Sure, it was a crazy coincidence that Brody of all people had been the buyer, but at least the house was in good hands –verygood hands.
And besides, I reminded myself, even if my cousinhadn'tscrewed me over, I still would've been screwed in the end when the house caved in around me. Repairs were expensive, especially for a house that big and in that bad of shape.
Forget the granite countertops.The roof alone would've busted my budget. Just last week, I'd seen the roofing bill with my own two eyes.It was a doozie.
To Cami I said, "Look, I get what you're saying, but going high-end was the right decision."
Sounding less than convinced, she said, "Oh yeah? Why's that?"
"Because it's a huge, waterfront home." I recalled what Brody had told me when I'd tried to go cheap on the countertops. He'd explained that a house in such a prime location should have the interior to match.
He'd been right.
Still, Cami did have a point. If Brody had stuck with basic repairs and nothing else, maybe I could've afforded the house on my own eventually.
I was still mulling all of this over when Cami said, "And really, you wouldn’t even need a bank."
I wasn't following. "Sorry, what?"
"I'm just saying, Brody owns the house on his own, right? Like, he doesn't have partners or a mortgage, does he?"
"I don't think so."
"And he's got plenty of money." Sounding more excited now, Cami said, "Maybe he could give you a loan."
I stiffened.No. Absolutely not.I was horrified by the mere idea. "I'm not gonna ask him for money."
"You wouldn't be asking him for money," she said. "You'd be asking him to do what a bank does."
"Except he's not a bank."
"But so what?" she said. "Bank or not, he could still charge you interest. Andyou'dget the house. See? It's a total win-win."
She made it sound oh-so simple. But I knew it wasn't. "Honestly, I don't think Brody would see it that way."
"Hey, you never know," she said. "It's called a land contract. I looked into it." Sounding even more enthused, she explained, "It's where a private person finances a property they already own.Theysell the house, and you pay them directly."
I'd heard of such things, but I still didn't see it working out. "So he'd be what?" I tried to laugh. "My landlord?"
"No. Because you'd be buying it, not renting it. And as long as you made the payments, the house would be yours in the end, just like if you got a mortgage from a bank."
I had to admit, itdidsound like an interesting idea. Still, I had to say it. "I can't ask Brody to do that."
"Why not?" she said. "You know you'd do it for him ifyouhad the money."
She was right.The truth was, I was coming dangerously close to falling for him.Or maybe I already had.
He was fast becoming one of the best friends I'd ever had. Plus, he was an amazing lover.Andan amazing colleague. Yes, I knew that on the show's totem pole, he was at the very top while I was just a lowly stump at the bottom. But he never treated me like that.
He actually asked for my ideas, and took a ton of my suggestions. On every front, we made a great team. Or at leastIliked to think so.
And yet, a little voice in my head whispered that we never talked about the futureorwent out in public. I'd never even seen his condo.And forget his family.
The only family he had were his brothers, and although I'd met them in person many times by now, my relationship with them wasn't exactly friendly.
Mason, in particular, seemed to truly despise me, while Chase seemed content with just giving me a hard time.
As far as I could tell, neither Mason nor Chase knew that Brody and I were more than colleagues.
