Page 96 of Diego

There is a brief pause before he asks, “Did he seem comfortable there?”

My eyes close again.

Across from me, Carter has started saying something quietly to Leah, neither of them aware that I am currently being forced to professionally evaluate Diego Conti’s comfort level in the property where I woke up naked beside him this morning.

“Yes,” I say carefully. “Very.”

Comfortable enough to sleep there.

Comfortable enough to make extensive use of the kitchen.

Comfortable enough that I woke up with his arm around my waist and his face pressed against the back of my neck.

“He seemed extremely comfortable with the property,” I continue.

“I’m pleased to hear it.”

I am going directly to hell.

Thankfully, the rest of the conversation is completely ordinary. We discuss documents, inspection access, preliminary timing, and the seller’s willingness to move quickly if Diego is serious. By the time we finish, I have recovered enough that my professional voice sounds flawless.

I set the phone down and lower my forehead onto my desk.

Leah immediately rolls closer. “What happened?”

"Nothing. Basic questions," I say, trying to recover. "Just a lot of them."

“So why are you reacting as if he asked you to describe a murder scene?” Carter asks.

Because a murder scene might have been easier.

“I’m tired. Long couple of days."

Leah continues studying me as though she is trying to decide whether there is more to that answer, but my computer chimes before she can start another round of questions. I turn toward the screen and see a new email notification at the top of my inbox.

The sender makes my stomach tighten immediately.

Office of Diego Conti.

I stare at it for half a second before opening it.

The message is brief and entirely professional. Mr. Conti would like to proceed with the purchase of the penthouse I showed him yesterday. His office is requesting that I begin coordinating with the seller’s representation and obtain the full property file, including disclosures, building financials, board information, assessments, capital projects, inspection history, and anything else relevant to due diligence. They also want access arranged for a comprehensive independent inspection as soon as possible.

I read it twice.

Then a third time.

For several seconds, I forget Leah and Carter are sitting less than ten feet away.

He’s buying it.

He actually meant it.

There had been a small part of me that refused to take his declaration this morning entirely seriously. Not because I thought Diego was lying, exactly, but because we had been standing in the kitchen after a night that had obliterated any reasonable sense of perspective.

He was half dressed, I was panicking about my underwear and my career, and he had announced that he was buying the penthouse with the same confidence he used when telling me the seller would never know what happened there.

Now it is coming through his office. Actually.