Page 50 of Claimed By my Frenemy

“Agreed. No more surprises.” I try to smile at Mia, but I still feel bothered by the fact that Steve went behind my back.

We stand there for a minute, and neither one of us says anything.

Suddenly, Mia jumps, yanking her hand out of mine like I’ve burned her. “The bacon!” she screeches and runs out of the lobby.

I follow her to the door and watch as she jogs down the sidewalk toward her house. “Well, that was strange.”

As I watch her disappear into her front door, I know I’m going to do whatever it takes to fix things. Steve is going to be a problem, but I can handle him. What matters now is making sure Mia knows she can trust me. I’m furious that Steve has decided to meddle and mess up what was starting to be an excellent relationship.

I close the door to the office and lean against it, my mind racing. I need to talk to Steve, make sure he understands that Mia is off-limits, as is her property. But more than that, I need to show Mia I’m serious about this partnership, about us.

The next morning, I head over to Steve’s office on the mainland. He has a few more properties than me, but he prefers to leave the dirty work to other people. He just stays in his office and manages things.

He’s already there, looking over some documents when I step into the doorway of his office. When he sees me, his expression hardens.

“Roberts, I don’t appreciate being left out of the loop,” he says, his tone clipped.

“I don’t appreciate you going behind my back and threatening Mia,” I shoot back. “We agreed to back off.”

“We agreed to get that property. I’m trying to secure our investment. Don’t act like I made this up. When we bought our current property, the idea was contingent on securing the bordering property as well. I can help it that you started having sex with her and stopped caring about the project.”

I decide to ignore the barb. “Well, threatening her isn’t the way to do it. Trust me. I’ve made multiple offers. She rejected all of them. Money can’t compare with sentimental value. It’s something you just have to accept.”

Steve shakes his head, frustration etched on his face. “You’re letting personal feelings get in the way of business. Tell me you’re not shagging her.”

“Maybe I am, but who I’ve chosen to spend my time with doesn’t matter to you. It never has before.”

“It’s never directly affected our ability to make a profit before. This is different, and you know it.”

I close my eyes and search for patience, somewhere deep within me. “I’m not going to force her to sell. We need to respect her decision and find another solution. Pushing her over and over again is not the way to do things. The last thing you want is her…filing a charge against you for harassment.”

Steve snorts, and I can tell he’s not taking it seriously. “What would she say? Someone offered to buy my property at twice its value. Poor me.”

I roll my eyes. “No, think of the bigger picture. She’s said no, and you need to respect that. We both do. We have to move forward with just the two buildings.”

“I’m not harassing her any more than junk mail is harassment. If it’s annoying and you don’t like it, you ignore it. Easy as that.”

“It’s a lot harder to ignore someone who is showing up at your door. Steve, take me seriously when I say this. Do not go over there again.”

Steve finally makes eye contact, pausing in what he’s doing to address me. “Fine. But we need a plan, Theo. We can’t afford delays.”

“We’ll come up with one,” I promise. “But it won’t involve threatening Mia.”

Once Steve has agreed, I promise to send him our updated blueprint by this afternoon. But first, I need to do something—something that shows Mia how committed I am. Something that shows her I’m with her all the way. And I’ve got just the idea.

25

MIA

I pacearound the living room, trying to gather my thoughts. My emotions are all over the place, and it’s hard to focus on anything else after the confrontation with Theo and his business partner, Steve. Theo’s words were sincere, and I want to believe him, but there’s a part of me that remains skeptical. Can I really trust him, or is he just another smooth talker looking out for himself?

I need to clear my head. I grab my keys and decide to head to the furniture store. The house is almost ready for guests, but there are still a few odds and ends I need to pick up. It’s a good excuse to get out and distract myself from my overwhelming thoughts about Theo.

As I drive, I replay the events of the last few weeks in my mind. Theo has made me start to melt.

The way he looks at me…his offer to help me even though I’m technically his competition…the way it feels when he runs his fingers down my body… They all make me feel like I want to spend more time with him, get to know him better, and see where things could go.

But I can’t fall in love with Theo. He’s off-limits. He’s still pushing for his resort, and despite his promises, I can’t shake the feeling that he’s just looking out for his own interests. I grip the steering wheel tighter, trying to push the thought of him out of my mind.

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