Page 75 of The October Arrangement

“Apparently that means neither of us should be allowed to speak,” I said.

“That might be for the best.”

“At least there’s chicken pot pie.” I smiled.

“Keep it up, and there won’t be.” She pointed her fork at me.

I laughed, and she smiled.

“How is MDG presenting the building?” she asked.

“Let’s finish dinner first, and we’ll go into the living room, and I’ll show you.”

“Okay.”

“Talk to me about your shitty day,” I said.

“It was just work stuff.”

“I can relate,” I said, picking up my drink.

We made small talk during dinner. I wasn’t in as shitty a mood as I was when I stepped off the elevator. Being with Bella calmed me down. Seeing her and talking to her calmed me. It was a realization that hit me harder than anything else.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Simon

After we cleaned up the kitchen, she grabbed her laptop, and we sat on the couch. After I located the marketing videos, she sat and watched them.

“I wouldn’t buy here either,” she said.

“Excuse me?”

“I wouldn’t.” She stared at me.

“Why the hell not?”

“I don’t want to live there.” She shrugged.

I furrowed my brows at her. “You just told me it was beautiful and stunning.”

“It is,” she said.

“Then what the fuck are you talking about?”

She replayed the video. “Look at it.”

“I’ve watched those videos at least fifty times today.”

“Yeah, as the developer. Now stop looking at it like the man who built it. Become the prospective buyer. Do you have the analytics?”

“I have the reports in my briefcase.”

“Let me see them,” she said.

I stood from the couch and pulled the file from my briefcase. After handing her the file, I sat down and watched the video again.

“Your videos are two minutes long, and people stop watching after thirty seconds. Some after twenty seconds,” she said, glancing at the playing video. “There.” She pointed to the screen. “That’s your problem.”