Knox set down the bags and jerked up his chin. “Hi.”
“Hi. This is Drake. Thanks for renting us your apartment.”
“I’m sure another spot will open up in town.” He shot Eloise a glare. “Soon.”
The tension rolling through the loft was thicker than traffic on East Thirty-Fourth from FDR Drive to Fifth Avenue.
Winslow studied the honey-colored floors while Eloise narrowed her gaze at her brother.
Meanwhile Knox did nothing to disguise the irritation on his face.
“Is, um . . . is this place not for rent?” It would be on par for my day to arrive somewhere I was unwelcome.
“No, it’s not,” he said as Eloise said, “Yes, it is.”
“I don’t want to cause any trouble.” My stomach churned.
“Maybe we should find another place.”
Eloise crossed her arms over her chest, raising her eyebrows as she waited for her brother to speak. She was too pretty to be intimidating, yet I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of that look.
“Fine,” Knox grumbled. “Stay as long as you need.”
“Are you sure?” Because it sounded a lot like he was lying. I’d heard my fair share of lies as a New York socialite.
“Yeah. I’ll get the rest of your bags.” Knox breezed past me, the scent of sage and soap filling my nose.
“Sorry.” Eloise put her hands on her cheeks. “Okay, I need to be honest. When you called and said there weren’t any apartments around town, I did some checking too. And you’re right. Nothing is available in your price range.”
I groaned. So she’d pawned me off on her unwilling brother. I was a charity case.
Old Memphis would have refused charity.
Mom Memphis didn’t have that luxury.
“I don’t want to intrude.”
“You’re not,” Eloise said. “He could have told me no.”
Why did I get the feeling it was hard for people to tell her no? Or that she rarely accepted it as an answer? After all, that was how I’d driven out here.
After an hour-long Zoom interview, I’d fallen in love with the idea of working for Eloise and I hadn’t even seen the hotel premises. She’d smiled and laughed through our conversation.
She’d asked about Drake and complimented my résumé.
I’d taken this job not because I aspired to clean rooms, but simply because she was the anti-Father. There was nothing cold, ruthless or cunning about Eloise. My father would hate her.
“Are you sure about this?” I asked.
“Absolutely. Knox just isn’t used to having people out here. But it will be fine. He’ll adjust.”
Was that why he’d built a home full of glass? Out here, he didn’t need the privacy of walls. The location gave him seclusion. And I was intruding.
We didn’t have a lease agreement. As soon as a vacancy in town came open, I doubted Knox would mind losing my rent check.
He came striding up the staircase, the thud from his boots reverberating through the loft. His frame filled the doorway as he walked inside carrying another three bags.
“I can get the rest,” I said as he set them on the floor. “And I’ll be quiet. You won’t even know we’re here.”
Drake chose that moment to let out a screech before nuzzling toward my breast.
Knox’s mouth pursed in a thin line before he retreated down the stairs.
“Can we help you get unpacked?” Winslow asked. “I’d much rather stay here than head back out on patrol and write speeding tickets.”
“No, that’s okay. I can handle it. There isn’t much.” Just my entire life in bags. “Thank you for rescuing me today.”
“Anytime.”
“Are we still on for an orientation tomorrow?” I asked Eloise.
“Sure. But if you want a day or two to settle in before work—”
“No.” I shook my head. “I’d like to jump right in.”
Dive headfirst into this new life. Drake was starting at his daycare tomorrow and though I hated leaving him for the day, that was the life of a single mother.
The daycare cost would swallow thirty-one percent of my income. Quincy had a low cost of living compared to larger Montana towns, and renting this loft at only three hundred dollars a month would allow me to build a cushion, but unpaid weekdays were not an option. Not yet.
Life would have been easier, financially, in New York. But it wouldn’t have been a life. It would have been a prison sentence.
“Okay.” Eloise clapped. “Then I’ll see you tomorrow.