Floor Time

“Ok, we finished the inspection and there are some issues, as you might expect.” Sara closed her eyes prepared for an earful.

“I don’t doubt it.”

Jack seemed quieter than usual, not filling the phone line with his usual poor me, why can’t you control your people bullshit. Her suspicions grew, wondering if he was messing with her, trying to catch her off guard somehow.

“Well, um, I’ll get back with you, probably tonight, with our conditions for contingency removal.”

“That’s fine. By now I’m used to getting screamed at by her anyway.” A deep sigh filled Sara’s ears. “Let’s hold this one together, shall we,” he finally asked. “I can’t take much more of this seller.”

“Fine, talk soon. She hung up without letting him respond.

Sara put her hands on the steering wheel before starting her car, trying to control her shakes. Why did she let him get to her anyway? Hell, he was just a guy for crying out loud. All guys were complete assholes as far as she was concerned.

Focus, Sara, focus. You’ve been fine since Adam, no need to fall back into this game with anyone now, much less a guy like Jack.



Jack leaned back in his chair after she hung up on him once again. He stared up at the familiar ceiling of his office, sighed, and stretched his arms over his head. His mind drifted back, as it had so many times, to the moment he’d first laid eyes on Sara Jane Thornton.

His assistant Jason stuck his head in the door, nearly making Jack dump himself backward onto the floor. His eyes sprung open erasing the image of Sara’s deep green gaze—and gorgeous tight ass—from his mind.

“Jack,” Jason fiddled with his earpiece. “She’s calling again—where are you this time?”

He groaned. “Fucking-A, why can’t the woman take a hint?”

He’d had gone a lot of years able to escape serious commitment. The one time he’d allowed himself that luxury he had got bitten on the ass so hard he’d been reluctant to sit much since. The fact that the ass-biter had been his first foray into a Dom/sub relationship had made her betrayal that much worse for his ego. Now, he’d miscalculated once again; had severely misread the blonde woman’s motives.

Jason shrugged, already taking the next call. He’d been Jack’s assistant for ten years, and was used to his boss’ love life. He’d proven himself invaluable more than once, deflecting one woman or another. Plus, he was a spot-on, licensed assistant when it came to the business of real estate. Jack leaned into his keyboard, ignoring Jason again. The young man waved a hand in front of his face.

“Dude, what the hell am I supposed to tell her?”

“Tell her I joined the Peace Corps, moved to Outer Mongolia and am unavailable for the next ten years. Christ, I don’t know. That’s why I hired you; make some shit up.”

“I’m on it,” Jason turned and moved down the hallway towards his office, already making excuses.

Jason was worth his weight in salary. He’d come up with something. He always did. For about the millionth time that week, Jack wished he’d never, ever met the crazy blonde client.

Now, in the most perfect of ironies, thanks to Sara, he got to deal with her daily. Jack looked back at his computer screen. Images of Sara covered the monitor—from her real estate website and blog mostly. She had a real handle on using social networking, a pro at keeping fresh photos and testimonials from happy clients.

Jack ran a hand through his hair. Never in his adult life had he felt so attracted to a woman who had no apparent interest in him beyond professional. Now he got stuck dealing with a crazed bitch of a seller he’d been trying to ditch, just so he could stay in contact with the woman he’d give anything to get the time of day from. An alien state of affairs for Jack—not one he liked much. His phone buzzed.

Sara.

He smiled and answered, already planning his next move.