Page 49 of I’d Be Honored

“I’m fine,” Hayley reassured her as they stepped into the elevator. “Why do you ask?”

Sarah scanned her face, thinking, and Hayley focused on maintaining her composure.

“You look sad,” Sarah said finally.

Hayley looked at herself in the silver reflection and saw what Sarah did—her posture was as straight as ever, but there was a deep crease between her eyebrows, and her mouth turned down slightly at the edges.

“I’m probably just overdue for a facial,” Hayley replied as the elevator slowed to a stop. She smoothed down her skirt, repositioned her grip on her chalk-white Birkin, and stepped into the penthouse with the composed confidence of a woman who owned the entire city.

Sarah began moving around the apartment, straightening linens and turning on lights, while Hayley laid out the listing details on the kitchen island.

She closed her eyes and saw Maddie on that very countertop, her legs spread across the smooth marble. For some reason, it made her chest ache.

“Mr. Grant is heading up,” Sarah announced, and Hayley’s eyes snapped open as her assistant joined her.

Seconds later came a ding, and the elevator doors slid open to reveal a handsome middle-aged man with dark hair that had just started to silver at the temples.

“Mr. Grant,” Hayley greeted, extending her hand.

“Miss Maddox,” the man replied, gripping her hand a little too tightly.

Hayley ground her teeth. She had dealt with Mr. Grant before, and she could do it again. He was an agent representing a new client based in Chicago. Hayley made quick work of showing him the specifics of the penthouse before retreating back into the kitchen so that Mr. Grant could FaceTime his client.

Hayley tapped her foot as she waited, feeling on edge. She turned her attention toward the wall of glass, remembering how she had found Maddie there, lost in the view of the city.

Before she’d spoken up, Hayley had watched Maddie for a moment, her silhouette dark against the gleaming sun. When she pictured it now, Hayley saw the image not just as a memory but as a glimpse into the future. The only thing was, it wasn’t her future.

Someday soon, someone else would stand in the same doorway she had, watching as the sky illuminated a different figure. She could see it so clearly, the life that a stranger would live there in the space she now stood.

For the second time that morning, she felt a hollow pang in her chest.

“What’s the listing price?” Mr. Grant asked loudly, walking into the kitchen and saving Hayley from her thoughts.

“Four point eight million.”

“My client would like to make an offer at four point five.”

Hayley kept her expression neutral, even as she mentally scoffed.

Over my dead body.

“I will take that number back to my client to discuss, and we’ll be in touch.” Hayley firmly shook his hand and led him to the elevator. She knew the game, and shooting down his price on the spot wasn’t the right play.

There was no way in hell that either she or her father would let the place go for under the asking price, but a voice in her head insisted that she shouldn’t push.

HAYLEY THREW HERSELF INTO HER WORK. She drowned in it for days, comforted by the familiar routine of market research, client calls, showings, and negotiations—anything that would prolong the inevitable moment when she would have to return to her empty apartment alone.

She had gotten home a little after nine p.m. that particular night. She should’ve been hungry since she’d had to skip lunch for a last-minute appointment, but she couldn’t stomach the thought of solid food. She opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of red wine instead. Peeling off her layers of work clothes, she made her way to her bedroom to change.

Hayley reemerged in a matching lounge set, a burgundy glass of wine in hand, and let her body melt into her couch. Taking a sip of her pinot noir, she indulged in her earlier thoughts, trying to picture a life in which she, too, could wake up to find a beautiful woman in her kitchen, gazing out over their empire.

A knock at the door startled Hayley. She certainly wasn’t expecting anyone, and Gemma would have happily just let herself in with her own key. She waited, hoping whoever it was would go away.

Three more sharp knocks rang out, sounding impatient this time.

Hayley groaned and made her way to the door, putting her eye up to the peephole. Her stomach flipped as she rushed to unlock the deadbolt.

“Maddie. What are you doing here? Is everything okay?”