Book 2: What Happens Here - Chicago (What Happens Here Series)

Chapter 16 - Carmen

After storing her carryon bag beneath the seat in front of her in the first-class seating area, Carmen pulled out her ringing cell from her purse. Glancing at the screen, she smiled when she noticed the caller was her assistant, Kendrick Weisman. Kendrick had started out as an intern with the realty company that Carmen was a real estate broker at, and after he'd graduated from college, the company hired him as Carmen's assistant.

Carmen liked Kendrick because he was a young, forward-thinking individual, like herself, and they worked well together. Carmen liked how Kendrick was always willing to work late, and how he never seemed to mind coming in on the weekends to help her with closings, or to help with staging a home for a viewing.

Swiping to accept the call, Carmen smiled as she said, "Hey Ken. Tell me we finally got the funds transferred for the escrow in the Wilson closing." Chuckling, Kendrick, or "Ken" as Carmen referred to him said, "We did! And everything will be ready for you when you return for the closing next week. Speaking of your return.... when will you be heading back to Chicago?" Checking the time on her smart watch, Carmen lifted her planner out of her tote and flipped it open. When she pulled up the section that she was looking for, she jotted a couple notes on her calendar for the Wilson closing as she said, "I'm only planning to be in New York until tomorrow afternoon. I'll fly back to Chicago once I introduce Giorgio to Andy. I promised Layla that I would look out for her cousin, so I'll make sure that he is settled before I head back to Chicago."

"Gotcha. Do you need me to handle anything for you on my end?" Smiling at Ken's question, she said, "No.... but thanks Ken. Honestly, there's nothing for me to do either, except for making the introduction, and possibly touring a couple of the properties with them this afternoon and tomorrow morning. Other than that, I'm just a bystander." Ken chuckled as he said, "Must feel pretty weird, huh? Usually, you're the one handling the clients and showing the properties." Smiling, Carmen laughed as she said, "Yeah, it is pretty weird, but it feels good to be able to simply relax and enjoy the process from the other side." Carmen spoke to Ken for a few more minutes before ending the call. Pulling the Evian water from her tote, she twisted the cap off, and after taking a long sip, she replaced it. Slipping the bottle back into her tote, Carmen buckled her seatbelt and laid her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes.

Her thoughts drifted back to the night before at Daryl and Layla's wedding, well, a couple of hours before the wedding when she'd met Giorgio Moretti. After speaking with a client that had closed on their new home the day before, she had met her brother Ethan downstairs in the hotel lobby. When she'd walked off of the elevator, she'd caught sight of her brother speaking with a tall, dark-haired man. He'd had his back to her, so all she could see was a set of broad shoulders, a pair of lean muscular arms, and if the way the shirt he wore clinging to the hard muscles of his back and tapered waist were any indication, he was very fit. As her eyes scanned the lobby, she saw that there were many others that had noticed him as well. Several of the women in the lobby, of various ages, were literally swooning over him. Hell, even a couple teenage girls were smiling and giggling as they walked by, clearly unable to keep their eyes off of him.

Carmen couldn't help the way that her eyes roamed over the man's fit frame, nor could she stop the way that her hands wanted to roam over that firm ass that looked bitable in his dark slacks. What the hell was wrong with her? She actually wanted to bite this man's ass! Shaking her head to rid herself of the crazy as hell thoughts that she was having of this sexy stranger, Carmen smiled when Ethan glanced her way. A huge smile crossed his face, as he nodded in her direction and said, "And here she is now. My famous sister.... the Queen of Realty." When Ethan gave her a mock bow, Carmen couldn't help but laugh as she rolled her eyes before a matching smile spread across her face at the brotherly pride that Ethan always showed her. Even when she'd tried and failed at damn near fifty other jobs before finally finding her niche in real estate, Ethan had never lost faith in her. He'd always supported and encouraged her, and she would forever be grateful to him for that.