Love Again (11 page)

I shook my head, “Well, then I see it as a reason to celebrate.  Don’t you?”

This time Lennie laughed, “Mister Hastings…”

“Stop calling me that.  I’m pretty sure we are way past the formalities.” I grinned at her. 

“
Dominique
, what happened at the club is something that shouldn’t have happened. I’ve never been that type of woman and, in all honesty, I don’t like how I felt after our little tryst in your office.”

If she was a frustrated as I was that night I’m sure she was feeling like she was about to combust with sexual frustration.  I nodded my head, “Okay, just one drink, then we can go our separate ways.”

Lennie blew out a breath, “Fine, ONE drink.”

Inwardly I did a happy dance, “I’ll even wait for you to text me when you want that ONE drink.  But I’m not going to wait months.”

She laughed, “Just give me some time, I’ll have one drink with you I promise”

“Works for me.”  I extended my hand across the desk to her, “It’s been a pleasure doing business with you.” I smiled when I said it. 

Lennie laughed, “That’s my line!  I hope you enjoy your new home.”

Having Dominique in my office made it suddenly feel very small and overly hot.  When he walked up behind me as I was getting us each a glass of water, the feel of his body slightly pressing against my back made me pause for a second.  His hands on my hips, thumbs caressing the small of my back, my skin started to tingle with goose bumps and my nipples got tight.  I had to stop him, he was engaged and had no business touching me. 

I turned around and looked up at him, those gorgeous blue eyes looked down at me and those lips…god those lips!  I knew how they felt against mine and how they felt against my skin.  My heart rate sped up, I pushed the memories away and handed him his water.  I wanted to be as polite as possible when I told him I knew he was engaged, BUT, it did come out a little harsher than I could help.  I could tell I struck a nerve, expecting him to give me some kind of excuse like; he wasn’t happy, didn’t really want to get married--et cetera et cetera.  Imagine the surprise when he called me out on searching his name on the internet and coming across the article…then telling me I should have continued reading to see that he broke the engagement off.  It didn’t matter though, I couldn’t let what happened between us happen again.  No matter how much I had to fight my own mind and body when he was near me. 

As if the meeting hadn’t started off rocky enough, getting served divorce papers had to be the final straw.  There was no doubt in my mind that Justin’s mom and dad had made the process happen practically overnight.  A million thoughts ran through my mind, I wondered if they knew about Jill and Justin’s drug use.  Did they know that she was pregnant? That thought alone made me feel sick, how could she be pregnant and still be doing the drugs?

Dominique pushed a stack of papers across the desk, I read the information that he had filled in before I signed below his signature.  One look at his current address and I almost dropped my ink pen, how could he live in the same building SAME floor as Corrina and me and neither of us know it?  Then I remembered seeing a woman that looked vaguely familiar walking down the hallway yesterday.  She smiled at me as I walked to the elevator, it was Ava.  He might not be engaged to her anymore but obviously they still needed each other.  I chose not to say anything about seeing her. 

When he asked me out for dinner I almost said Yes, almost, but I just couldn’t.  If he and Ava were still seeing each other I didn’t want to be involved in a love triangle.  Dominique was persistent though and I finally agreed to have a drink with him sometime soon.  The smile on his face was contagious and when we shook hands the familiar heat from his touch spread up my arm.  As soon as he walked out of my office I grabbed the phone and called Corrina. 

“How did the meeting go?” she asked excitedly. 

“Did you know that he lives in the same building as us ANNNND on the same floor?” I almost yelled. 

“What?  There’s no way…oh my god, I bet that’s the friend that Trevor helped out that day!  Holy shit!”

“Yeah…are we both that dense that we never noticed him?”

Corrina laughed, “Um no, I don’t know anybody on that floor.  But I do believe we need to change that soon.”

“You’re not going to believe this either.” I told her about being served divorce papers.

“Are you kidding me?  It honestly doesn’t surprise me really.  His bitch of a mother probably had them filed right next to the marriage license.”

I sat down in my chair, “You have no idea how hard it was to hold it together in front of Dominique.  I want to just go curl up and cry some more, then Dominique asked me out for supper…”

“You said yes, right?” she interrupted me.

“No.”

“Gahhh!” she said with frustration.  “It’s just supper!”

“I know, but, I can’t move that fast.  I did however agree to go out and have a drink with him sometime.”

“GOOD!” Corrina said. 

“I’m going to look through some listing and see if I can find a place.”  I told her.

“Lennie, you can stay with me for as long as you want.  I like having you there!” I knew she was pouting but I didn’t like feeling like I was imposing on her. 

“I love being there, I’m just going to look through listings.”

“Okay, I’ll go with you if you want me to.”

“Henry and James have some nice places.  I’ll let you know.”

“Love you, I’ll see you later.  Don’t forget to put that big ass check in my account.  I don’t want Justin getting his grubby hands on it!”

“Love you too, I’ll go to the bank after bit.  I’m not sure how they’ll handle that much money.”

“Sounds good, if they need me down there let me know.”

“Will do.  Talk to you later.”

We disconnected the call and I started looking through listings, I pressed the intercom button and asked Henry and James to come to my office.  Within seconds they were both standing in the doorway.  I smiled at them both, “I want to look for a place to live, no rush though.  I don’t think I want an apartment.  Maybe a town home?”

They both smiled big at me, “Let’s go, we’ve got a few different ones.  What’s your price point?” Henry asked.

“Right now I’m just looking, unless something really catches my eye.” I grabbed my cell phone and purse out of the desk drawer and followed them out of the office. 

I stared out the window lost in thought as James drove through down town Chicago. 

“You sure you don’t want a nice pent house style apartment?” He asked me.

“Nope, I want a back yard with a deck that I can sit on and read…I mean relax on.  I want to be able to hear the birds chirping and to be able to plant flowers.”

“Is your phone going dead already?” Henry asked from the back seat.  I pulled my phone out of my purse and sure enough it was in the red with only twelve percent battery left. 

“Yep, the battery life has been horrible.  I’ll get a new one eventually.”

Henry pointed at the first town home, it was too close to down town so I shook my head no and smiled when he told me I was going to be hard to please.  We drove around for two hours, none of the places he pointed out appealed to me though.  “You know, maybe if you’d look at the inside of them you’d like them.” He told me. 

“Do you have any houses? Small little cottage style?” I asked.

“Yep!  I will bet my left nut you’ll fall in love with it too!” He said and pressed down on the accelerator. 

Thirty minutes later we pulled up in front of the most adorable little house ever, located in a quiet neighborhood.  “Stop!” I grabbed his arm. 

James laughed, “Do you want to see the inside?  It’s rat infested and…”

“Bullshit!” I said and opened my car door. 

The house was grey stucco with white shudders, numerous flowers planted in front and a beautiful green lawn.  I waited patiently for the Henry to unlock the door, when I stepped inside I knew that THIS was exactly what I wanted.  It had been completely remodeled to perfection, all the original woodwork restored and soft smoky gray colored carpet covered the living room.  Normally I didn’t like carpet in a home, but in this house it made it all feel very cozy. 

“The good news is, it’s fully furnished.” James said and stepped to the side so I could look around.

“Wow!  How long have you had it?” I asked as I walked through the living room. 

“Two weeks, wait until you see the master bedroom.” James said.

I followed him down a short hallway where he showed me one bedroom that would work great as an office for me.  The master bedroom was breathtaking; I pushed past James and dove on the bed.  It was just as soft as I expected.  The guys laughed at me, “The closet,” James opened a large walk in closet, “Bathroom,” Henry opened the door and I jumped from the bed. 

“Why hasn’t this place sold?” I screeched.  A massive white soaking tub was against one wall.  And by massive I mean two people could easily fit in it.  The floor was cream-colored tile, everything was updated just like the rest of the house.  A double sink vanity with clear glass sinks was against another wall and a glass shower with a massive rain shower head was in the opposite corner.  “Is it haunted?” I spun around and looked at the guys.  They laughed at me. 

“No, it’s just on the small side.  Everybody I’ve showed it to wants a two bed two bath.” Henry told my. 

“Hmm!” I walked past them hopefully the back yard was as nice as the rest of the property.  It was like I had hit a gold mine.  I gasped when I walked onto the deck and found myself looking at a swimming pool with cobblestone surrounding it and beautiful green grass that went all the way to the privacy fence.  “Seriously?  You could have taken me here first!”

James laughed, “You said a town home!”

“I need to call Corrina, she will die when she sees this place.” I tried to call her but my phone died.  Henry handed me his knowing that Corrina would more than likely freak out if she couldn’t get ahold of me. 

An hour later she showed up, I was still in awe of the house.  Corrina loved it too, “I really think you should stay with me a while longer though.”

“I have to buy this place, it’s perfect!” I clasped her hands in mine.  “It really feels like a home.  I might even get a cat or a little dog!” I said with a laugh.

She rolled her eyes, “Fine!  We need to negotiate the price though.” She said trying to sound serious and all business.

Henry and James shook their heads, “I’ll take it!” I told them.  “No negotiating necessary.”

I rode with Corrina so we could go to the bank, after confirming the check with Dominique they deposited it into Corrina’s account but I had to agree to come open my own account within a month.  Back at the office I filled out all the paperwork for my house and wrote the check for it.  By the end of the day I was a proud homeowner and my day seemed to have done a complete three sixty.  Since the house was furnished I didn’t have to buy anything but I would have to go shopping so I could add my personal touch.  From now on I was going to live my life my way and take it one day at a time, life without Justin would be a huge change but it was a change that needed to be made.

When we got back to the apartment building I was smiling from ear to ear, “Shit…tomorrow remind me to go buy a new battery for my phone okay?” I said to Corrina.

“You haven’t had that one very long, let me see it.”

I handed her my phone then a few seconds later handed it back to me, “I closed out all the apps, I’ve told you a hundred times to do that.”

I held my hands up in defense, “Sorry, I’ve been a little scattered brained lately.” We stepped out of the elevator and started toward the apartment.  I glanced down the hallway just in time to see a woman with a super model figure walking in to Dominique’s apartment.  Quickly I walked in behind Corrina and shut the door.  In only a few short days I would be out of here and Dominique would be out of here living in his new place, clear across the city…far away from me.  Out of sight out of mind.

“So everything seems to be going in crazy directions for you right now.” Corrina said as she pulled food out of the refrigerator. 

I sat down at the breakfast bar and rested my chin on my hand, “Pretty much, this definitely isn’t how I expected my life to be.  I should probably call dad and let him know about the house.  Him and Jennifer will want to come visit, I’m sure.”

“I just want you to know that you’re welcome here any time, I mean it when I say I love you like a sister.  Go call your dad, I’ll let you know when the food is ready.”

I walked around the island and hugged her, “Thank you for being here for me, one of these days I’ll be back to my old self.  I love you more than you’ll ever know.”

We hugged each other tightly then I went to my room so I could call dad.  He was over the top excited that I had my own place to call home and that Corrina was living back in Chicago.  “You two have always been there for each other.  Jennifer and I will plan on coming to see you in a few weeks, how does that sound?” Our conversation turned to the divorce; the more we talked about it the angrier dad would get.  “How long until it’s final?” he asked.

“I’m not sure.  I haven’t signed the papers yet, I want to find an attorney to have look at them first.”  I told him.

“You get in touch with one tomorrow, make god damn sure they aren’t in cahoots with Justin’s dad’s firm.”

“I know, I’ll talk to Corrina tonight.  She’ll probably know a good one to use.”