and see," he said.

Gabe struck me like an optimistic guy, but if he thought it was unacceptable, then maybe it really was. Though I didn't think it could be much worse than everything else I'd seen online.

I finished the tour on time and then headed to the subway. There was a station about fifteen minutes on foot from Gabe’s house.

I arrived a few minutes earlier, so I walked through the neighborhood at a leisurely pace. The brick homes simply dripped with wealth. It was a mix of colonial style and modern architecture, but somehow they all fit together.

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