Page 16 of Devil In A Suit

"Um..." she replies. "I'm not sure I know exactly what the story is."

"It's just like I told you. He had a busy day and had to hurry out and it is unlikely that he will buy the house."

She looks irritated. “Why do you have to give up so fast? He hasn’t said no, so as far as I am concerned, there is still hope and that is what I’ll be telling everybody.”

My phone rings suddenly and as I retrieve it from my pocket, an errant thought flashes into my brain: is it him? The instinctive thought and surge of excitement that comes with it bothers and maddens me. I hate to admit to entertaining eventhe slightest twinge of hope that he is on the other end. He is an insolent, presumptuous, misogynist brute with money to burn and there is no walking back from that. Wanting anything to do with him would be insane.

I tell myself that I am just checking in order to be on guard and once again communicate that any further insistence on his part will be met with legal action. That I’ll sue him for sexual harassment. I have no idea how I would go about doing such a thing, but the idea seems apt and plausible. That will teach him to go around trying to buy unwilling women. A little voice in my head laughs at the idea that I was unwilling, but I banish the irritating voice. I see my dentist’s name on the screen and the forbidden thrill inside me deflates instantly.

I confirm my appointment for later in the week, then head over to my father's office, but just as I knock on the door he pulls it open.

"Hey," he says with the biggest smile on his face. "I heard you guys were on your way back. I was about to come out to meet you."

His eyes are sparkling and alive in a way that they haven't in a very long time. I know about his difficulties and how worried he has been about keeping this place open, and my heart plunges at the thought of giving him the bad news. Behind me, I can hear Sasha giving everyone the less than enthusiastic news and I can feel the excitement in the air drop.

“Hey, Dad.”

With his hand on my arm, he pulls me into his office.

"Don't do that," I say. "You know I don’t want you to treat me differently than everyone else."

"Fuck them," he replies and looks at me intently. "Have you been drinking?”

“I had a glass of champagne.”

“At this time of the morning?” He frowns. “What’s wrong? You look like a smacked puppy."

I stare into his anxious eyes. What do I tell him? The truth so I can take the blame off my shoulders right now? Or the same story I told Sasha so I can have a little more time to think about what to do next? It isn't that I am considering the offer, it's just that I don't want to let everyone down. Especially my father. Even the thought of seeing the light go out of his eyes fills me with dread.

I swallow hard. "Nothing is wrong. Mr. Ivanovich had to leave midway through the viewing. Sasha’s going to contact his secretary."

"Well," my father says, relief in his voice. "That's not too bad. Things happen and he's a busy man, but more importantly, what impression did you get? Did he seem to like the house? Was he bummed to have to leave without finishing the tour?"

I hate lying to my father and desperately want to tell him the truth, but I just can’t. Crossing my fingers, I give him a version of the truth.

"I got the impression he liked what he was looking at," I reply slowly.

"So why does everyone out there look like someone just died?"

"I guess they expected Sasha to close the deal today, but I was doing the viewing and I couldn’t?—"

He frowns. "You were doing the viewing? The plan was for Sasha to lead. What happened? Why didn't she?"

I shrug. "He wanted the viewing done with only one person. Me."

My father raises his eyebrows and looks at me speculatively. "How strange. I would have thought given that they’re both Russian he would have been more comfortable with her. How was he in person? I did a bit of research about him last night.”

“Oh! I wish I had.”

“Well, he comes from Russian nobility, old money. Apparently, his father is an acquaintance with Putin and at some point, he has ties with the Russian Mafia, but to all intents and purposes, his son is legitimate. He made his fortune as a celebrated trader extraordinaire. So young yet so accomplished.” He grins. “I've been seething with envy all night."

"As if," I reply.

“No, really,” he says with a laugh. “The man is quite amazing. What did you think of him?”

"I uh... I’m not sure what to make of him yet. I think I'm going to get back to work. I have some videos that I filmed for some apartments and I'd like to edit those and get them out."

"Sweetheart, about those videos?—"

---