Chapter 5: Landlord Wars: Chapter 5

Sophia

I stared at the distant view of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge from the building rooftop and shifted the bottle of wine in my arm, careful not to drop it. The prominent view from the home I’d grown up in was of my neighbor’s recycling bin in the Sunset District. This wasn’t a bedroom window, of course; it was the rooftop. But still, holy hell, I’d climbed far in just over a week.

Plexiglass walls protected me from the wind on the rooftop, and there was plush outdoor seating beneath heated lamps for comfort. The lamps weren’t in operation this afternoon, because we had a perfect blue sky, but I kept my sweater close in case the fog rolled in and the temperature dropped thirty degrees. Other than San Francisco’s unpredictable weather, this place had paradise written all over it—with one fatal flaw.

Who builds a rooftop garden without a garden?

Landlord Devil, that’s who.

Not a patch of green filled the roughly two thousand square feet of outdoor space. Luxury furniture? Sure, sure, had that. Sleek built-in barbeque and firepit? Yep, had those too. But no plants.

Given Max’s penchant for orderliness, he’d probably find plants too messy. But as a greenspace designer, I felt the absence of vegetation in this idyllic setting like a knife to my heart.

My palms felt itchy, and my back started to sweat. The need to fix this atrocity hijacked my focus, design elements flashing before my eyes. I’d add a large-leaf philodendron and pops of maroon, and maybe even some string lights for ambiance. It would be glorious. Hypothetically speaking.

I let out a gust of air. My dream rooftop garden wasn’t to be. I’d never be able to touch this blank canvas, and I blamed Max. Not only was he Landlord Devil, but apparently he was Stingy Plant Devil too.

Jack walked off and set down the food, while roughly fifteen of the best-dressed people I’d ever seen stood around in light blazers and early fall party wear, chatting and drinking wine. The beautiful woman Max had dated was among them.

Jack had lied. It wasn’t a casual get-together. Or at least not my definition of casual.

I should have considered who else might be here. Max owned the building, so of course these weren’t your run-of-the-mill folks enjoying the flight show, and now I had to mingle with them.

I walked over to where Jack had set down the platter of food and added the bottle of wine to the collection, clutching my cable-knit sweater to my chest. Why had I spent so much time alone this last year? I’d forgotten how to mingle with strangers. And definitely not ritzy ones.

“Sophia.” Jack waved me over to where he was standing beside a handsome couple sitting on one of the couches. “Come meet Max’s parents.”

I blinked, taking in the older couple. Jack wanted me to meet Max’s parents? What fresh living hell was this?

I sighed. I was already disturbed by the lack of plants up here; might as well round things off in a conversation with the people who’d raised my uptight, arrogant landlord.

I walked up to Jack, and he proffered a glass of wine. “Red okay?”

“Yes, thank you.” I took a sip from the glass Jack handed me while he passed another to Max’s mother.

“This is Karl and Kitty Burrows,” he said.

Kitty was blonde with very few wrinkles, wearing a cream pleated shirt dress and expensive-looking loafers that had metal buckles on top, while Karl Burrows had a full head of salt-and-pepper hair, dark eyebrows, and sparkling blue eyes. They were sitting, but by the looks of it, they were around average height, while Max stood well over six feet.

Max’s parents were an attractive older couple, and it was clear where Landlord Devil got his looks, if not his height. “It’s nice to meet you,” I said automatically.

Kitty Burrows looked me up and down. “You’re Jack’s new roommate?” She glanced at her husband. “Hopefully this one is better than the last,” she murmured under her breath.

Karl Burrows chuckled. “Be nice, Kitty.” He smiled warmly at me. “Pleasure to meet you, Sophia.”

My back stiffened. I was already off on the wrong foot with Max’s parents. Why didn’t that surprise me? I turned to Jack. “What happened with your last roommate?”

Jack’s jaw stiffened and he glanced off. “I should probably see what Max is up to.”

Had I said something wrong? Already?

Kitty gestured to the chair opposite her. “Have a seat, Sophia.”

Clenching my wineglass, the sweater draped over my arm, a sinking feeling settled in my stomach. I was certain I’d touched on a sensitive subject for Jack, and I felt terrible. Would it be rude to leave early? I hadn’t been this uncomfortable in forever.

“You didn’t hear about Jack’s last roommate?” Kitty turned to her husband. “Didn’t Jack date the woman?”

“He did,” Karl said.

Kitty flicked her fingers dismissively. “Yes, well, our sweet Jack dated this young woman, who started out as his roommate, and she completely ruined the apartment before she broke things off with him. Can you imagine?” She tilted her head as though pondering. “I suppose she never actually broke things off. She simply disappeared.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” How awful. No wonder Jack hadn’t wanted to talk about it. Was this woman the reason he rarely left the apartment?

Kitty lowered her voice. “She thought Jack was as wealthy as our dear Max.” She shook her head. “That woman was a gold-digger,” she said in a hushed tone.

I glanced at Jack, who had gone up to Max and was laughing at something he said.

The corner of Max’s mouth lifted into a smile and his blue eyes flashed with mischief as he took in Jack’s reaction to his comment.

Whirls of sensation ran up my back. Max was beautiful, and he knew it. When one of his naughty smiles escaped, it made me forget all the reasons I disliked him.

But the lapse in memory was brief. No way would I let my guard down around Landlord Devil.

“That must have been hard on Jack,” I said, thinking of ways I could be a better roommate. I would not leave my mugs around for more than twenty-four hours. Those suckers were getting picked up every night before bed.

Kitty’s chin turned down. “Max was livid, and Jack ended up staying with Max while my son had the place remodeled top to bottom to repair the damage.”

That explained why the apartment looked like something out of a decorator’s magazine. “The damage was that bad?”

Kitty pursed her lips. “The woman had a party when Jack and Max were out of town on business, and she managed to scorch the kitchen cabinets with her drunken friends. Don’t get me started on what she did to the furniture. My Max paid for everything.” She reached across and touched my leg, and I nearly flinched at the unexpected contact. “Please don’t hurt our Jack,” she said imploringly.

What in the hell? “I would never hurt Jack.” Or anyone, for that matter. But what she implied was that there might be something between me and Jack, and there absolutely wasn’t. “We’re just roommates,” I emphasized.

Kitty sipped her wine, staring at me over the rim of her glass. “Jack has a reputation for dating his roommates. It’s best you remain friends.”

I nearly choked on my wine. “Jack is more like a brother than a guy I would date.”

“But he’s handsome, no?”

Was she setting me up or warning me away? “Jack is very good-looking,” I said diplomatically. And it was true. But I meant what I said about only seeing Jack as a friend.

“Mom,” came a deep voice from behind me, and this time I jerked so hard I nearly doused my white blouse in wine. “Gwen wants to talk to you about the gala.”

I twisted around to find Max standing behind me, his towering height making me feel small and insignificant.

When the hell had he walked up?

His gaze dropped to my face, and the look in his eyes said he was not happy.

Had he heard me tell Kitty Jack was handsome? It would be just my luck he’d walk in on that part. I sighed, resigned. I should never have come to this landmine-filled party.

Kitty stood. “Yes, yes. So much to be done for the gala.” She turned to me. “As one of San Francisco’s first families, we’re kept very busy.” She smiled and sashayed away.

First family? It sounded like she was comparing herself to royalty.

Karl turned to me. “What is it you do for a living, Sophia?” I’d almost forgotten he was there. He was more of the silent type.

Max gulped his beer, hovering and generally unnerving me.

“I’m an interior designer who specializes in indoor greenspace.”

Karl tipped his head back a notch, bemusement filling his features. “That’s a profession?”

“Dad,” Max warned.

I glanced up, startled. If I wasn’t mistaken, Max had just called his father out over a rude comment.

It wasn’t only my casual clothes that made me different from the others at this party. Even my profession didn’t measure up.

I often worked with wealthy clients, but there was a hierarchy in those relationships that was mutually understood. I was the service provider, to whom they offered a modicum of respect in exchange for my expertise. But here, on this rooftop, with these people? I was an interloper pretending to fit in.

“There is a profession for indoor green design, yes,” I said in response to Karl’s comment, while rubbing out a smudge on my wineglass. “I consult with businesses on how to make their interiors more inviting through green décor without it looking overdone. I also consult on layouts for parties, weddings, and upscale shops. Green design is as important these days as outdoor landscaping.”

“Interesting,” Karl said and looked at his son. “I suppose I never thought about it before.”

“When it’s done well,” Max said, “you wouldn’t notice.”

Max’s head was turned away as though he were barely paying attention, but he was. He’d defended me a moment ago, and he’d just done it again.

“Is there upward mobility?” Karl asked.

I twisted my lips. “Not in the way you mean, with me conquering the world one plant at a time. But there is in the sense that I’d like to run my own green design business one day. We’d cover all levels of plant furnishings, from corporate to small shops to private homes, and even galas like the one Kitty mentioned earlier.”

Karl raised an eyebrow. “Well, we certainly have people in our circle who could use that sort of service.” He chuckled and stood, then elbowed his son. “Your mother lacks a green thumb, wouldn’t you say, Max?”

Max gave his father a mild smile, but his posture remained stiff and closed off.

If I wanted to be a business owner someday, I couldn’t let intimidation by Max’s cold demeanor or my station in life hold me back. “I’d love to help in any way I can.” I pulled out several business cards. They were new, with watercolor olive leaves and my name printed in script, and I was more than a little excited to share them. “Please pass my name along. Warming up a space with the right plants is what I love to do. The design shop I work for is full service, so we have specialists who come out to care for the plants as well.”

Karl tucked the cards in his stone-blue sports jacket. “You’re more ambitious than the last gal who rented from Jack, I’ll say that much. Though I don’t know why Max has strangers living in the building.” He sent his son an apologetic look. “No offense.”

I wasn’t sure that was a raving endorsement of my person, but it seemed to be a compliment in Karl’s eyes. What did I expect from the people in these upper echelons?

Max tipped his beer and took a sip, still looking out at the others. “There are many choices I make that you and Mom don’t understand.”

“True,” Karl said, a note of censure in his tone. He glanced past Max. “Don’t forget to spend time with Gwenny. She misses you, you know.”

Max finally met his father’s gaze. “I’d rather you not push that.”

Karl held up his hands. “Just calling it like I see it. You two fit together.”

I glanced over at Gwen. Karl was right—she was stunning, with dark-blonde hair that glimmered in the sun like a medallion. Max’s dark to her light was a golden couple made in heaven.

If I stood next to Max—not that I ever would, but if I did—I’d look like his frumpy sidekick.

The best I could hope for in life was to work for a family like Max’s. Which wasn’t a bad thing. I wasn’t interested in social climbing. I was interested in paying my rent and supporting my family. And if I could do that while working my dream job, all the better. My goal was to grow my clientele, and this was a good lead. Though the tension between Max and his dad said now might not be the best time to continue my pitch.

“Maybe I should let you two chat?” I said.

“No,” Karl said. “I’ll rescue Gwenny and Sue Getty from Kitty’s party planning.” He winked. “She doesn’t stop once she gets going. It was nice to meet you, Sophia.”

Karl strode to the group of men and women I hadn’t yet met, and my body stiffened. Because now it was only me and Max. And I’d planned to avoid him. Instead, I’d somehow ended up spending my time with him and his parents.

After a prolonged pause, I glanced over to where he was standing, the silence killing me. “Well, this is awkward.”

“I heard what you told my mom about Jack.”

Max’s comment was so sharp and abrupt that I had to rewind the conversation.

There was only one thing he could have objected to—the one thing I’d feared he might have overheard and misinterpreted.

He turned a steely gaze on me. “You told my mother how attractive you find Jack. He just got out of a toxic relationship, Sophia. Don’t even think about using him or you’ll regret it.”

My jaw dropped, and I stared after him as he stormed away and joined the others.

Gwen maneuvered to his side and immediately looped her slim arm through his and glanced back. She shot me a cutting look before returning her attention to Max. Meanwhile his mother smiled beatifically at the two of them.

The Golden Couple.

My hands shook. Even if Max had given me a chance to explain, it wouldn’t have mattered. He hated me. To him and his parents, I was nothing but a ladder climber, just like the last girl who’d sublet from Jack.

Humiliation roiled through my gut right as the Blue Angel fighter jets shot by overhead at an impossibly low elevation, the boom of sound making my heart race.

Everyone at the party watched the jets do their formations in awe, but not Max. He turned and stared at me with murder in his eyes.

He didn’t trust me around his family and friends, that much was clear. And that kind of mistrust hit a raw spot. I’d spent my life trying to please. This kind of censure was impossible for me to ignore. I wanted to crawl in a hole and hibernate for a year or two.

This living arrangement was never going to work. I couldn’t share an apartment with Jack if Max was going to show up every other day, spewing venom my way. I wanted to love it here, and Jack was amazing. But Max and his family and circle of friends were something else.

My insides twisted, and my head grew woozy. For years I’d worked to build a better life for me and my sister, and even my mom when she would allow the help. But it didn’t matter how hard I worked; it was never enough because I was never enough.

Even among people who didn’t know my past, I was damaged goods.