a date,” he said, his eyes sparkling with mischief.
She couldn’t help it. A laugh bubbled out of her lips. “Well, I did put these shoes back on. I suppose I should call it an actual date.”
He eyed the blue stilettos and nodded. “Those are definitely date-worthy shoes.”
That was pretty much what Lex said, too. Only she’d called them sex shoes. Grace couldn’t disagree more. The blue stilettos with gold accents were sexy as hell, but more than that, they filled Grace with self-confidence. And that was what she needed for both her meeting and her date.
“I need to see Landers first and then I’ll be ready to go,” she told Owen before striding back to their boss’s office.
“Hello, Nina. Is he ready for me?” Grace asked his assistant and almost did a double take when she spotted a rash of acne covering the woman’s chin. Hadn’t her face been flawless earlier in the day? Horror rushed through her as she remembered wishing the woman would have a breakout. Was this Grace’s fault? Had she cursed her without even realizing it? The memory of the genital warts potion flashed in her mind. Yes, it was possible. Grace concentrated on the woman’s face and envisioned her with clear skin again. She didn’t know if it would work, but it definitely couldn’t hurt.
Nina finally tore her gaze from her computer and eyed Grace from head to toe. “You’re awfully dressy for a work meeting.”
“I have somewhere to go after this. Is he available?”
Nina picked up her phone and pressed a button. “Grace Valentine is here to see you.” She winced at his response and then quietly said, “Yes, sir. She just got here. I’ll send her right in.” She turned her attention to Grace. “He’s waiting for you.”
Grace wasn’t late, was she? That sounded an awful lot like Landers was annoyed at being delayed. She glanced at the wall clock and breathed a sigh of relief when she noted she was actually ten minutes early. Thanks to Lex’s help, she’d gotten ready for her date in record time.
“Grace, finally. Get in here,” Landers said as soon as she opened the door.
“I’m sorry you had to wait.” Grace closed the door behind her and moved to sit across from him. “If I’d known I’d have been here earlier.”
His gaze cut to the office door, and he scowled. “Nina should’ve told me you were here earlier. I’ve dealt with that. You won’t have that problem again.”
“Thank you.” Grace eyed her new boss and wondered if she’d misjudged him. Because at that moment he seemed to be respectful of her and her time. Had she been wrong when she’d thought he’d set her up for failure? “I’m here to talk about Mr. Saint’s properties.”
“I figured that was the case.” He sat back and pressed his fingertips together. “I heard you had a meeting with him.”
“Yes. This morning. How did you know that?”
The large man placed his hands on his portly belly and gave her a half shrug. “He wanted to know why my newest agent wasn’t up to speed on his listings. He chewed me out something good.” Landers chuckled softly. “And you know, he had every right to do so. It’s my fault we wasted his time. I guess I didn’t expect you to get such a jump on things.” He gave her a wry smile. “I underestimated you once. It won’t happen again.”
“Well, I do like to hit the ground running.” She gave him a genuine smile, appreciating his candor.
“I understand you have notes on the properties. Can I see them?” he asked, leaning forward.
“Absolutely.” Grace pulled the report she’d made for Mr. Saint out of her messenger bag and handed it over. “The way I see it is that either improvements need to be made or he needs to lower the prices. These properties are stale and—”
“He’s already tried all of this,” Landers said, squinting at the report.
“Excuse me?” Grace blinked at him. “What does that mean?”
“He had the outside of the Victorian redone six months ago. Within two weeks it was back to looking as if no one had touched it. He had a contractor replace the rotting boards, painted everything, and even had the landscaping redone.”
“That’s impossible.” Grace shook her head. “I mean, sure, if the weather was bad the landscaping could be a problem, but the rest wouldn’t deteriorate that fast.”
“It would if it’s cursed or if the spirits who haunt the place have enough energy to force the accelerated