“Why would you think that?” I’d given him literally no signs that I wanted to work with him or that I cared about his stupid club.
“Instinct. I don’t think you liked those properties either. So how does this work? We just drop by some places?”
I did not want this client. Not even for a healthy commission. But Brenda was probably already offended that he’d dumped her for me, and if I turned him down, it would only embarrass her more. She’d been too good of a mentor for me to do that.
“Happy to help,” I said to Miles with a bland expression. “We’ll check out some places. I’ll schedule walk-throughs on the three properties we presented you with today.”
A slight crease wrinkled his forehead. “But I don’t like those.”
That was exactly why I was showing them to him. He could fire me and find himself another broker. I’d even recommend Ginger, one of the other agents, to show him properties in the French Quarter. That might be more his “vibe.” But I didn’t owe Miles anything, and I wasn’t about to play into his entitled rock star garbage by trying hard to please him. “You may feel differently when you’re in the space. It’ll at least help me pinpoint better what you do and don’t want.”
“Here’s my number,” Aaron said, extending a business card. “Text me and we’ll schedule it.”
“It’s okay, Aaron.” Miles plucked a business card from the holder on my desk. “Elle Jones,” he read. “I’ll text you later and work it out.”
“Sure. Sounds great.” My tone was barely polite.
He tucked the card into his back pocket and gave me a nod. “Talk to you soon.”
Then he and Aaron sauntered out.
I watched them go, more frustrated than I could remember being in forever. The last time I’d been this annoyed, my lab partner hadn’t done his part for our final project, and I ended up with a B+ in the class.
“Well, that was interesting,” Dave drawled.
“That was not my choice.”
“Obviously. Why not?”
And that right there was the problem: no one in this office knew that I was one of the first viral GIFs to ever “break the internet.” They’d probably sent the GIF of me having a public meltdown over Miles a dozen times to friends over the years in texts and Facebook threads. No one recognized me anymore. Or that the world’s most-used meme for rejection was my face next to his.
Nor would they ever know.
“I guess I just don’t like high maintenance clients,” I said.
Donna blinked at me. “That’s not true. You held Michelle Perrin’s hand through her absurd property search and never lost your cool.”
Michelle Perrin was a fast-rising culinary star who’d wanted to ride the momentum of her fame after almost winning her season ofChef Supreme. I’d helped her find the perfect spot for her bistro in the Bywater. But she’d easily been the most demanding client I’d ever had.
“He didn’t seem that high maintenance,” Dave added, completely unhelpfully. “Kind of more down to earth than I expected for a rock star.”
“Except for arriving almost an hour late and hating everything we showed him, you mean?”
“Is this going to be a problem?”
I turned to find Brenda behind me. “No, not at all. Also, I’m really sorry about that. I swear to you that I didn’t try to poach him.”
Her air of coolness evaporated as she gave a small sigh. “I know. Why don’t you step into my office?”
I followed her back to her desk feeling more relieved than worried. Brenda had always been a fair boss, and I was glad for a chance to explain myself. Except I had no explanation as to why Miles had insisted on me as his agent. There’d been no hint of recognition on his face when we spoke.
“I know you didn’t poach him,” she said as I settled into my seat. “I could feel my age working against me, and it made me defensive.”
“Your age? You’re so young.” There was no way she was even fifty yet.
“Yeah, but he sees me as a different generation. He’d probably be more interested in me as an agent if he were opening an antique shop or something.” She rolled her eyes, and I couldn’t decide if it was at Miles or herself. “It doesn’t matter. He’ll be a great client for us to boast about, and you’ve got strong instincts. Knock him out with some stellar properties. I trust you. I just wanted you to know I’m not upset with you. A win for you is a win for all of us.”
“Thanks for understanding,” I said. “But honestly, I’d be happy to hand him off to someone else. I’m pretty busy trying to help another client look for a boutique space.”
