Chapter 7 : Nick F*cking Morgan

Simone Holly Malone was the only agent in the office with her broker's license, besides Jake, of course. It gave her a lot more freedom to pick and choose which houses she could sell. Technically she didn't have to work for Owen's Group, but she was a good friend of Jake's, and she brought in a lot of business. They had a mutual understanding–he never turned down any property she brought him, and she always split the commission with the firm. That's how I ended up standing in the most stunning home I'd ever seen in my life. Home wasn't the right word. It was more like a single-family hotel. It was about thirty thousand square feet and was on the market for sixty million dollars. It was hard to comprehend anyone having money like that to spend on a house. Molly was hosting an open house and all the agents in the firm were invited. More accurately, we were all politely told that our presence was mandatory. There were other agents and brokers from other firms, and it was more of a cocktail party than an open house. The second I walked in, I felt like I must have taken a wrong turn and ended up at the Met Gala. This was the way open houses in LA went, though. You never knew who would show up. The moment I walked in the door, I spotted at least three major celebrities milling around with their realtors. I quickly found a waiter with champagne. I would need all the liquid courage I could get to make it through this night. Besides the rich and famous, there was also Crystal to contend with. It was exciting and stressful at the same time. Mandy found me pretty quickly after I'd arrived. She was wearing a stunning black dress and gorgeous shoes with red bottoms on them. She mastered the art of looking casual and elegant. Her short hair was effortlessly curled into loose waves that sat right at her shoulders. I'd opted for a flowy, blue number and a pair of gold wedges. I was going for elegant beach attire. Amazingly, both our looks were exactly what the party required. "Can you believe this place?" she whispered excitedly to me. I could tell by the look in her eyes that she'd downed a few glasses of champagne herself. "Apparently, there's a hidden sex room. I've been dying to find it!" She grabbed my arm and pulled me further into the crowd. The general discussions I could hear were all pretty standard. Agents were talking about square footage, amenities, bedrooms, etc. I wished I had a client who could afford a house like this. I briefly wondered if Rob would consider it. Then again, he was a single, nerdy man. What would he possibly do with thirty thousand square feet? And an alleged sex room. Shit, now I was thinking about Rob as a dom. I was absolutely breathless as Mandy and I wound our way around the massive first floor. There were ten bedrooms total, and three of them were on the main floor. The master bedroom had french doors that led to the outdoor entertainment area. There was a full bar and a flat screen TV. It was like being at a resort. The entertainment area bordered the extremely long pool. It spanned the entire back of the house and showed off a stunning view of the mountains. The view alone was worth $60 million, in my professional opinion. Then, we re-entered the house through the den–not to be confused with the living room. For the showing, it was left pretty empty, but I could tell this was used as a game room. The middle of the room was basically screaming for a pool table. When we finally reached the kitchen, I could hear the sounds of a rude female voice complaining. I was sure it was Crystal, but the way Mandy dragged me to the door indicated that she wanted to hear whatever was going on. "This is what you get for $60 million these days? It's ugly as hell! There's absolutely no way I'm going to put an offer on this house." "I'm not saying you should buy it," a rich, slightly familiar voice responded. "But you don't have to be so rude to the listing agent. She's worked hard for this, and you basically told her she's shit at her job." "Well, she is!" the girl responded. She had started ranting about how bad the food was, when the door swung open, and I could see the couple. Holy shit. Standing on the other side of the door was Nick f*cking Morgan. No wonder his voice sounded familiar. I'd only been watching him in movies for the last decade. He was my teen idol. Hell, he was my current idol. I thought with some embarrassment about the poster of him I had in my bedroom when I was in high school. My whole body flushed red when he locked eyes with me. "Lulu, we're being rude. Why don't we just leave?" "Not before I tell each and every person here not to buy this fugly ass house. Daddy would be shocked to know how much these wannabes are trying to get!" I realized belatedly that the woman, Lulu, was the daughter of one of the biggest real estate developers in the world. The two of them brushed past us. Nick looked apologetic while Lulu stormed by as if we were part of the furniture; they both continued bickering as they went. "Please tell me I did not just brush arms with Nick Morgan," I all but squealed to Mandy. She rolled her eyes at me. "You've gone to bed with hotter guys than Nick Morgan!" she slurred. She definitely didn't need any more alcohol tonight. "Sure, I've slept with hot guys. I've even dated a few actors, but he is like god-tier!" She laughed at me, an immature and mocking laugh. "I bet he isn't god-tier in bed," she giggled, implying a very small size with her thumb and first finger. And, naturally, that was the moment that Nick f*cking Morgan himself walked back up to us. "Ladies, I'm so sorry for my rudeness earlier, I didn't mean to bump into you." I just stared at him, as if I'd forgotten every word in the English language. Maybe I had. Maybe I never could speak and it was all just an illusion. "Oh, it was the highlight of her life," Mandy giggled as she pointed at me. Nope, I could definitely still speak, and I was ready to throw every profanity at my friend that I'd ever learned in the trailer park. Nick smiled and blushed as he looked at me. He really looked at me. It was like our eyes were having a conversation that our brains hadn't quite caught up to. Then he looked me up and down to appreciatively take in my body. I was so glad I'd chosen a dress that showed off my cleavage so well. "Well, in any case," he finally said, but then just trailed off as he continued ogling me. Nick f*cking Morgan was ogling me! Then Lulu, the bane of my existence, called him away, and he waved lightly at us as he went in the direction of her voice. I wasn't sure I was still alive at that point. I might have been a ghost or a puddle of water. A man I'd spent most of my teenage years fantasizing about had just looked at me like he could devour me, and the feeling was entirely mutual. "Earth to Simone," Mandy said, snapping her fingers in front of my face. God, she was annoying right now. "What the f*ck?" I said, smacking her hand away. She smirked at me, and I flipped her the bird. I chased down a waiter for my second glass of champagne. I could not believe the last five minutes had happened. After more mingling and house touring, we ran into the ill-fated couple again. I was much less sober now and much more confident. This time I ogled Nick as he and Lulu went for round two of their argument. "I just don't understand why you don't want to live here with me," Lulu whined. "You literally said you hated this house. Now you want to buy it?" "It's cute in its own way," she pouted. "Like, it's so ugly it's cute!" People were gathering to watch the couple bicker, but they didn't seem to notice. Or perhaps they did and wanted to put on a show. He was an actor after all. "You don't need a house this big," he pointed out. "You could fit half of the 'Hills in here and it still wouldn't be full." "But we need a house this big," she said, emphasizing the "we" and gesturing between them. "One day we'll have a family, and our families will come visit, and they'll stay with us. After a long renovation, of course!" "In what world are we having a family together?" he asked harshly. "Jesus, what is with you? You hated the house, now you love it. Yesterday you wanted to break up with me and now you're talking about having a family? I'm sick of the games, Lu!" She started crying so dramatically I was sure it had to be fake. The horrified expression on Nick's face, though, told me that he was genuinely shocked by her behavior. "You're causing a scene," he said, as he escorted her out of the house. Several eyes followed them out, and many mouths smirked and snickered. I was sure news of this interaction would end up on the front page of some gossip magazine or other tomorrow. Real or not, that was a lot of public drama. My heart had just begun beating normally again when Nick walked back into the house and headed straight for me. I was sure that I was in the way of someone much more important and famous; I even looked around to see who he might be looking for. When I turned back, though, he was standing right in front of me, looking expectantly. "I need to find a place," he said, as if we were finishing a conversation we'd had earlier. I was racking my brain, wondering if maybe I'd forgotten something, when Mandy nudged me. Nick was still looking at me. "You're a real estate agent, right?" he asked pointedly. We were in a room full of agents and brokers. He could've made this request to anyone in the room, but he'd chosen me. He'd specifically sought me out. Without thinking, I plunged my hand into my purse and pulled out one of my new business cards. He took it and read it carefully. "Simone," he said thoughtfully. I almost came right there. Even the sound of my name in his mouth was sexy. "I look forward to working with you." With that, he turned around and left for good. People were staring at me, mouths open. I didn't blame them, I was a nobody. I had no reputation in this industry, and I could've just as easily been a waitress or one of the clean-up crew. But Nick f*cking Morgan had just chosen me to sell him a house.