But clearly, he didn't.
"Wait, I'll walk you," he said as I opened the car door.
I waved my hand. "Not necessary.”
“I can be on my best behavior if I don't get inside the house."
"Somehow I don't believe that either," I murmured. I suddenly wanted to be alone.
"All right, then. I'll stay here and ogle you until you get inside."
I laughed before I got out of the car, darting toward my entrance with quick steps. I could feel him watching me. Once I unlocked the door and pushed it open, I glanced over my shoulder.
"My offer still stands," he called out.
"No chance," I replied before ducking in and leaning against the door.
Oh goodness, the evening had been a doozy. The only good part of it had been Julian so enthusiastically describing our hypothetical future house.
The bad part was that none of it had been real.
Chapter Thirty
Julian
The next morning, I felt like I was on top of the world. I headed into the Quarter, where the LeBlanc-Broussard building was located. Our legal team was there, and I wanted them to immediately start working on the contracts with Robert and officially make him the offer so he wouldn't be tempted to pull back.
As soon as I went up, my phone pinged. It was my assistant. Just as well, as I wanted to tell her I wasn't coming into my office above the bar today.
"Good morning," I said as I stepped into the office I used here. Since I wasn't here all that often, it didn’t really feel like mine. "Listen, I meant to tell you, I won't be coming in today. I'm at the LeBlanc-Broussard headquarters."
"Right. So, um, what happened at the Landry party?"
I blinked, leaning against my desk and looking out the window, frowning. "What are you talking about?" I wasn't even aware that I'd specifically told her I went to the Landry party. "Aside from the fact that I convinced Robert to sell to me?"
"That's great. Congrats."
"But that's not what you were referring to," I surmised from her surprise.
"No, it's just that we've had a call this morning from the Tableau family. They're asking if we've actually had any issues with Georgie and her work."
"Excuse me?"
"I was shocked. They said that Kyle Deveraux had told them that some of her clients had complained. I guess they were trying to find out what clients those were. Honestly, it was a bit bizarre. I don't know what's going on."
"I think I do," I replied through gritted teeth. Kyle was starting a smear campaign against Georgie. That motherfucker. "Thank you for telling me this. I'll take care of it."
"What do I tell the Tableaus?"
"That Deveraux is a fucking liar. He's trying to spread these rumors because he doesn't like that Georgie put him on the spot in front of everyone at the Landry party."
"Good for her. I've never liked him. Thank goodness someone's finally taking him down a peg."
"And I will do the rest," I assured her.
"I’ll call them back immediately and let them know, but in a more polite manner."
"Yes, of course." We had to remain professional, after all. But my thoughts were anything but.