Page 21 of Remember That Time

Lester was already pulling his phone out of his suit jacket as he walked away.

I felt as if I was being led around by the nose. Each piece of information was being spoon fed to me by someone I didn't know. Well, according to them, I knew them very well, at least in the biblical sense.

The rest of my afternoon was spent deep in meetings, answering phone calls, and getting the inside of my cheek swapped. It was a pretty uneventful day, but I kind of preferred it that way.

Usually, I enjoyed the hustle and bustle of buying and selling real estate. There were times when I could make or lose millions of dollars in a single second and that made my heart race with adrenaline.

This was my high.

There were other times when I just wanted peace and quiet, like today. I took the drink Vasso held out to me as I walked in the front door of my penthouse and handed him my suit jacket.

"Dinner will be ready in an hour, sir."

"Thank you, Vasso."

I walked directly through the living room to the outside patio overlooking the city. I stopped at the railing at the edge of the building, one hand holding my drink and one hand resting on the railing.

This might actually be my favorite spot in the entire penthouse.

When my cell phone rang, I slid it out of my pocket and checked the caller. I didn't recognize the number, but answered it anyway.

"Hello?"

"Janos?"

My heart skipped a beat. "Gianni?"

"Yeah, hey, um...I got a new phone, but they wouldn't give me a new number. So, I thought I'd call and give it to you."

I couldn't even describe how that made me feel.

Giddy?

"I appreciate it," I said as I settled myself in a chair facing the sunset.

He sounded a little hesitant when he asked, "I didn't call at a bad time, did I?"

"No, I'm just having a drink out on my patio, watching the sun set."

"Oh." He sounded much chipper. "Do you have a good view from your patio?"

"I do. I'd love to show it to you sometime." There were a lot of things that I wanted to show Gianni, including the view from my bedroom. Now just was not the time to mention that.

I could tell from the look on Gianni's face when we were together and the tone of his voice when he spoke that he was interested, but something was holding him back, something he wasn't ready to talk about.

That was okay. I could wait.

"The view is what sold me on this place," I continued. "Work can be fun, but it can also be tedious and frustrating at times. I like being able to come home and just unwind with a drink and a little peace and quiet."

Gianni let out a small chuckle. "Sounds nice."

"It is." I took a sip of my drink, my mind whirling with ideas. "Maybe you could come over for dinner sometime and we can sit and watch the sun go down together."

"I'd love to," Gianni replied.

"Are you free this weekend?"

The sooner the better.

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