Lisa Watson - Love Contract

“¿Oye, puedes aguantar esperar? Tengo otra llamada telefónica.” Milán clicked over when she heard a beep. “Hello?”

Silence ensued. “Hello?” Milán repeated. When nobody spoke up, she clicked back to her sister. “Lo siento.”

“¿Quién era lo?”

“No sé.”

The line beeped again.

“Un momento,” she said to her sister as she clicked to the second line.“Hello? I can hear you breathing, you know,” she told her caller. “Fine,” she snapped and returned to her sister.

After another few minutes, her line beeped again.

“This is getting ridiculous,” Milán complained.

“Hablarémos después,” Nyah replied and hung up.

“Look, I don’t know who taught you phone etiquette, but—”

“Miss Dixon, wait. Don’t hang up. This is—”

Milán’s expression darkened upon recognizing the voice. “I know who it is,” she said coldly. “Your rudeness is becoming legendary.”

“I’m sorry about that. My battery was going dead on my phone so I switched.”

“I see.” Her voice was laced with skepticism. “So how did you get my number?”

“Your résumé.”

She grunted in response.

“I’d like to speak with you, if now is a good time?”

A long bout of silence ensued.

“Just a few minutes,” he persisted. “That’s all I’m asking.”

Milán leaned against the kitchen counter. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Mr. Anderson.”

“Why not? Are you afraid to talk to me?”

“Ha,” she laughed in his ear. “Nice try, but I don’t rise to bait that easily.”

“I don’t suppose you’d be willing to call me Adrian, would you?”

“No.”

“Fair enough. The reason I’m calling, Miss Dixon... What is that?”

“What is what?”

“That noise?”

Frowning, Milán stopped scrubbing the inside of her refrigerator. “Nothing.” She closed the door as quietly as she could, and then set the cleaning supplies down. She moved to the far side of the room. “You were saying?”

“Anyway, what I called to say is that I wanted to...apologize...for my...behavior earlier today. It was uncalled for and I was wrong to jump to conclusions like that. I’d like to make it up to you.”

“You don’t do that very often, do you?”

“What?”

“Apologize.”

“No.”

Despite herself, Milán’s lips curved into a smile. At least he was honest. Boorish, but honest.

“So am I forgiven?”

Her eyes widened. “Hardly. You kissed me—without my consent.”

“I know. I was out of line.”

“You think?” she snapped. “Besides, your apology didn’t sound genuine. Try again.”

“Fine, it would appear my heartfelt sincerity—”

She couldn’t help the snort that escaped her lips. “Heartfelt?”

“Sincerity,” he continued, “isn’t enough for you. So tell me how I can make amends?”

“To be honest, I’m not sure. Apparently you’re used to getting your own way—even when you’re wrong.”

“That’s hardly a fair assessment,” he countered.

“According to whom?”

“Okay, Adrian Anderson apology—take two. Miss Dixon, I got caught up in my own personal issues earlier and took my frustrations out on you. It was rude, unprofessional and I apologize.”

Milán peeled her rubber gloves off one at a time. “Yes, it was.”

“So, am I forgiven?”

“No, you’re not.”

“Will you come back for a proper interview?”

“I don’t think so, but I appreciate the phone call.”

“Wait,” Adrian said, quickly. “I really think we should meet face-to-face to discuss this.”

“Not a snowball’s chance, Mr. Anderson, but if I change my mind, you’ll be the first to know.” She hung up. Serves him right. Sliding her gloves back on, Milán grabbed her sponge and returned to scrubbing the hell out of her kitchen.

* * *

“Well, that went well,” Adrian groused. He put his phone down and headed into the kitchen. Practically ripping the door off its hinges, he bent over to scan the contents of his fridge. Grabbing a beer, and a mound of other things, he pushed the door shut with his leg and set his bounty on his granite island.

“What’s for lunch?”

Adrian glanced up to see his best friend walk into the room. He scowled. “I don’t remember hearing the doorbell.”

“When have you ever heard the doorbell?” Justin Langley washed and dried his hands. He walked over to a nearby cabinet and retrieved a small plate before sidling up to the counter to fix himself a sandwich.

“Back in the day, people got shot for less.”

“We’re not out on the range or in a saloon,” Justin countered not the least bit intimidated by his friend’s foul mood. “So I think I’m safe.”

With a flick of his wrist, Adrian popped the top off his bottle and took a long pull on his beer. “I wouldn’t count on it.”

“So, who pissed you off?”

“Long story,” Adrian groused.

Justin pulled up a bar stool and sat down. “I’m all ears.”

Chapter 4

Adrian stared at the metal locker in front of him. This was not exactly the afternoon he had in mind. He wanted to enact his plan to get Milán to agree to his job offer, not stand in his gym for a weekly basketball game with Justin.

He’d called Milán several times over the past few days, but after the first two messages Adrian decided against leaving others. At that point it was obvious she wasn’t planning to call back, and he didn’t chase after anybody.

In truth, Adrian was annoyed he couldn’t convince her that Anderson Realty would be a great match for her. When he’d casually asked his mother about Milán, Norma Jean sweetly informed him that she was not keeping tabs on the woman. A lot of help she’d been, Adrian complained to himself. Any other time his mother would’ve had Milán’s GPS coordinates mapped out with her next destination already calculated. Now all of a sudden she was tight-lipped and didn’t want to interfere?

He had to admit that Milán was on his mind for nonwork-related reasons, too. At the most inconvenient times, he’d think about what happened in his office. His body would stir each time he recalled the feel of her body pressed against him, or the warmth of her full lips as they brushed against his own. She may not have wanted the kiss, but there were moments when he was sure she’d been participating. He tossed that thought aside. Maybe that was wishful thinking on his part. She had punched him after their kiss had ended, so clearly it wasn’t that memorable on her end. Still, that brief encounter with Milán had intrigued him more than any of the last few he’d had with women.

“Hey, did you just get here? You aren’t even changed.”

Adrian spotted Justin walking toward him. He retrieved his clothes from out of his bag. “No. Just preoccupied.” He nodded at Justin before he stripped out of his work clothes and changed into his basketball gear. “What’s up with you?”

“Same old, same old,” Justin replied while getting dressed. “How are things with Senorita Dixon?”

“How would I know? I haven’t spoken to her since the day we met.”

“What are you going to do about it?”

“At the moment nothing, so drop it.”

“Fair enough,” Justin replied. “So, what’s the latest with the Love Broker? The guys think she’ll have you fixed up again by summer.”

“Not gonna happen.”

They walked toward their reserved court. Adrian set his towel and water bottle on a bench. “She has officially stopped butting into my love life.”

Justin looked skeptical. “Since when?”

They walked to the top of the key and got in position. Adrian bounced the ball so that Justin could check him.