And hopefully, one of them was the magical one we needed for this refinery.
I handed back her phone. “Okay. So, today we’re going to see six different properties. They are the only six in the Conroe area that all have what we would need to get the refinery up and going, so hopefully, one of these six will work.”
Luna slid her phone back into her purse. “And if they don’t work? Are there any backup sites we’re going to see that might take a bit more work, but could also be formatted to what the company needs?”
This is going to be perfect. “I’ll have the realtor work on it if these don’t work out.”
Mr. Derecho sounded behind me. “But, I have a feeling one of these six will work.”
I smiled as I turned around. “Mr. Derecho! Let me introduce you to my assistant, Luna Faircloth.”
He held out his hand. “A pleasure to meet you.”
Luna shook his hand. “Likewise. I have a question about this property already, though.”
My realtor grinned. “She gets right to work, huh?”
I shrugged. “It’s why I hired her.”
Luna ignored our comments. “I can already see that a great deal of electrical work is going to have to be done. There are three main power lines down and disconnected, and the meters along the perimeter of the building are essentially rusted through. Any way that we can work out a deal with whoever owns this property to fix all of that up before we made a decision on the purchase?”
Mr. Derecho looked at me, and I stood by what Luna was asking. “I’d be interested in knowing that as well.”
The realtor sighed. “Well, with the bulk of these properties, the bank owns them. So, they’re essentially sold ‘as is.’ But, they come at a heftily-reduced price. Take this property, for instance. It sits on seven acres of land, already zoned for business, and comes with the licenses necessary to expand if that’s something you’re looking to do.”
Luna jotted down notes. “The price?”
“Two million.”
My eyebrows rose. “That’s it?”
He smiled. “That’s it.”
Luna didn’t seem phased, though. “Any room for negotiation on that price?”
My realtor chuckled. “Let’s take a look at the inside before we get into those questions, yes? Follow me.”
As we walked through the first property, all eyes were on Luna. She asked some great questions, like the kind of piping for water that ran throughout the facility and the condition of possible office spaces, if there were any. She scribbled notes furiously in a binder full of paper she was carrying, and I felt my chest swelling with pride as we traveled from property to property. This woman was giving my realtor a serious run for his money.
“Miss Faircloth, I can assure you—”
She shook her head. “With all due respect, Mr. Derecho, I don’t want assurances. I want paperwork. Unless you’re willing to sign off officially on the statements you’re making about these warehouses.”
I leaned down to her ear. “If you want to impress me, you’ve already done it.”
She cast a look up to me. “If you’re going to get the best deal, you want to know exactly what you’re walking into. Surprise work on a scale like this isn’t ever going to be good.”
I was impressed with Luna’s ability to stand up and ask for clarification on things. But, more than that, I was in awe of how she went toe to toe with this man. All I expected from her was to take notes on things he and I talked about. But, as we headed to the last property of the day, I quickly found that I was the spectator in this match.
And Luna was about to be the lightweight champion.
“Personally, Miss Faircloth, this last property is my favorite. It’s got five different well sources from which it draws its water, yet the sewer is tied into the city of Conroe. The electrical grid is stable. In fact, I can produce paperwork as to the work that was done on it a couple of years back. This is the only property that is still owned by the original purchasers, and while it’s a bit smaller than the other ones we’ve looked at, it’s got the least amount of work that has to happen.”
I nodded. “Then, let’s get inside this bad boy and take a look.”
As we traveled inside the last warehouse, a thought occurred to me that could screw things up: I enjoyed spending time with Luna. I enjoyed having her at my side. I enjoyed watching her go for the jugular. I enjoyed listening to the sound of her voice and feeling her presence at my side.
The issue? I was now her boss, which made any personal fraternization even more complicated.
“There’s insulation behind these walls, right?” Luna asked.
Mr. Derecho walked alongside her down the hallway. “Yes, ma’am. All of the hallways are insulated, as are the walls to every space that make up the outer perimeter of the main building. There are three stories to this portion of the property, all of which are insulated and have their own air units.”
“Nice, nice. What about expansion? Are we primed in this location to add what we need?”
As their voices trailed off down the hallway, I let my eyes sweep over Luna’s body. Her plump ass filled out the fluttering floral dress she wore as her hips swayed with every step. She had her hair pulled back in curled wisps that made me want to run my fingers through it.
I can’t believe she’s not off-limits.
“You’re an idiot, Bart,” I murmured to myself.
Luna was just as gorgeous today as she was back at the cookout when we reconnected again. Her devotion to her family was something I respected about her. Still, her uncanny ability to launch herself straight into a position like this with confidence and coolness about her left me speechless, just like the sloping curves of her hips did.
“Fuck,” I whispered.
I jogged up behind them and tried to act as if her smile and her mind hadn’t completely disarmed me. But, when she grinned at me from over her shoulder, I knew she had caught me. All I did was toss her a playful wink, and she shook her head, but I knew if I did anything else, I’d be pushing the envelope.
Then again, my entire life had been built on pushing the envelope.
“So! What do you think?” Mr. Derecho asked.
The three of us made our way back to our vehicles as I drew in a deep breath. “I think we have some talking to do, but you’ll be hearing from me by tomorrow morning.”
My realtor nodded. “I’ll be on the lookout for that phone call. And in the meantime, I’ll start digging up other properties if none of these suit your fancy.”
Luna shook his hand again. “We’d appreciate that, thank you. Mr. Remington and I will probably chat over dinner, so I expect you’ll hear from us sometime tonight.”
My eyebrows rose. “Dinner, huh?”
She looked up at me. “I mean, unless you want to go talk about it right now. But, I figured you’d want to take my notes, show them to your brothers, and digest everything first.”
“No, no, no. Dinner is just fine.”
Mr. Derecho chuckled. “I’ll be waiting either way. And Miss Faircloth?”
“Yes?”
My realtor pointed at me. “If he’s stupid enough to get rid of you, I want you to call me. I could use someone like you on my team.”