Love & Conditions (New York Billionaires Book 2)

20| Signed

┏━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┓

Signed

┗━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┛

Chapter 20: Signed (Christian's POV)

The next two days after dinner with Jules's parents, she had begun avoiding me like the plague. Whenever we went to check out new locations, she would walk away the moment we were left alone and within the office as well, she would find any excuse to leave the room or politely kick me out of her office. 

I understood that this situation was hard for both of us but I was already tired of feeling like the only one who was trying. Jules had to get it together and fast because two weeks didn't feel like nearly enough time to prepare to fool the entire Declan family. 

Picking up the phone on my desk, I held down the number that would directly ring Jules's office phone. I could hear the phone ringing on the other side of the wall very faintly and along with that, I heard her whining and groaning before she answered it. 

"Hello?" She cleared her throat. 

"Could you come into my office, Ms. Declan?" 

A pause. "Why are you talking like that?" 

"We're working. In my office. Now." I hung up without waiting for a response and watched the door until she knocked twice and then pushed it open, walking in slowly until she stopped right across from me at my table, refusing to take a seat. "Sit," I ordered sharply. 

"I'm good," she shook her head instead. 

Watching her for a moment, my brow twitched up as I ran my tongue along the inside of my cheek, biting down any words of frustration and irritation that she had caused within me. "I won't ask twice." 

She pulled out a chair and sat. 

"I want you to call Natalie," I said. 

"For...?" 

I stared at her expectantly. 

"You want me to quit already?" she questioned hesitantly. 

"No." 

Confusion swarmed her eyes. 

"I want you to tell her to come with us today to the two locations we deemed best. She needs to see them and decide if we've already found what she was looking for or if we have to keep searching." 

A soft sigh of relief escaped her and she nodded just once, already getting up. "Okay." 

"Sit back down," I said, a bite to each word, and she immediately fell back into her seat, her hands clutching onto the armrests tightly. "If she decides today that she will sign a lease or purchase the building, you better tell her you're quitting." 

"Before she closes the deal?" 

"There isn't much of a difference. It's a matter of a day or two before she officially signs the papers if she were to agree."