side.” He used it to be sure the kids involved in the divorces were taken care of properly and got equal time with their parents, so long as those parents deserved it, too.
“Don’t let my ex or anyone else’s you represent know that.”
“Never.” He held up his phone. “Expect a call from Sierra shortly. I can’t wait to tell her.”
Marissa gave him another of those knowing smiles and waved good-bye as he hit the speed dial for Sierra and walked out of the office and onto the sidewalk as the phone rang for the third time and he suspected he’d have to leave Sierra a message instead of talking to her.
“You better have some refrigerator magnets.”
He didn’t expect that answer. “Um. I have a couple, I think. Why?”
“Oliver wants to thank you for inviting him to go horseback riding by giving you a dozen pictures of horses he drew for you.”
The smile hit him with the outburst of laughter that bubbled up from his gut. “Awesome. I don’t have enough horse pictures.”
Sierra’s soft chuckle made his gut tighten. “Well, good, because he’ll probably draw you some more when he gets home from school.”
“The more the better.” He added stopping at the store to pick up some magnets to his mental to-do list. He didn’t want to disappoint Oliver by not displaying them.
“Aren’t you supposed to be working or something?”
He felt Sierra’s nervous energy through the phone. “I’ve been working on something for you. Get a pen and paper and take down this name and number.”
“What for?”
“Write this down.” He rattled off Marissa’s full name and her office number. “She’s expecting your call. She’s got a job for you.”
“What? She’s the biggest realtor in the county, like major successful. Multimillion-dollar listings and famous clients.”
“And she needs a property manager. Call her now. She’s ready to make an offer to someone else if you don’t want the job.”
It took Sierra a full ten seconds to say something. “You’re not kidding.”
He couldn’t help the smile on his face. He loved shocking her. “Why would I joke about this?”
“I don’t know. But she’s . . . huge.”
“You need a job, she’s got one. Call her.”
Another long five seconds passed. “Is she doing this just because you know her? Is she your girlfriend or something and this is a pity job?”
“No. No. And hell no. It is not a pity job. You’re exactly what she’s looking for. Yes, she’s a client. I helped her with her divorce. I knew she needed someone and I’m hooking her up with the best candidate.”
“Mason, that’s sweet, but you don’t know that I’m the right fit.”
Yeah, I do.
“I know you’re smart, meticulous, good with people, and able to multitask and handle a crisis with a steady hand and level head. You will rock this job, Sierra. I know you will.”
Dead silence.
“Sierra?”
“Thank you for the vote of confidence.” Her voice was soft and filled with gratitude.
“It’s the truth, Sierra.”
“It may be difficult to get ahold of references right now.”
“The only reference you needed was me. Trust me, Sierra. You deserve this opportunity.” Nothing but silence, but he had her full attention. “Did I mention it comes with a huge salary?”
“I’ll call her right now.” No delay this time.
“Good.” He breathed out a huge sigh of relief. “It’s going to be okay. The boys are back in school and you’ve got a job.”
“If she likes me.”
“She’s going to love you.” His phone alarm went off. “Listen, I’m late for a meeting.”
“Go. I’ll make the call and let you know how it goes.”
“Promise.” He knew she’d get it, he just wanted to hear her tell him all about it.
“Yes. And thank you, Mason. It means a lot that you’d do this for me and put your reputation on the line for it.”
“You’re a safe bet, Sierra. You’re going to do great.” He hung up and spent the rest of the day going from one meeting to the next waiting to hear from her. When he didn’t by the end of the day, he almost called Marissa to demand she tell him what happened but restrained himself.
* * *
Tired and annoyed Sierra hadn’t called him to tell him how it went, Mason drove home, parked in front of his dark and lonely house, dragged his tired self out of the car and up the porch steps. When the automatic light came on and spotlighted the bottle of wine with the bow and card in front of the door, he stopped in his tracks,