Just Us Box Set

And This Is Ed-2

“I’d like you all to meet Titus Leung, our new facilities director.”

I’d been sitting in the back row of the conference room, trying to keep my eyes open as the senior property manager—she had a piece of spinach between her teeth to add to her allure—droned on and on in our weekly Tuesday afternoon meeting, when suddenly, I was wide awake.

The man who stepped up to the front of the room was exceptionally fine. He appeared to be about five-feet-ten inches tall, same as me. He was dressed in a suit, though his jacket was hanging open and he didn’t wear a tie with his snug-fitting white shirt. His gray eyes socked me in the stomach when we briefly stared at each other, but his gaze continued to roam the room, taking everyone’s measure before returning to Barb.

His hair fell in raven waves around an oval face and sharp chin, a few gray strands peeking out here and there. Cheekbones well-defined, eyes tilted upward at the corners, a walking wet dream. From the looks of it, his body didn’t have an ounce of fat to spare.

Titus had that annoying, confident smirk that advertised “macho jock” in large block letters. I was sure he would fit right in with all the other wannabe “manly” managers in no time, but if I had to guess, I’d say he wasn’t faking it at all. Hot, confident, successful, studly. He’d probably played some sport or other in high school and college. I was completely blindsided and knew I didn’t have a chance in hell with a guy like that.

“Titus,” Barb continued, “comes to us from Crescent One, a class ‘A’ building, where he spent five years in a similar position. His experience will come in handy as we gear up to make our building great again!” She actually clapped her hands and hopped. Barb had never done that before. Who was this pod person? Maybe for her, Christmas had come early.

Regent Place 100 had been built in the seventies. It was a forty-floor building that had once been first class, ahead of the game and spectacular. Of late, it had begun to decline, and the veneer had lost its luster. Barb wanted to change that and bring back the sparkle to Regent. I hoped Titus wouldn’t throttle her before the end of the week.

After Barb had finally finished her introductions, she ended the meeting with a reminder about the Spring Picnic—an annual event held for the building’s occupants—this weekend. I’d forgotten about it, deliberately. Maybe I could find an excuse to be absent. Maybe one of my staff members would have a family emergency. A death in the family would be perfect!

Immediately after she left the room, all the other managers, sensing a kindred spirit in the new guy on the block, merged as one to introduce themselves and make them his buddy. They should just hump his leg. It’d be quicker.

I left them all to their sycophantic behavior and headed back to my “cave” to do some paperwork. I had to work late this evening because two members of the night housekeeping staff from the janitorial contractor I kept on retainer were out sick, and it was too late to get in someone else to replace them, so we would be shorthanded.

I tried to push thoughts of the hunky director to the back of my mind as I reviewed inventory. s**t, I was thirty-six and still heart-whole. I never expected to find a long-term partner and had been content to have the occasional liaison. Plus, my life outside of my regular job was busy enough without the added stress of a boyfriend.

But Titus…I could make time for him. And I knew those thoughts were dangerous, yet they kept rolling around in my head. I guessed at Chinese ancestry, with that last name, and his facial features. I wondered how many generations? Were his hands calloused and warm? What would they feel like if he—

“Ed?”

I dragged my thoughts back to the present to see Liz standing in my doorway. “What’s up?”

Liz was my assistant manager and could run this place without me, no sweat. Taller than me, she could be intimidating and took no crap from anyone. She was also gorgeous, a complete knockout. I wasn’t interested, but I could appreciate beauty when I saw it.

“Carl just finished cleaning the men’s restrooms from the fifteenth to the twenty-fifth floor. He radioed in to say that two of the toilets were backed up on fifteen. One had Skittles, including the bag, as well as s**t oozing out under the lid. The other was stuffed with cigarette butts likely stolen from the disposal receptacles outside the building—ew—and tons of candy wrappers. What is wrong with these people?” She threw her hands in the air.

“I’d win the lottery if I had an answer for that.” Pranks like this happened at least once a month. I shook my head. “Get maintenance on it, would you?”

“Will do, boss.” She left to take care of things and I made a note in my logs.

Just another fabulous day in housekeeping.