Page 5 of For the Lover in You
I scoffed. "Watch."
I stormed off and headed up the stairs to pack my and KJ's stuff into the luggage we had. I made sure I grabbed most of KJ's items. I didn't care to have anything associated with this house or Kyle. After forty-five minutes, Trina and I were loading the last bag into the car. Kyle stood at the door with his arms crossed, staring at us. He bitched and complained the entire time while I packed our stuff. He had won and was proud of the fact that he had control over the situation. I wasn't sure where I was going next or how I would survive. However, what I did know was that it didn't involve Kyle or any other man.
Three
Tremaine "Trey" Houston
Ismiled at the young, vibrant woman in front of me as she shared her exciting news.
"I'm happy to hear that. I knew you could do it," I said to her.
"Thank you, Mr. Houston! I'm so excited! You inspired me to take a leap of faith!"
"You're welcome," I replied to Susanna.
After many months of studying, Susanna had passed her real estate exam. Five years ago, I hired her after she graduated from college to work at my real estate company. She applied to be my assistant/office manager. Susanna wasn't sure what she wanted to do after graduation. All she knew was that she needed to make money. After two years of being exposed to commercial and residential real estate, she studied to become a real estate agent.
"Now I've got to get started on finding some listings," she excitedly replied.
"Actually, I was looking for someone to add to the firm. Before I outsourced, I wanted to offer you the position, if you are up to it."
I knew I was going to hire Susanne. I witnessed how hard she worked to get where she was. There was no way in hell I was letting her go work at another firm. She had already built a name for herself with my clients.
"Oh, thank you so much, Mr. Houston! This is so exciting!" she squealed.
"You're welcome. You can start next week. Take some time off and enjoy this big accomplishment. I'm sure you and your boyfriend got some celebrating to do!"
Her eyes lit up when I mentioned her boyfriend. He was all she talked about. She was head over heels in love with him, and from the looks of things, he was just as in love with her.
She squealed again. "Thank you so much! See you bright and early first thing Monday morning!"
"Love to hear it. Now go enjoy yourself. I'm going to close the office early today and head out. I need to stop by Ari's boutique and check on something."
Susanna's excitement disappeared, and I knew what she was thinking. Despite being sweet and innocent, she didn't mind telling a person how she truly felt. The petite, light-skinned, big curly-haired, bright-eyed young woman had me fooled in the beginning. However, as time passed, I found out she was small but mighty.
I owned many properties, ranging from storefronts to apartments and homes all over the city. I was the biggest real estate/property owner in the area. I was very hands-on with my clients. It was my goal to make sure I kept all the clients happy and satisfied, even if it meant doing personal visits.
"Why can't she send you an email like the rest of your clients? She knows what she's doing. She's trying to get on your good side, then weasel her little way into your life for good. I swear she thinks she's the next Mrs. Houston! Don't let her fool you. She knows exactly what she's doing!"
I laughed. "Calm down, Susanna. Ari just enjoys face-to-face conversation, that's it."
She rolled her eyes. "I'll give her ass a face-to-face conversation," she mumbled.
I looked at her with a raised eyebrow. A shocked expression covered her face when she realized her intrusive thoughts had taken over.
"Oh shit, did I say that aloud?"
I nodded.
"I'm so sorry. I'm going to take that as my cue to get out of here and enjoy my new job opportunity before I lose it."
I chuckled. "Yeah, you do that."
"Bye, Mr. Houston! See you Monday."
I didn't have time to respond because Susanna was out the door in seconds. I got all my stuff together before I sent Ari a text to let her know I was on the way. Ari had called earlier, panicking that there was a leak and if I didn't come look, she wasn't paying her rent for the month. Ari never followed the protocol of calling the third-party maintenance company I offered to my renters. She always skipped the middleman and reached out to me. Ari was one of my tenants who rented a storefront from me.
I locked down the office and headed to my Mercedes SUV. It was a sunny day. The wind blew softly, and the trees were budding. This was my favorite time of the year because business usually boomed around this time. People had a bit more money during this time, so they would invest their money in something, whether they were looking to start a new business, take a vacation, or rent a home. Either way, they were lining my pockets.
