Sweet Spot by Stella Rhys
29
LIA
“Holy shit, Lia, I’ve written about this place before,” Sara whispered as we followed Elaine through the front doors of the beautiful boutique hotel on Lexington Avenue. It had a doorman and large tinted windows. I’d passed by many times before and always saw shiny, expensive cars parked by the entrance, so I always assumed the place was strictly for the rich and the famous, and that I should never so much as look at it let alone go inside. So I never did – at least not till today.
On her first real lunch break in a week, Sara had opted to accompany me to a meeting with Elaine Gardner and Joanne Lee, yet another high-powered woman in her social circle. But considering the swanky location, I couldn’t understand what the meeting was for – at least not until Elaine and Joanne led us from the sleek, dimly lit lobby to the sparsely filled gift shop to the left.
“Oh, wow,” I breathed.
It was a cozy but sophisticated space that I immediately fell in love with. The tiles on the floor were a retro black and white and the walls were the exact, rich cream color I wanted for the walls of my shop. If anything, the space was slightly smaller than I imagined for my store but considering the location, I didn’t care. It was out of this world and a part of me wanted to ask Elaine what she was thinking bringing me here and making me fall so hard in love – because if I couldn’t afford most of the places in Gramercy Park, how the hell would I afford one in a high-end hotel?
But in typical Elaine fashion, she answered my question before it could even come out of my mouth.
“So, they’re shutting down this gift shop and hoping to open up a restaurant sometime down the line, but that’ll require a little construction in the lobby to open up more space,” Elaine said, tucking a silver lock behind her diamond-studded ear as she gestured toward the cozy but sophisticated space. “In the meantime, they plan to build a kitchen in what is currently the storage area – we’ll take you back there in a second – but the point is that they’re hoping to rent the space out while they find the right hospitality group to work with to open a lobby restaurant. Basically in the meantime, they’d like to use this as a retail space and because it’s guaranteed to be at most a two-year lease, they’re offering a very affordable price.”
“One I could afford?” I blurted as Sara squeezed the living hell out of my hand.
“Yes,” Elaine answered with a little smile on her berry-painted lips. “The only downside is that it’s basically a starter shop. Your lease won’t last longer than a year or two but the exposure you’ll get in this location is incomparable and if I were you, I’d fill out an application immediately because there are several others in the know, and they’re desperate to rent here, too.”
“Oh my God, oh my God,” I whispered to Sara, who was bouncing so hard on her toes that her topknot was coming undone.
“You have to do it,” she whispered back.
“I feel like it’s the right move, but I’m not sure. I’m nervous,” I said breathlessly.
“It’s perfect for you, girl. Look at it this way – it’s like a training bra. You start out here, then you grow your clientele, you slowly get bigger and then you move onto a real bra. I mean a real store.”
I was glad Elaine laughed at that because that meant she was one of our people.
“Okay, I’m gonna start my application,” I said to Elaine who smiled and grabbed me in a side hug. “I’m glad. I think it’s the right move. And considering you’ll have displays at every Gotham Grocer location, I can guarantee you’ll have no shortage of exposure.” Releasing me from her hug, she fixed her bob. “All that said, I hope you’ve already hired extra hands and rented a kitchen to work in because you need to fill your order by the end of the week.”
“Holy shit. Okay. I know,” I exhaled, completely overwhelmed but in the best way possible. Reading my mind, Sara grabbed my hands.
“Breathe, baby doll. I’m going to go back to the office right now, I’m going to bang out the rest of my work in like an hour, tops, and then you’re gonna come meet me there so I can help you finish this application. I’ll help you fill out paperwork or I’ll print stuff while you get records from the bank – just don’t worry. We’re gonna fucking do this, Lia. Everything’s finally happening,” she said, grabbing my face and kissing me violently on the forehead. “I’m gonna go now. I’ll call you when I’m done with work!”
Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap.
Everything was finally falling into place and ready to actually happen. It felt unreal, but I remembered the saying: When it rains, it pours.
For the next five minutes, I toured the back area with Elaine and Joanne. But they soon had to return to their offices and they urged me to quickly get going as well, since I needed to get my application in ASAP.
“Great meeting you, and good luck,” Joanne said to me as we left together. She gave me a tight handshake and before turning right as I went left, she waved at a stocky, suited man crossing the street. “Hey, Aiden!”
“Hey, Jo!” he waved back before flagging me down. “Hey! Hey, hey. One second.”
I cocked my head at him, only slowing down for him because he knew Joanne. “Hi? Do I know you?”
“I’m Aiden.”
“Do I know you?” I repeated.
“No, but if you’re coming out of those doors with Joanne Lee, something tells me you just looked at the gift shop space,” he said, walking next to me with a grin.
“Possibly. Why?”
“Well, I just showed that space to two other clients today and I’m pretty confident their applications will get chosen over yours,” he said, still grinning as if he weren’t being kind of rude. “I mean these guys – these guys have a great reputation in retail, so I can’t imagine them losing the lease to a newcomer like yourself.”
“How do you know I’m a newcomer?” I narrowed my eyes.
“You reek of being brand, spankin’ new,” Aiden said as I immediately looked around for a cab. I couldn’t peg what the bad feeling was that I got from this guy but I had no interest in finding out. He laughed when he recognized what I was doing. “Don’t get mad, it’s a good thing. You come off as pretty and pure. In fact, that might be your only advantage when it comes to landing this lease. My applicants are men. You’re a pretty girl. I’m sure there are things you could do to get your way.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I shot daggers. “Why are you speaking to me?” I demanded.
“You know why, Lia.”
I stopped in my tracks despite the fact that he wasn’t wrong. I had figured it out a couple seconds ago. He was a realtor. He was six feet tall. He had sandy blonde hair, just as Lukas described. I’d been thrown off for a second because his name was Aiden but then I realized that with most, he went by his last name – Cameron.
“I actually don’t know why,” I said between my teeth as we stood across from each other on a busy corner. “I know you want something from Lukas, Cam. But I honestly can’t imagine what you want from me.”
“No?” Cam stared down my front. “Well, first and foremost, I’d like to fuck you.”
Pig. I turned to leave. The breath hitched in my throat when he grabbed my wrist.
“Did I say I was done talking?”
“I’m done listening.”
“Calm down, sweetheart. As pretty as I think your lips would look wrapped around my dick, I’ve actually got bigger priorities. If you’re down to fuck me so that I float your lease application to the top of the pile, I’ll gladly take it, but since I sense you’re a bit too much of a priss for that, I’ve got another offer for you.”
“Let go of me,” I ground out.
“Not till I convey to you that I’ll fucking ruin you if you don’t talk to your boyfriend and change his mind about some business between us. Don’t worry your pretty little head about what that business is – he’ll know what I’m talking about.”
“I know what you’re talking about, idiot, he told me all about the contract you signed without reading thoroughly,” I said, taking pleasure in the red that flushed Cam’s cheeks. His eyes were unblinking, on fire as he fought to regain his composure.
“Feisty girl. No wonder he’s been fucking you so long,” he sneered, wetting his lips. “If that pussy’s as tight as that tongue is sharp then – ”
“Fuck off,” I hissed, yanking my wrist from his grip. I felt my hand pulse with numbness as I paced past a group of tourists and into the street, hailing a cab.
“You’re brand new, Lia Pope,” Cam called from the sidewalk. “I might not be able to shut your boyfriend down, but you? I don’t even have to be in real estate to crush you, sweetheart,” he said jovially, his every word spiking the beat of my heart. I glanced hastily over my shoulder to find him still standing on the sidewalk, grinning wide, arms stretched out as if shouting a declaration of love. “Come on, beautiful! I’m rich! I have connections and you’re fuckin’ nobody. I know you know that, Lia!”
He was still shouting after me as I got into the cab.
“Change his mind, sweetheart. With those tits and that mouth, I know you can!” he shouted, laughing hard as my car peeled off.
