Page 5 of Cold Foot Komodo

He rolled his head backward, and for the first time, she could see a glimpse of his smile. She also had a clear view of his muscular neck and his Adam’s apple, and she happened to think those were both very sexy.

He pointed at her and cocked his eyebrow, then disappeared back around the corner. She couldn’t help her giggle.

“Read the text,” he called from the other room.

She poked the text and read up a bit.

Reed had texted,Henderson, this place is a shithole, just like I told you when you were here. The foundation is bad and putting cracks all through the drywall, the roof is leaking, it smells like mold, and you didn’t even bother to stick around to meet her. She wasn’t that late. This house needs way too much work for what you’re charging her, and you know it. Drop that rent or we’re walking away.

Sasha arched her eyebrows. Oh, Reed was a man who demanded what he wanted, and apparently he wanted her to get a good deal.

He’d cut the price in half. In half! “He’s dropping the rent to seven hundred dollars,” she said to Reed as he came back into the kitchen.

“It’s still too high. You’re going to have to put money into this place just to get it liveable. The hot water heater isn’t working,” he gritted out from where he was testing the running water in the kitchen sink. “Plus, I looked it up. The pictures made this place look like a palace. That’s false advertising. It has to be forty degrees in here. Does the heat even work?”

Feeling overwhelmed and a little defeated, she shrugged. “You know more than me.”

“Hand it to me,” he uttered in that gritty voice of his.

She handed him the phone. He connected a call, put it on speakerphone, and set the phone on the counter next to the sink.

“What?” Mr. Henderson answered.

“The hot water heater doesn’t work, does it?”

“If you’re gonna bust my balls over every little thing—”

“Every little thing? Areyoutaking freezing-cold showers when it’s twenty degrees outside, Henderson? Are you? The heat isn’t kicking on either. There’re burn marks on the fireplace, is it clogged? I sent you a picture of it. She’s a nice lady, and you aren’t going to take advantage of her.”

“I’m not budging any more on the rent!”

There was grit to Reed’s voice as he locked his arms on either side of the counter and told him, “You will, and here’s why. There is some little part of you that is a decent man. In addition, we will be making the repairs to make this place livable and comfortable, and guess who that benefits?”

After a few seconds of pause, Mr. Henderson said, “Me?”

“You. She’s month-to-month, right?”

“Yes.”

“And that’s all you could get, right? I looked, and this place has been up for rent for a year with no tenants. It’s a small town and there are better homes to rent, and you didn’t put any effort into making this place livable, am I freaking close?”

Mr. Henderson cleared his throat, and after a pause, he begrudgingly said, “You’re correct.”

“Great, so you need someone working on this house, but you don’t want to pay them. Well, you’re going to pay your tenant by deeply discounting the rent. Five hundred dollars for rent, and she will be covering repair expenses up to five thousand dollars—”

“Now wait a minute—”

“I’m not finished! She will have a professional contractor for the house, and the work will be top-notch. When she is done living in this home, it will be rentable for your full fee to thenext tenant. Five hundred, and we will do the repairs. Put it in a contract and email it to Sasha.”

The line had gone silent. “Who is the contractor?”

“Me.”

“I don’t know you—”

“Go google Reed Trainor, of Trainor Construction, Jacksonville, Florida. Look at the job list. This job is a slow Tuesday for me. Five hundred dollars, and I’ll send you a spreadsheet of the cost you would’ve accrued if you hired out for the work. You’re getting the better deal.”

“I’m going to look at your work. I’ll text you my next offer.”

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