Authors: Angela Archer
Within seconds, the front door slammed shut. The deep breath whispered from my lips rumbled into a tiger growl and I rested my elbows on the tiled counter top, messaging my temples with my fingers.
“I need this sale. I need this sale. I. Need. This. Sale.”
My cell phone rang, the ding-a-ling echoed in the depths of my purse, until I pulled it out and flipped it open.
“Hello, this is Helen Wright.”
“Hey you,” a male voice answered.
“Who is this?”
“Have you already forgotten my voice? Talk about crushing a man’s ego.”
“Tom?”
“That’s me. So how are you?”
You have got to be kidding me?
“Oh, I’m doing all right.” I tossed my binder on the counter top. The leather slapped against the tile with a thud.
“That’s good to hear. I’m doing okay myself.”
Like I care.
“Oh, well, good for you, I guess.”
“Did you get my message the other night? I left one on your machine.”
Unfortunately.
“Um, yeah, I got it.” I glanced down at my fingernails, inspecting them for a much-needed distraction. Why did I answer the phone? Why didn’t I let it go to voicemail?
“So were you planning on calling me back?”
I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth, clutching them tight against the parade of obscenities aching to spew from my lips. The one question I didn’t want to answer or face now suddenly left on my doorstep, taunting me with a little dance.
“Um, actually . . . no. No, I wasn’t going to call you back.”
Tom fell silent for a moment. I could feel his tension through the receiver of my phone.
“Well,” he finally said. His voice was barely over a whisper, and it oozed disappointment. “That’s a shame. Can I ask why?”
Why? Was he really asking me that?
“I just didn’t think it would be a good idea.” I adjusted my weight, leaning against the counter. My heart thumped. Talking to him after all this time raised a level of anxiety that crawled along my skin.
“I’d really like to see you,” he said. “Can we please meet somewhere? Even if it’s just for drinks?”
“I don’t think that would be a good idea, either.”
“One drink. Just one drink. It will take all of, what, twenty minutes. You gotta give me twenty minutes. For old times’ sake. Come on, we used to have a lot of fun, you and I.”
“No, you had fun while I sat bored and lonely at the table, watching you socialized with everyone but me, forced to be your babysitter until I finally just decided to let you go out with Sam without me, which you did all the time, leaving me home alone.”
“Aww, now don’t get on that high horse again.”
Fire hot anger flared in my chest. “Why did you call me?”
“I just want to see you. I need to talk to you.”
“What could you possibly have to talk to me about?”
“It’s not going well in Sacramento with my relationship—”
“Gee, that’s a shock.” I snorted a laugh. “What’s the matter with this one? I mean, you always have one reason or another that is wrong with a woman. Is she too tall? Too fat? Does she not chew silently? Or could it be that she doesn’t do all the stuff I used to do for you?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Your laundry, your errands, the cleaning, the cooking, paying the bills—I did everything for us and for you.”
“Listen,” he said, ignoring my diatribe. “I’m in the process of moving back to San Francisco. My company is opening up an office here and I put in the request to transfer. Please just meet me for a drink. I promise you that—”
“Tom, I’m still paying off the credit card debt from the last promise you made me. You know the one where you promised me forever. I really can’t afford to trust another one of your promises.”
I needed to end this conversation. End it before he said words that I didn’t want to hear. Words that I knew were coming any second.
“I’m sorry, Tom, but I’m going to have to let you go. I have another call coming in from a rather important client.”
“Will you call me back?”
“I’m sorry, I’ve . . . I’ve got to go.”
I DROPPED MY purse by the table in the foyer of my apartment and flung my keys near the phone. The bright red number on my answering machine flashed. Whether they were all from Lisa or Tom I didn’t know, and I didn’t want to know.
I didn’t have the energy to talk to her or him or anyone.
Charlie staggered to my feet, his usual demanding self, not quite recovered from his hospital stay. Of course, his weakness did little to stifle the hungry bellows, now worse because the porker was on a diet. He rubbed around both of my legs, weaving in between them as he purred loudly.
“Hey, Charlie.”
I kicked off my sandals and scooped them up before I made my way down the hallway to my bedroom. The disappointment and stress of the day built in every step.
On one side of the coin, how could I live in this city knowing Tom had moved back? He knew all my favorite places to eat, visit, and shop. He knew even the secret places that only Lisa had known for so long. He knew more about me than I cared for him to know.
And if he moved back, he could invade my whole life if he wanted.
On the other side of the coin, how many more houses would I have to show the snooty, red-haired starlet before she’d find the perfect one? How many more tortured days would I have to live through, being at the brunt of her mistreatment all while having to just take it and smile?
Why was I torturing myself?
And for what?
Suddenly, my dream house seemed like a ball and chain that held me in a prison of unhappiness. While I hoped that one day I’d look around and tell myself the work proved worth it, a tiny part of me began to question whether I believe that or not.
Charlie continued to meow as I slipped out of my slacks and into a pair of pajama pants, tying the strings tight against my waist. The fluffy fleece rubbed softly against my skin as I unhooked my bra and flung it across the room toward the hamper. The mess of lace hit the side of the basket, but fell short of dropping inside as I slipped my arms in my t-shirt.
“I know, I know. I’ll feed you when I’m done. Just give me a minute.”
I fetched a hair tie from my bedside table and gathered my hair into a ponytail, twisting it up into a bun, and securing it as I headed down the hallway toward the kitchen. After his near death scare, I refused to feed him in the laundry room, even if I had removed all the remains of mouse poison.
I poured a scoop of his food in his bowl and fetched the opened can of food from the refrigerator, topping the dry food with a single spoonful of pâté—one of only two that I gave him daily.
“Sorry, dude, but just like in the morning, this is all you get.”
After finishing off all the canned food, he looked up at me as thought I’d cut off one of his paws. The utter repugnance in his deep yellowish-brown eyes tugged at my guilt.
“I said I’m sorry, but that’s all I can give you. You’re on a diet, remember? So don’t scream at me. In fact, if you want someone to blame or yell at then let me take you back to that vet, Dr. Stark.”
That gorgeous man of a vet.
Why did he have to be so damn sexy?
The image of him, with his beautiful eyes and broad shoulders that dwarfed mine brought a groan to my lips. Even with his vet coat and scrubs on, I could see his strong, muscular arms and amazing rear end.
Why? Why? Why?
Of course, it didn’t matter what he looked like. He obviously wasn’t interested in me at all and even mentioned he wasn’t looking for any type of a relationship.
Of course, I’m not looking for anyone either.
In fact, all men could go jump off the
Golden Gate Bridge
for all I cared. I just needed my cat, my dream home, and weekends away to Napa whenever I felt like going.
I poured myself a glass of wine and opened up my sliding glass door to allow fresh air inside. Even with the sounds of the city, the breeze whispering across my skin proved worth the noise. I meandered to the couch, flopping into the soft cushions as I exhaled a deep breath.
My phone rang.
“Can I not have a moment of peace?” I shouted, debating on whether or not to let the machine pick up the call. Before I could decide, however, my recorded voice began blaring throughout the room, followed by dial tone. Whoever called, hung up. Obviously, the topic on their mind wasn’t important enough to leave a message.
I laid my head against the back of the couch and stared up at my white ceiling. I needed to get out of the city. I needed a break. Perhaps this coming weekend I’d take a trip to Napa. Just take two days to rest and relax, turning off my phone and not caring who got mad.
Could I really last five more days, though?
The phone rang again. Even the cradle sounded annoyed, as though putting forth the effort in working to get my attention strained its last nerve.
I rose to my feet and strode to the table. Reece’s phone number glowed from the caller ID.
Of course. She never leaves messages. I should have known.
My hand hesitated over the headset for a moment, before I grabbed it and pressed answer. If I hadn’t, I knew she would have called back repeatedly until I did.
“Hello, this is Miss Wright.”
“Well it’s about time.”
I banged my fist against the table and closed my eyes, attempting to sweeten my voice through gritted teeth. “Hello, Miss Jones. How are you?”
“I just wanted to let you know that I found a house after we left that disaster of an appointment with you today.”
“Oh. Wow. Oka—”
“The house is in the Eureka Valley neighborhood on Ford Street.”
Ford Street? “
The marina style home with the mint green bathroom?”
“How do you know it has a mint green bathroom?”
“Because I showed you that house last week.”
And you didn’t like anything about it.
“No, you didn’t. You never have showed me that house. It must have been another client you took, because I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
So many words sat on the tip of my tongue and the more I thought of controlling them, the more anger tickled through my skin. The whole appointment last week replayed in my mind. One of the more exhausting times with Reece, she had nit-picked everything about the home and even yelled at me for bringing her to such a place—just as she had done today.
“I’m sorry, Miss Jones, but I’m quite certain I showed that home to you. It had the maroon walls with the white crown molding that you really didn’t care for in several of the rooms, along with the lion statues in the foyer that scared you when you walked through the door.”
I shouldn’t have made her sound like such a fool, but I couldn’t help myself.
“No. You’re mistaken. I have absolutely no memory of that.” She paused for a moment while another voice whispered to her. “Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I love the home and I think it’s perfect for me.”
“Well, then, I’m happy for you—”
“And I’m quite angry that you didn’t show it to me.”
“But I did.”
“No, you didn’t. Honestly, I think you were keeping it from me on purpose.”
Was she serious?
“Why would I keep a home from you?”
“I have no idea. Unless you thought you could try to sneak pictures of me while showing me the homes to sell them to magazines.”
This woman is about ten shades of crazy.
I inhaled a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Do I continue to argue a battle I wouldn’t win or do I give up and give in for the sake of the sale?
I needed this sale. Even if it was at the risk of my sanity.
“I would never have kept a home from you and I would never sell information or pictures of you. I’m not that type of a person and I’m sorry if that is the impression I gave you. I’m very happy for you that you’ve found a home you love. I shall pull the specs and begin the paperwork first thing in the morning.”
“There will be no need for you to do anything. I’m working with the seller’s agent to buy the home.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re fired, Miss Wright. Perhaps if you hadn’t been so dishonest I might still want to work with you, but I’ve never been treated so horribly in all my life. You can be sure that I will tell everyone I know what I think of you and what you did to me.”
Before I could utter a response, she hung up.
Did that really just happen?
I glanced around my apartment as I clipped the headset into the cradle and pinched my arm. Nothing vanished around me, and now, my arm hurt.
Yep, that just happened.
Weeks and weeks of working with someone who played the role of the worst client of my career and in the end she fires me? Leaving me with nothing to show for all the afternoons spent driving around the entire city on her whim.
No, no, no, this can’t be happening.
The commission I’d ear-marked for my home—my dream home—so I could get out of this stupid apartment, now gone. My dream living room, my dream dining room, my dream master suite, everything I’d worked so hard for, now gone.
The walls began to creep in on me as my pulse pounded in my ears, the deep thumps made worse with the sudden booming of a stereo below my feet.
Oh, great. Now dumbass Logan decides to crank up his tunes again.
My screamed groan echoed through my living room and I banged my head on the wall, fighting the urge to scream a second time.
The phone rang a third time.
Without looking at the number on the caller ID screen, I scooped it up and answered.
“Yeah, hello?” My snarky tone bit through the air.
“Wow. What happened to you?” Lisa asked.
“You don’t even want to know.”
I strolled back to my couch, and once again, collapsed in the fluffy cushions.
“Sure, I do. What happened?”
“I’ll tell you later. I’m not much in the mood to talk about it.”
Lisa hesitated on the other line. I could almost picture her biting her lip as she wondered if she should ask again or not. She always knew when to press the issue and when to let it go.
“Fine, have it your way.”
“So what’s up?” I shook my thoughts from my head, ignoring the loud thumps that still boomed from below as I refocused my attention and fetched the glass of wine from the coffee table.
“Okay, so remember what we talked about at lunch a few days ago?”
“You mean the destination wedding you’ve been secretly planning?”
“Ha. Ha. Yes, that. Anyway, we have finalized all the plans.”
“Oh wow. You did? That was fast.”
“Well, we only needed to figure out a couple of details.” She hesitated on the letter ‘s’ as though she felt unsure of her next words.
“You sound like there’s a problem. What is it?”
“Well . . . you wouldn’t be able to leave in a couple days for a vacation to a beautiful island to watch your best friend in the whole world get married, would you?”
“What do you mean in a couple of days?”
“Like Wednesday?”
As I opened my mouth to answer, a woman screamed from the courtyard—her shrill screech not that of fear or pain, but of a laughing excitement that echoed through my opened glass door.
“Logan, you are too much!” she said.
I rose to my feet and strolled through the doorframe, peering down on them from my balcony. Logan chased the blonde girl around the tiny patch of landscaping. Their hair was wet from taking either a dip in the pool, a soak in the hot tub, or both. Her laughter bounced off the buildings as he wrapped his arms around her.
“Helen?” Lisa asked. “Are you still there?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m still here.”
“So can you leave on Wednesday?”
I watched Logan tackle the blonde and playfully push her down onto the grass. Unaware of their audience, their teasing banter changed into a heated passion as he ripped off her bikini top.
The icing on the cake to this horrible day, ladies and gentleman, another woman’s boobs.
Hearing her moans of pleasure sent heat flushing through my skin, burning it several shades of red and I fled back inside my apartment, shutting the door behind me with more force than I meant.
Seriously? He’s outside for the whole world to see.
“Um, I’ll have to check with Michael in the morning, but I really don’t think he’ll have a problem with it.”
“And none of your clients will mind?”
“No, I think they’ll be okay. I’ll give them a call in the morning, too.”
She laughed. “Are you sure about that? I mean, will
all
your clients be okay?”
“If anyone needs to see a listing or has any questions, I’ll have Jason handle it. He owes me a couple of favors after I helped him with some title work.”
“Yeah, but will he want to deal with Reece?”
I closed my eyes. I hated not telling Lisa about what happened, but right now, in this moment, I didn’t want to talk about it nor hash out the details of what had happened. With the disappointment so fresh in my mind, the bitterness began to sting and my eyes misted with tears.