It was interesting to watch Michael do what he does. Talking now, he was all business, sharp and focused, like he owned the city. Not like the flustered guy he’d been at the first location. I liked that he’d been so rattled by my presence. Surely that meant something, right? Surely that implied he had some kind of feelings for me. Good or bad, I wasn’t sure. But he felt something enough to be derailed. I mean, if I meant nothing to him, if he couldn’t have cared less, then he wouldn’t have missed a beat.
I meant something to him.
And that made me happier than it had any right to.
Concentrate, Bryce.
Great. Now who was the rattled one?
Silvan gave us a bright smile. “Perfect for a two-minute coffee break, yes?” He called out to one of his workers who was just about to put an angle grinder to old wall signage. “Two minutes, smoko time!”
Another guy appeared, covered in paint or plaster, or both, and the three of them vanished out into the back room.
Michael turned to me. “You’ve got two minutes.”
There was a kitchen out the back, a storeroom, perfect natural lighting. Well, there would be when it wasn’t boarded up. There was more than enough room, and the dimensions for my layout were perfect.
Michael rattled off some specs. “One hundred and thirty square metres. Expected rent will be eleven hundred per square metre, so it’s more than York Street. Obviously.”
“Obviously.”
“Meets all code requirements for accessibility and it has a five-star energy rating. And Barangaroo has just opened up a few hundred apartments and more retail space. It’s going to get busier.”
I stared at the front of the store, imagining the view on the other side of the boarded glass wall. The people walking past, more tourists than businesspeople, probably. People on holiday, shopping, walking on a lunchbreak. Boats on the water, ferries, water-taxis, cruises, and yachts.
Was this the aesthetic I was going for?
“Bryce?”
I turned to Michael, no idea if I’d missed anything he’d said.
“I want it,” I said. “You were right. This is perfect. It’s not what I pictured at first, and I can’t believe I never contemplated it. I feel stupid for not considering it. I was adamant on an inner-city vibe. Well, at least I thought I was. But this feels right.”
He smiled but there was an edge to it that I didn’t like, as though he was trying really hard not to say something. We said thanks and goodbye to Silvan and his team, and they locked the door behind us.
The view from the front of the store was incredible. The harbour, the people, the energy. Now that I’d seen this place and realised it was a possibility, I wanted nowhere else.
Michael began walking back to Lime Street. “I need to keep going. I have a one o’clock I can’t be late for.”
“But you haven’t had lunch yet,” I said, feeling stupid as soon as the words were out of my mouth. “Remember what happened when you skipped lunch the other day?”
He smirked but there was definitely something wrong.
“Michael, what aren’t you telling me?”
He stopped walking, and he met my eyes. He went to say something, but in the end he groaned, frustrated. “I shouldn’t have shown you that place.”
“What?” What the fuck? “Why not?”
“Because I can’t guarantee you’ll get it. While I’d like to say it’s a possibility, it’s highly likely it’ll go to someone else.”
“If I can’t have it, why the hell did you show it to me?”
“Because I knew it’d be perfect. I want you to have the perfect place. And it was a good idea until you looked at me like you did back there . . .” He ran his hand through his hair. “Fuck!”
What? “How did I look at you back there?”
“You smiled . . . you smiled at me like . . .” He shook his head. “And now you’ll blame me if you don’t get it. Which will be fair. It will be my fault, and I don’t want you to blame me. I don’t want to see that smile die in front of me because I couldn’t get you this place.”
How I smiled at him?
“Michael . . .”
“Sorry. I just wasn’t expecting—” He broke off, then tried again. “I will do everything I can to make sure you get this place. But don’t bank on it yet. I wish I could say it was yours right now, Bryce. God, this isn’t supposed to be so hard.”
“I won’t blame you,” I said. “I know how these things work. But I have every confidence in you.”
He growled. “Bryce. I’m being serious.”
“And so am I. You’re the best retail agent in Sydney, right?”
He gave me a death glare. Those blue eyes were like glass.
“Michael,” I replied gently. “Pull those strings you can pull, and do what you’re clearly very good at doing.”
“Just don’t hate me if it all goes to shit.”
“Hate you?”
“The way you smiled at me back there told me how disappointed you’ll be.”
I shook my head. How could I tell him the way I smiled at him had nothing to do with the goddamn store? “It’s not that,” I said lamely. God, this was getting more and more complicated. “You’re going to be late for your one o’clock and you still haven’t eaten. Can we talk about this later?”
He swallowed hard and conceded a nod. “I’ll call you if I have news.”
“We’re still having dinner tonight, right?”
Christ. Did that sound desperate? It definitely sounded desperate. Fuck.
Hello, complicated. Nice to meet you. My name is Bryson Schroeder, and I’m in way over my head.
I cleared my throat. “I mean, we don’t have to go out to do a site inspection now because we’ve done it. But you missed lunch and that’s my fault, so it’s only right that I buy you dinner.”
He studied my face, and for a godawful moment, I thought he was going to say no.
“Text me.”
I nodded, chewing on my lip so I didn’t grin like an idiot. He turned and disappeared into the crowd.
I quickly thumbed out a message to his number. I’ll pick you up at 7:30pm out the front of your place. Wear that suit.
His reply was almost immediate. Because there’s a dress code? Or because you want to take it off me?
I laughed. Both.
Now I just had to figure out where I wanted to take him. Somewhere special but not too special. I might be very well aware that I was in over my head, but I didn’t need to broadcast it.
Bloody hell. Terrence was going to have a field day with me.
I turned around and took a photo of the shop, even with the front all boarded up. Then I took a photo of the view of the harbour.
I wanted it. This was it. This was the location. I could feel it.
But then the firing squad called me. His name flashed across my screen. “Terrence. I was just thinking about you.”
“I have five minutes. Tell me everything.”
Chapter Nine
Michael
I raced into the office to swap job files, knowing Natalie would pounce on me as soon as I walked through the door. She met me in the hallway. “Where have you been?”