Chapter 26

Author’s Note: There’s been a lot of debate among my readers about whether they prefer longer or shorter chapters. I’ve come around to enjoying the longer chapters, as you can tell from this book in particular. But sometimes a shorter chapter with a discreet purpose still appeals to me. This is one of those chapters. Two key points for the story moving forward come through here. In a way, they’re both bombshells. I hope you enjoy it.

“This is absolutely incredible,” Kat gushed.

“It’s perfection,” Jess said in awe.

“Absolutely beyond my wildest dreams,” Rita added.

Katie stood quietly near the corner of the expansive kitchen. Her mouth was half-open, as if she wanted to say something, but the words were caught in her throat.

“Katie, what do you think?” Kat prodded her.

“Oh, I mean, like, yeah, I don’t know,” she stuttered.

“Come on, girl!” Rita encouraged her. “We want to know what you think!”

“I mean, I’m new, I don’t really have an opinion,” Katie said.

“You’re part of us, so your opinion counts,” Jess said emphatically. “There’s no hierarchy.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, walking to Katie and putting my arm around her. “You’re in. We need you to tell us if you like it or hate it.”

I couldn’t help myself and let my hand drift down to her ass, which was encased in tight white shorts. I gave her a little squeeze.

“It’s better than a dream,” Katie said. “I could live out at that pool.”

“Well, girls, I think that settles it!” I said.

“Um, daddy, this might be a silly question, but, how can we afford this?” Kat asked shyly. “They want $18 million.”

We had spent the last hour going through the not-yet-for-sale house next door to Juliet. “Next door” was a bit of a misnomer. Juliet’s house was about two hundred yards away, and there actually was a small vineyard – a vanity project from the previous owner – separating this house from hers. There were no other houses on this side of the street. There were several across the street but nothing behind them, since it was near Runyon Canyon Park. So, obviously, it was private, but that was icing on the cake. The house was immaculate. It turned out, it was built by a young Silicon Valley hotshot who ended up having his marriage and company fall apart shortly after building this estate. So six months after occupying it, he had to vacate and sell. There was a tennis court, basketball court, two-bedroom guest house, massive pool complex with two hot tubs, full outdoor living area, and the most lovingly assembled kitchen I had seen outside of a three-Michelin-star restaurant. To top it all off, it had seven bedrooms, ten bathrooms, five-car garage, and upstairs and downstairs living areas. And it was every bit as high-tech as Juliet’s place. I had fallen in love the moment we walked inside because I could instantly visualize us building a life here.

“So I have a surprise,” I said in response to Kat’s question.

There was a general murmur in the kitchen when I said that.

“I would have told you this sooner, but then this house came available, so I thought maybe it would be a good surprise,” I continued. “But you probably noticed that Petey’s movies have done extremely well this year.”

Rita nodded at me, and a smile grew on her face.

“Last week, I got our share for the first quarter of this year,” I said and stopped, allowing a little drama and tension to fill the room. “It was $25 million.”

Gasps echoed around the kitchen.

“And the two big movies haven’t even come out yet, as you know,” I said. “So, I figure, what better place to stash the money than in real estate?”

“Oh my god,” Jess said quietly.

“Is this for real?” Kat said.

“Holy shit,” Katie said.

“How soon can we move in?” Rita said with a smile.

“Let’s find out,” I said.

The girls milled around the house while I called the seller’s agent. I told her we could make a cash offer for the full listing price if we could accelerate the closing date. She sounded giddy when she told me she would consult her client and call me back as soon as possible.

I watched as Rita pointed to something out in the backyard while keeping her other hand on Katie’s lower back. Kat snooped around the kitchen, assessing the storage space and layout. Jess wandered around the first floor. I caught up with her in the study, which had sleek, open, modern bookcases almost from floor to ceiling.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey,” she mimicked and turned around with a smile.

“How do you like it?” I asked. “Honestly.”

“Perfection,” she said. “Private. Quiet. Huge. It checks all the boxes, including that je ne sais quoi. I love it.”

I heard what she said, but something was off.

“But?” I said, raising my voice a little. “There’s something.”

“What?” Jess said, brushing her hair back around her ears.

She looked amazing, wearing a flowing orange blouse with a pair of faux leather black pants. She was the picture of confidence and success. I loved how her ass filled the back. Her neckline was delicate, feeding down to the cleavage formed by her having left the top three buttons of the shirt open. It was enticing and didn’t match up with the worried look on her face. There was something.

“Something is missing, though, right?” I said. “I can tell. It’s written on your face.”

“Oh,” she said, jumping imperceptibly with surprise. “No, the house is literally perfect.”

“Okay, so about that but,” I said.

“One T or two?” she joked.

“One,” I said, now looking at her inquisitively. She knew I knew something was up.

“So,” she said and stopped.

I walked over to her and put my hands around her waist.

“You know this isn’t how we operate,” I said. “Just tell me.”

She smiled. It was a warm, loving smile. Her lips had the faintest trace of gloss on them. She breathed evenly out her nose, and her eyes sparkled, dancing between blue and gray. She kissed me on the cheek, and I felt the heat radiating from her skin.

“I want to bring a date to Juliet’s birthday party,” she said.

Her words came out softly, wafting up to my ear slowly. I had to do a double take.

“A date?” I said, the words almost stuck in my throat.

“Yeah,” Jess said, now sounding sheepish. “Um, a date.”

I didn’t know how to respond. Nothing came out of my mouth, though I could tell it hung agape. I was processing. So Jess filled the uncomfortable silence.

“We’ve been so busy with work,” she said. “We’ve gotten so successful, right? I mean, I think you’d agree that both of us are more successful than we could ever have dreamed. But the pace of things, what with Daydream now and everything else going on, is just much more intense. So we...”