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Bella
Istep out of the taxi only to be front and center with Carmelo Mancini’s ridiculous new billboard ad.
First time? I’ll be gentle.
Along the bottom, it says, I LOVE first time buyers!
Real subtle. He’s always using his sex appeal to try to gain clients. Probably offers sexual favors if they sign on the dotted line. If I were a spiteful woman, I might find my way up to that billboard late at night and spray-paint something juvenile over that cocky smirk of his.
But I’m not.
At least today I’m not.
I can’t let him get any farther under my skin though, because I’m bound to run into him, what with my new office being across the hall from his. Is the location ideal? Not at all, but I needed a new office and this building had an unexpected immediate opening, which meant the landlord was desperate to fill the space. Cheaper rent weighed against a few run-ins with Carmelo Mancini made it an easy choice.
I roll my eyes at the ad and make my way into the building. A man in a suit opens the door for me, and I smile politely. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He nods.
We file into the elevator, and my hands clench around the handle of my briefcase. I lean forward to press the six button, but he beats me to it. He heads to one corner of the small shared space and I head to the other. As the doors are sliding shut, a cute brunette stops them with her hand and enters with a bright cheery smile. I try not to show my relief at not being alone with this strange man in the elevator.
“So sorry.” She glances at the floor buttons, doesn’t hit one, and takes up residence between the guy and me.
I feel her eyes on me, so I turn and smile. I already have one enemy in this building, no need for another.
“Hi, I’m Annie.” She puts out her hand.
I shake it. “Bella.”
“I know.”
“You do?” My head tilts to the side.
“Sorry.” She waves her hand in the air. “I work at the Mancini Agency.”
“You work for Carmelo?” I ask.
Her eyes widen. “God, no. He’s Mancini Real Estate. The Mancini Agency is an ad company owned by his brother, Enzo… er, Lorenzo Mancini.”
“There’s two of them in this building?” I ask.
She laughs, an infectious one at that. “Just be thankful the third brother, Dominic, isn’t here. He’s kind of a buzzkill.” She leans forward. “I heard you were taking up the vacant office on our floor. I’ve seen your ads, so I recognized you.”
I grab a business card from the outside sleeve of my briefcase, and I hand the card over to her. “Well, if you’re ever in the market to sell FSBO is a great option…”
She smiles sweetly, a look I’m all too familiar with. The one where someone is about to nicely decline my services.
The real estate market in New York isn’t for the weak. When I left a traditional brokerage to start a For Sale By Owner company that only charges a fee for putting a property on the MLS, I hadn’t realized how hard starting over would be. Sometimes I second-guess that decision—until I remind myself of the reasons why I stepped away.
“In the interest of full disclosure, I should probably mention that I’m in a relationship with Enzo—Lorenzo Mancini.” She cringes as if she’s sorry for sleeping with the enemy.
The guy in the corner chuckles lightly and Annie whips her head around, but the guy pretends to be engrossed in his phone.
“That’s convenient.” I keep my voice light, so she knows I’m not being snarky.
Annie waves me off. “Yeah, well, long story there, but as you can imagine, our real estate business has to go to Carm—Carmelo, what with the Italian family thing.”
