Reign A Romance Anthology - Nina Levine Page 0,22

people file through the staged apartment.

My stomach twisted as my eyes followed people around the apartment, eyeing the finishes, tugging at the drapes, and examining the placement of every single freaking feature.

Design decisions that I had made.

Decisions that I had to believe people would like because if I screwed up the layout, staging, and feel of these apartments, there was no way in hell they were asking me to come back.

“Is this permanent?” My ears perked up, and I searched the room, finding a young woman with her wine glass in the air. “Does the kitchen have to be this shape?”

The kitchen was shaped like a U. On one side, there was a large counter with bar stools on the opposite side, and beyond that was the living room.

“All the kitchens and spaces like this in these apartments come as they are—”

“So, it can’t be changed?”

“It can be,” I answered loudly as I threw myself forward, ducking and diving through the crowd to get to the offending kitchen counter where Reese and the woman were speaking. Drake stayed behind, but I could feel his heavy gaze settled on my back, curious and cautionary, just watching.

Waiting.

The man was powerful—dangerous even. He was in charge here, and this company did not get the reputation it had by fucking around. If I screwed this up, they would find someone else. Someone with more experience. Someone who wasn’t like me—constantly flying by the seat of my pants and calling it creativity.

All eyes in the room followed me as I squeezed into the kitchen with my heart caught in my throat. I took the plan that was on the counter, and I scribbled all over it while I rambled about the things in the apartment that were interchangeable.

And suddenly, people didn’t just see a cute apartment. They saw a place they could customize, that they could fall in love with.

“You are freaking wonder woman,” Reese exclaimed as we finished up with the apartment showing and joined the rest of the party. Though the main event had ended, people still mingled and sipped drinks. Proof things were good. “I need to check my books, but I’m pretty sure you may have just sold us out.”

I couldn’t help but grin as I pulled my phone from my pocket and found a quiet corner of the party, excited to tell Blair about our success.

Her phone rang.

And rang.

And on the third time when she didn’t pick up, my heart began to race.

My fingers shook as I dialed Huntsman, my foot tapping nervously.

“How’d it go?”

“Blair isn’t answering her phone. Can you go check her room?”

He didn’t answer, but his heavy footsteps on the wooden clubhouse floor were everything I needed to hear.

Bang Bang Bang.

“Blair!” The door of her room creaking open almost stopped my heart because the second she didn’t answer, I knew something was wrong. “She’s not here.”

“Oh, God.”

“It’s fine. I had the boys put some tracking software in her phone,” he explained before I heard him yell at the boys to get on their bikes. “Come home. Wait for us here, I’ll find her.”

“What if—”

“Don’t,” he ordered sternly.

That was all I needed to hear.

He’d find her.

12

Huntsman

The door swung back so hard, the loud bang sounded like a gunshot, sending the raging house into silence for a brief second while everyone contemplated their life choices.

It maybe took all of 3.7 seconds before the roar of the crowd came to life again.

But the asshole kids out there weren’t my worry.

It was the two in here that had just leaped out of bed half clothed that was of my concern. Rylan and Rip stepped into the room behind me, Ripley reaching for the light switch that instantly illuminated the hot fucking mess.

My gaze was drawn to Blair first. My eyes narrowed on the sheet she had pulled from the bed and was holding tightly to her body. “Put your fucking clothes on. We’re leaving.”

Her eyes grew wide, but her lips pursed tightly, and I just fucking knew she was not about to make this easy. “You can’t do this,” she snapped, her hands twisting in the sheer material. Her eyes brimming with tears and defiance. “What I do is none of your damn business.”

“She’s right, old man.”

Gritting my teeth, I turned my attention to the little fucker sporting some tighty whiteys and a tiny fucking boner.

He reached for his jeans, slipping his legs through before pulling them up. “Blair’s a big girl. She can make her own decisions. You need to