She blinks.
Ava winces.
“Nolan,” she says under her breath.
“What?” Riley asks slowly, turning to her. “What is he talking about?”
Ava bites her lip.
“It was the year your lease was in limbo,” Ava says. “The new owner was going to flip it. Damian… intervened. Through a shell. To keep you and a few others in place.”
Riley stares.
She looks at Nolan.
“You bought my building,” she says.
“Technically, a holding company did,” he says. “I just structured the deal.”
“You’re my landlord,” she says, incredulous.
“Again, technically—”
She slaps his arm.
“Why the hell didn’t you tell me?” she demands.
“Because you already come with a healthy distrust of my tax bracket,” he says. “If I opened with ‘Hi, I’m the reason your rent hasn’t doubled yet,’ you’d have set me on fire.”
She opens h
