Lie, Lie Again(63)

“Fine. Will you hold Carson for a sec?” she asked, offering the baby to him.

The things he had to do to get what he wanted. Tentatively, he took the baby and held it under the armpits while she scribbled her signature across the line with the pen he’d generously offered. At least she was quick about it. She handed the paper to him and reached for the baby.

“Thanks. Let me know if that garbage disposal gives you any more trouble.”

She closed the door without a word. Whatever. He’d gotten what he wanted. One down, two to go. Bam! He grabbed his briefcase and crossed the driveway. Something bright orange on one of the stairs caught his eye, and he picked up his pace. Shit. He’d forgotten about the message Sylvia had left. What had Dave been thinking, taping the step like that? He climbed the stairs and stopped on the sixth, reaching out his foot to tap the seventh. Huh. It actually felt pretty darn sturdy. Grabbing the railing, he put some weight on it and smiled. Totally fine. If it could hold his weight, it could hold hers. Traipsing up the rest of the stairs, he knocked on her door. When she didn’t answer immediately, he jammed his finger against the bell and knocked once more.

Not home. He took another document from his briefcase and slid it under her mat, leaving a corner sticking out, before jogging down the stairs.

As he reached the ground, the girl from the lower apartment pranced out, dressed in black leggings and a tight little top. She’d be totally hot if there were a little more to grab on to. “Hiya! I was just about to knock on your door.”

“Oh. Is something wrong?”

“No, no. We’re good! I was just checking on a few things, and I have a paper for you to sign.” He opened his briefcase, snapping the locks with a flourish. “Here we are. If you can just sign at the bottom, I’ll be out of your hair and you can be on your way. Jogging?”

“Uh, yeah. I’m going for a run.”

“A run. Not a jog. You’re fast,” he said, pumping his fist. “Good for you. Keep that heart healthy, right?” He openly stared at her chest. It was where her heart was, after all, and if she was going to prance around in a tiny top, he could look.

She skimmed the page as he waited. “Uh, I’m on a year lease,” she said, handing the page back to him. “This doesn’t apply to me.”

Dammit! He raised his brows and smiled, covering his annoyance. “It’s your lucky day. This allows you to leave whenever you want. Consider it a gift.”

Her face scrunched up in confusion. “I don’t know. I feel like I should ask my mom and dad about this. You can leave it with me, and I’ll let you know.”

“Um, I think you’re not understanding me. I need you to sign it now.”

A red car zipped by, and she motioned to it. “Sylvia just got home. Let me ask her.” She took off ahead of him.

By the time he reached the carport, he was tempted to shove the pen in her hand and force her to sign. And the stupid girl was already whispering with Sylvia. Sucking in a breath, he said, “Hi there! Has she filled you in?”

Sylvia was wearing a tailored dress with sexy high heels. That woman looked like she knew her way around the boardroom and the bedroom. He rewarded her with a charming smile, but she glared at him. “Are you selling the complex?” Before he could answer, she said, “Dave, the stair-repair genius, says you are and that his dad is your real estate agent.”

“Well, Dave’s dad and I are old friends. I’m not going to lie. We’ve tossed the idea around, but like I just finished explaining to Emily across the way, Dave gets confused easily.” He tapped his head. “Nice enough kid, don’t get me wrong, but there’s not too much going on upstairs. This document has nothing to do with that. It’s giving you freedom from a lease.”

“Or making it so you can raise the rent at will, I presume?”

“No, no. I wouldn’t do that. California has rules and laws that protect renters.” He had no clue what they were, but he assumed there must be some type of law in place. He’d seen the lawyer’s website that was full of information, even if he hadn’t read it word for word.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to do anything rash.”

He stepped forward and gave her his best puppy-dog-eyes look. “Trust me,” he said, drawing the words out in a way that always worked like magic. “You’ll be better off.”

She bit her lip but took the page. “You’re sure?”

“One hundred percent. You’re golden with this.”

“Okay, I trust you,” she said with a warm smile. It was pretty obvious she was attracted to him by the way she’d angled her breasts toward him. And then she took the pen and signed!

Bam, bam!

She passed it back to him and gave the runner a supportive look. “Riki, you should sign too, even though you’re still on a lease. Jonathan wouldn’t do anything to screw things up for us.”

She grabbed the paper and balanced on one leg as she signed the page using her thigh as a table. Fit little thing.

He took the document and folded it. Done and done. “Thank you,” he said. “And I checked your stair, Sylvia. It’s fine. Held my weight and all. You’re good.”

“Well, that’s a huge relief. Thank you so much.”

“You know it!” He turned to leave, holding back the desire to cheer. He was one step closer to megabucks. Cha-ching!