Love Redesigned (Lakefront Billionaires #1) by Lauren Asher

“Oh, you are?” I ask.

“Of course I am! Ask Julian. He always gets pissed when I watch your show at my desk during my lunch break.”

“Why do you think that is?”

Sam scoffs. “Beats me.”

I laugh.

“It’s not like he couldn’t learn a thing or two from you. Seriously. I love what you did last season with the Mayhem Manor. It’s one of my favorite designs, and the one I keep coming back to anytime I need some inspiration.”

“With Julian’s designs, that must be often.”

Sam barks out a laugh while Julian glares at me.

I turn away and take Sam off speaker. “Sam, listen. I hate to cut you off, but I have a special request and not a lot of time.”

“Name it.” Sam speaks with conviction.

“Whatever Julian tells you to do, don’t. At least not with the Founder’s house.”

“But he’s my boss.”

“Are you up for a new job? Because I’ll hire you—”

“That’s enough.” Julian snatches the phone from my hand. “Sam, I’ll call you back tomorrow. Sorry again about bothering you this late.”

“But—” Sam’s panicked voice disappears as Julian hangs up.

“Sweet guy. Out of curiosity, how much do you pay him?”

His eyes narrow. “You’re not stealing my assistant.”

“I mean, is it considered stealing if he wants to leave?”

Julian’s frown deepens. “If you like the house, then you’ll have to put in a competitive offer.”

“But you’re a billionaire.”

“So?”

“So how the hell am I supposed to outbid you?”

He strokes his chin like an evil villain. “I see your point.”

“Great. Now if you’ll do me a solid and pretend you never saw the house, I’ll be forever indebted to you.”

“Forever indebted to me?” His voice lowers, awakening hundreds of butterflies from their cocoons.

Hell. Freaking. No.

I tilt my head back. “Let me have this one. Please.”

“I’m not in the charity business.”

“Excuse me?” I enunciate each syllable.

“It’s nothing personal. I need land, and this place has it. One of these properties could fit ten of my houses easily.”

I throw my hands in the air. “See! That reason alone is exactly why I should be the buyer.”

“Because you don’t want to capitalize on an opportunity? That’s stupidity, not validity.”

My fists ball at my sides. “It’s not stupid to value a home’s history.”

“I value the financial kind more.”

“And you think I don’t? A historic home can make as much money as a new build if you fix it up the right way.”

“I’m not saying it can’t, but the math will always be in my favor, no matter how hard you try.”

I groan. “How much do you sell one of your homes for?”

“Three mill, give or take.”

My eyes widen. “Three. Million. Dollars?” Houses around the lake used to be worth less than a quarter million back when I was a kid.

He breaks eye contact first. “Yeah.”

“And how many houses have you demolished?”

“Enough.”

“Fifty?” He remains quiet. “A hundred?” I ask, earning nothing more than a blink. “Two hundred?”

He stays silent.

I shake my head. “Wow. At this rate, you’ll be out of houses within the next few years.”

“Exactly why I need a property like this to solve our supply-demand issue.”

Time to switch strategies.

“Do you want me to beg?” My voice drops.

I bite down on my cheek to stop myself from grinning when he blinks twice. While Julian and I have engaged in many psychological warfare tactics over the years, seduction has never been one of them. But hell, if it means securing my dream house, I’m willing to flirt my way into a deal with the devil.

“No.” His jaw tightens.

“I’m not above getting down on my knees.”

His eyes drop to my lips before he glances away. “Shut. Up.”

I clasp his chin and force him to look at me. “What do you want?”

He jerks his head free from my grasp and takes a step back. “Whatever the fuck is the opposite of this.”

“I’ll leave you alone if you walk away from this house.” I brush my finger down the center of his chest.

He jolts. “I knew working with you was a mistake.”

“What?”

“Nothing.” His gaze flickers between the property and me for a whole minute before he speaks again. “What if we go fifty-fifty instead?”

“I’m sorry?”

“You want the house, and I want the land. I’m sure we can work together to get what we both want.”

“Who says the town would let you build another house here?”

“That’s my issue.”

“You want us to go all in together, hoping to rezone the property and build a few extra houses on it?”

“Correct.”

I shake my head. “That will never work.”

His frown lines return with a vengeance. “Why not?”