“Give a mont, and I’ll grab my things,” I called out to Jas as I made my way through the living room toward my bedroom. Neal wasn’t ho right now, but that was fine. He texted to let know he was heading up towards the university to sign off on the properties he purchased.
I wasn’t sure how he could make things happen so quickly, but I knew, in the society of the rich, there were no tilines to getting what you wanted.
Packing my clothes into my suitcase, I moved around the room and stopped when I felt soone behind . Turning, I spotted Jas leaning against the door fra with his arms crossed over his chest and an unsettling look on his face.
“What’s wrong?”
Taking a mont, he shook his head and pushed a smile onto his face. “Nothing. Almost done?”
I knew there was more to what he wasn’t saying, but I chose not to press him for the information. If he really wanted to know, he would tell , and right now wasn’t the place for it.
Zipping up the last of my bags, Jas took the large one, and I moved with the other, heading through the living room towards the front door. “Are you going to miss it?”
His question caught off guard, but as he looked at , I tried to understand what he ant. “Miss what?”
“Neal’s place.... It’s nice here.”
My eyes widened in realization. He was jealous, and now it was more than obvious.
That car ride to Yale was more uncomfortable than I thought it was going to be. Jas was quiet, and even though we had a small, casual conversation, I wasn’t sure what had changed his mood from how he was that morning.
Ever since we went to Neal’s, he had been acting incredibly weird. “Looks like it’s that building right there.” I said, pointing towards a large brick building with red and white finishes.
He pulled the sleek, black sedan into a parking spot, and we slowly piled out of the car. To my surprise, Neal ca walking down the steps with a smile on his face. “You guys made it!”
“Neal!” I replied with a smile as I hugged him. “Did everything go okay with the signing?”
“Of course, it did,” he replied smugly. “Co on now, it’s you’re talking to.”
“Very true—”
“What’s going on?” Jas said, interrupting . Turning to look at him, I hesitated in my words because the dark stormy look in his eyes was not one of happiness.
“I am giving Becca the keys to her apartnt,” Neal replied with a raised brow as he held up a pair of keys and held them out to .
Gently taking them, I gave him a smile and mouthed the words thank you. I didn’t understand what Jas’ problem was. If he had been a woman, I would have asked if it was that ti of the month for him, considering how he was acting.
“Why would you be giving her keys? Is the apartnt yours?”
Tilting my head to the side, I glared at Jas while furrowing my brows. “Yes, it is. I am going to manage a few properties he just bought in this building for him, and in return, I get to stay in this apartnt for free for my last year.”
Jas’ gaze slid from Neal to , and for a mont, I thought he was going to burst with anger over the situation. Yet, instead, he managed to contain his emotions.
He unclenched his fist and forced a smile to his face. “That was kind of you.”
****
Jas.
That f*cking prick. Neal really thought he was smooth by doing sothing like that for Becca. First, he called and told he loved her and he wanted her, and now this. It was crossing the line, but from the looks of it, Becca saw nothing wrong with it.
“Shall we go inside?” I gritted out, watching Becca’s shoulders sag as she shook her head with a heavy breath and turned towards the door.
“Is there a problem?” Neal said softly so she couldn’t hear as I passed him.
I didn’t bother to acknowledge him, though. If I did, there was no telling what I would end up saying, and the last thing I wanted to do was to upset Becca over sothing like this.
I was working towards building trust with her, and that was what I needed to do. The last thing I needed to do was start a ‘I’m better than you’ match with Neal, just to put him in his place. At the end of the day, she was with .
Walking through the lobby of the building, she headed towards the elevator and waited for Neal and I to catch up with her.
“All the way up,” Neal said, pushing the buttons on the elevator as the doors closed.
“All the way up? But that’s where—”
“The penthouses are... I know. Exciting isn’t it?” Neal replied, finishing her sentence with a grin. “I wanted one that was really nice, and I figured you would rather stay in this one as opposed to one of the others.”
“Neal, you didn’t have to. I would have been fine with any of them,” she stamred as the elevator doors opened, and we stepped out onto the wood flooring of the hallway.
“Don’t be silly. Now, you’re going to be number 107, and that is the one right here down at the end of the hall,” Neal carried on from in front of us.
The man walked with a purpose, and being the remarkable salesman he was, he had swagger and aning in every step he took. As if the apartnt was a glorious showroom with million dollar cars.
It didn’t matter. That was the deanor and charm that flowed off him.
Becca walked by my side, speechless, as we approached the door, and I had a feeling that whatever Neal had picked for her was going to completely blow her mind away.
“Neal, what am I going to do with you?” Becca laughed softly as he turned the key within the doorknob and gently swung the door open.
“Well, it depends. I got you beautiful hardwood flooring with acoustics to die for. So what do I get in return?”
It was all playful banter, but none of it did I appreciate. The only thing that kept from losing my mind was knowing Becca was mine, and her situation with Neal was nonexistent.
If his idea was to piss off, he was doing a good job of it. Problem was, I could play the ga better, and I wouldn’t mind putting him in his place.
“Oh, my God!” Becca exclaid as her eyes took in the sight before her. Long hardwood floors going down the hallway to a beautiful kitchen with granite countertops. The kitchen opened up into a spacious living room with tall floor-to-ceiling windows and a beautiful balcony overlooking the campus.
“Do you like it?” Neal asked with a sly grin as he moved forward and gestured to every little, small detail that the room had to provide.
“Like it? Neal, I absolutely love it. How in the world did this gem of a place happen to be up here in this building?”
The astonishnt that I saw in her was sothing I hadn’t ever witnessed before. She kept talking with Neal about the different things that she could do to this space, and later on, how he could even market it to others.
She may have been going to school for statistics and data analysis, but there were other secret talents and passions she held close as well. That was sothing I would speak to her about later, because if she was going to be with , I wanted her to follow her heart.
Not worry about making a lot of money to take care of her father.
I would take care of him for her... even if she refused to let .
“This is going to suit you very well, Becca,” I finally said, speaking up, watching as both of them turned to face . Becca blushed lightly as she made her way over and grabbed my hand. “Perhaps we need to find where the bedroom is.”
I knew it was nothing but banter, but Neal seed very tightlipped over the comnt, and stepped forward with a smile. “Don’t worry, Becca. I can show you where your bedroom is.”
I didn’t miss the emphasis on the word ‘your’ from Neal. He pivoted and headed towards the stairs, gesturing for Becca to follow him.
It was all very organized by him. He had planned all of this, including showing her off in front of , as if I would be jealous. Well, okay, maybe I’m slightly jealous. Not that I would ever tell Becca.
Even so, this entire event was more than annoying.
As I walked up the stairs behind the two of them, their conversation continued, and I suddenly felt like the third wheel in the room. But once we reached the top floor, it was easy to see why he picked this space.
There was a massive space that opened up as if it was a second living room, and on the far back wall was nothing but windows that also overlooked the campus. When one looked in the opposite direction, though, two doors were visible.
One led to a fairly decent sized spare bedroom, and the other led to a massive master bedroom that held the biggest bathroom Becca had ever seen, according to her, of course. The bathroom had been recently renovated and was absolutely delightful.
“This bedroom is enormous. I don’t even think I have furniture to fit into this.”
“Don’t worry about that, Becca. I’ll take you shopping and help you pick out so nice things.” Her eyes t mine, and a smile spread across her face.
“As amazing as that would sound, you have to get back in a couple of days, and I still have to go pack up my stuff from Tally’s apartnt. So for now, those belongings will be perfectly fine here. But if you’re able to co back up in a couple of weeks, we’ll have enough ti for to save up so money, and we can go then.”
There was a twinkle of mischief within Neal’s eyes at the words Becca had said, and it was enough to trigger . My rigid stance and glare caught his attention as he tried to focus his gaze elsewhere.
If I had to leave a couple days later than planned, then so be it. There was no way in hell I was going to allow Neal to be the one that helped her decorate her apartnt.
Friend, be damn.
She was my girl, and I was there to smooth things over with her. Why else would Neal suggest for to co here and win her over?
“Very well. We can discuss that later.”
“Thank you,” Becca said, stepping forward wrapping her arm through mine. “The only other thing I have to say is, Neal... absolute perfection. Thank you so much for helping out. I really appreciate it.”
“Oh, please... you don’t have to thank . You’re doing a HUGE favor by helping manage these other apartnts in this building. We can go over those later, though, once I get them sorted,” Neal replied. “I do have to get going, though. So I will catch up with you later?”
Nodding her head, Becca grinned, stepping from as she wrapped her arms around Neal. “Yes, we can get coffee later this week if you’re up here.”
Coffee... there was no way.
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