Page 27 of The One I Hate
“You think you know a woman,” I grumble as Mona walks away, laughing all the way to the kitchen.
“She’s something,” he says.
“She is. Would give the shirt off her back to anyone in need. Sponsors town events every month. Has fed every resident in this town. And hard-headed as hell.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because despite this building being empty except for this restaurant, the woman refuses to sell.”
“How do you know?”
I tilt my head and raise an eyebrow. “Because I’ve tried. And failed. A lot.”
I’ve lost track how many times I’ve asked Mona to sell to me. I’ve even tried to just buy the vacant parts of the building she doesn’t use. And every time she has the same answer: “I’m not ready yet.”
Which, I get. Fine. Mona is a special person to me, and I’d never force her into selling. It just hurts my real estate agent heart knowing there are buildings that aren’t being used. That I could turn them into something that could bring money into Rolling Hills.
And into my pocket. But more for the Rolling Hills part.
“Well, then…that sounds like a challenge.”
Emmett makes a show of cracking his knuckles and loosening his neck like he’s going into a boxing match.
“Challenge? You think after meeting her for five seconds you can convince her to sell?”
“Hell yeah, I can,” Emmett says. “Bet?”
If there is one thing about me that everyone, including Emmet, knows, is that I can’t resist a bet. Of any kind. I once bet my nephew on a game of Candyland that I was planning on letting him win. “Hell yeah. Stakes?”
He looks at Mona, takes a sip of his coffee, then looks back to me. “If she says yes, I get your Alabama-Tennessee tickets next season.”
I swallow the lump in my throat. He knows how much I look forward to that game every year. Which is why I throw down a doozy of a counter. “Fine. But if you lose, you have to come work for me.”
His eyes blink rapidly like he’s processing my words. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” Did this idea just come to me? Yes. But it’s perfect. “I have a company separate from my residential real estate that just leases commercial space. I only have a few properties and have been wanting to expand. But to do that I need a competent property manager.”
“Have you even looked for a property manager?”
I shake my head. “No. Because I don’t hire randoms. I hire people I know. I trust. That, my friend, is you.”
I can’t believe I’m just thinking of this. I need someone to run the day to day. And though Emmett and I have just reconnected, I know in my gut he’s the guy I’ve been wanting.
I hold my hand out to Emmett as I see Mona walking toward us with our breakfast orders. “Do we have a deal?”
“Deal,” he says. “That’s how confident I’m feeling.”
“Same my friend. Same.”
“Here you go boys,” Mona says. “Now, why did you tell my new boyfriend here that I was the owner?”
I hold out my hands, signaling for Emmett to shoot his shot. “The floor is yours.”
“Well, Mona,” Emmett begins, ramping up that charm. “I work for a development and real estate company in Nashville.”
“Go on…”
“And I was just curious, knowing that you have some empty space, if you were in the market to talk about selling? The property value is at an all-time?—”
