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“Like I said, they’ve left the state, so I don’t think that will be a problem.”
“Great. You’ll be able to reach me all day should you need to.”
“This could be the easiest sale of my career,” Cheryl says as we walk outside, and she locks the door behind us. “I’ll start making calls and drawing up the paperwork right away. I’ll call the current owner and get back to you today regarding your questions.”
“Thank you, Cheryl.”
I shake her hand again and then lower myself into my car, headed back to the resort. The first matter of business for the day is finished. If E—Ally won’t let me stay with her, I’ll buy my own place. It’s a good investment anyway.
I hurry back up to my suite and call my assistant, Leslie.
“Are you coming into the office today?” she asks when she answers the phone.
“No. I’m going to be working remotely for a while, Les.”
“Killing me, boss.”
I smirk and open my laptop. “There’s nothing you can’t handle in that office.”
“You bet your ass about that,” she says. “But I can’t sign your name or write million-dollar checks. That’s above my pay grade.”
“No one writes million-dollar checks,” I say as I press my finger to the pad on the keyboard and log into the computer. “We do everything electronically these days. Speaking of, I just bought a property in Oregon.”
She’s quiet for a moment, and I can just imagine the frown on her pretty face.
“Oregon?”
“Bandon, Oregon, to be exact.”
“Commercial property?”
“A house. One that I’m going to be living in for a bit, and then I’ll lease it out.”
“I’m sorry, am I speaking to Archer Montgomery?”
“I don’t pay you extra to be a smartass.”
“You should. My smartassery is deeply undervalued. What are you doing in Oregon, Arch?”
“Let’s call it a working vacation. I’ll have my home office set up soon. You can reach me anytime.”
“I have a list of messages for you,” she says. “And you haven’t answered your email in three days.”
“I’ll work on that today.”
“Are you okay, boss?”
“I’m great. Better than I’ve been in a long time. But, Les, where I am is confidential. If anyone asks, I’m just out of town.”
“That’s the answer I give anyway. Please, and I mean this most sincerely, check your email.”
“I promise, I’ll do it today. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Be careful.”
She hangs up, and I grin. Leslie’s been with me since I started the business five years ago. She knows more about the day-to-day than I do, and that’s no lie. We joke about her lack of compensation, but I pay her well for the job she does for me.
She’s worth every penny.
Feeling confident that Leslie has the home front taken care of, I briefly think about what I should have for lunch, but my phone interrupts my decision making.
If Cheryl’s calling already, it’s either very good or very bad news.
“Hi, Cheryl.”
“I have some excellent news for you, Mr. Montgomery. The sellers have agreed to your terms and are willing to include the furniture with the full price offer.”
“Excellent.”
“As I mentioned, they’ve moved out, so all of their personal effects are gone.”
“When can I move in?”
“Immediately.” She laughs as if she can’t believe it. Truth be told, neither can I. “We have some paperwork to take care of, and then it’s all yours.”
“Excellent.”* * *Four hours later, I’ve checked out of the resort and am unpacked in my new ocean-front house in Oregon. Setting up my office didn’t take long, given that the desk and chair, along with shelves were already in the room. All I had to add was my laptop. I will need to find a store soon for a printer-slash-scanner, and I’m sure Leslie will give me a list of things I’ll need, but this will work just fine for now.
I made a grocery run to stock up on the essentials, which for me is roughly five-hundred dollars-worth of food and snacks, some cleaning supplies, and a few bottles of the wine I saw at Ally’s house.
Now, despite all of the food in the place, I decide I’m too tired to cook, so I drive to town and walk into the diner. I sit in a deep red booth, looking forward to the burger and fries I just ordered.
“Archer?”
I glance up, and there’s Ally’s friend from the other day.
“That’s your name, right?”
“Yes, and you’re Ally’s friend…”
“Lindsey.”
“Right. Nice to see you.”
“You, too. I guess I’m confused. I saw her today, and Ally said that you left yesterday.”
“Did she?”
“Yeah. She didn’t look great, actually.”
My heart stops, and my eyes narrow. “What do you mean?”
“Pale, quiet. I figured she was just still getting over the family emergency she went through. But here you are.”
“Here I am.”
I don’t ask her to join me. That’s not appropriate. But I also don’t want her to rush off and call Ally. I want the news that I’m still here to come from me.
