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Sophie followed him into his kitchen and looked around the apartment as she walked. The layout was similar to her aunt’s apartment but the decor and overall feel was totally different. Max’s place had a much more masculine feel with leather sofas and walls painted deep hunter green and blue gray.
The kitchen had burgundy walls almost the same shade as the wine and smoky black granite counter tops. His appliances were stainless steel and the stove was chef quality—an Aga—with six gas burners. Even though Sophie wasn’t much of a cook, she still recognized high-end names.
“Your kitchen is gorgeous. I didn’t realize you were into cooking. Or was it your mother that got the Aga?”
He looked amused. “I’m not sure my mother would know what an Aga is. I totally renovated the apartment when I bought it. And in the past few years, I’ve gotten more into cooking. Though I still mostly eat pizza and takeout.”
“What are your specialties? Maybe you can give me a few tips. My cooking abilities leave a lot to be desired.”
He thought for a moment. “I make a pretty delicious steak au poivre and short ribs and meatballs.” He laughed. “Mostly red meat, I guess. Oh, and salmon. I’ve been experimenting with that some lately.”
Sophie’s stomach rumbled at the mention of the different dishes. “I don’t know how to cook any of that. It all sounds delicious, though.”
“Are you hungry? The pizza just arrived a minute before you got here, and it looks pretty good. We could eat while it’s hot. Once you open the wine, of course.” He handed her a wine opener.
“Of course. I’m starving, actually.”
They took the wine and pizza into Max’s living room and sat side by side on his chocolate brown leather sofa. Max clicked on the TV and found their show. Sophie sipped her wine and felt an awareness of Max that she hadn’t felt before. He was just inches away from her on the sofa and she caught a whiff of the soap he’d used in his shower. She noticed how his hair fell in natural dark waves and how there was a hint of stubble on his jaw. He clearly hadn’t shaved, but the look worked on him.
She’d always noticed that Max was good-looking of course—she wasn’t blind. She’d just never thought of herself as attracted to him before. He’d had a girlfriend, so she’d automatically put him firmly in the friend bucket. She’d assumed that was where he’d stay. This new attraction complicated things. As Max had made it clear that he wasn’t even thinking about dating yet. And if he was—he’d never given her any indication that he saw her as anything other than a friend.
Sophie pushed the silly thought away and reached for another slice of pizza. She could be secretly attracted to her next-door neighbor. No one had to know. She knew Caroline and Tessa would be pushing her to do something about it if they had any idea how she felt. And she didn’t even know if this was a real attraction or just a sudden awareness now that she knew he was single. No, what Max needed from her now was friendship, nothing more.
Chapter Twenty-One
When everyone went around the room giving updates on pending deals Monday morning, Sophie cringed when it was her turn.
“Both of my possible deals fell through. They both bought houses, but not through me.”
There was an awkward moment of silence and then Rick looked around the table and grinned. “Sophie, I’m sorry to hear that. But as everyone around this table can confirm, it has happened to all of us. Just keep going. Remember, focus on generating as much activity as possible and the deals will happen.”
Sophie tried her best all week. She did everything imaginable to drum up some business, and by Friday morning, she was deeply discouraged again because nothing seemed to be happening. No one returned her calls or her emails and even the one ad call she took the day before sounded like a good buyer, but he was a no-show for a meeting she set up.
She sipped her coffee in the meeting and tried to will herself into a better mood. It was hard though when everyone around her had exciting things happening and she had no updates at all to share. She hoped that Rick wouldn’t think she wasn’t trying because she was. She was starting to wonder though if maybe she just wasn’t cut out for this business. Maybe she wasn’t meant to do sales.
She was starting to worry about the money a little bit, too. Her aunt had left her a bank account that, with what Caroline and Tessa paid her each month, would cover the management fees, but she’d just had a letter this week informing her that all units were going to be assessed fifty thousand dollars for unexpected building repairs. That was above and beyond what the monthly fees covered. There was enough in her account to cover it, but it would be a significant decrease to her balance.
If she didn’t start generating some income soon, when Tessa’s and Caroline’s year was up, Sophie might have to sell the apartment. She hated even thinking of it, but realistically it might come to that, unless she was able to make a go of this. If she went back to temping, that wouldn’t be enough to stay in the apartment long-term—eventually, she would have to sell. The thought was depressing.
They were going around the table doing updates on new activity and it was almost Sophie’s turn. Once again, she would have to say she had nothing new to report. Her phone dinged with a new text message, and she glanced at it, then reread it, and smiled.
“Sophie, anything new to report?” Rick asked.
She looked up. “I might have my first listing. I just got a text message, a referral from the couple that bought from someone else. She has a condo she wants to sell.”
“Fantastic news! You didn’t make that sale, but they liked you enough to refer their friend. Well done,” Rick looked pleased to hear it.
And just like that, Sophie’s mood shifted and she felt excited and hopeful again.
Sophie met with Renee Hall that afternoon at her condo in the East Village. Sophie had done as much research as possible before heading out to the meeting. She looked the property up online and saw what others nearby had recently sold for. And she consulted with Rick to make sure her suggestion for pricing was right. She gave him all the information and waited for him to weigh in.
He looked everything over and then nodded. “This is a great listing, Sophie. I agree with your thoughts on pricing. Two million sounds exactly right for the market. And that’s a price point that will move quickly, especially in that neighborhood. Do you know what she’s thinking for price?”
“She said she wasn’t sure and wanted me to advise her.”
“Good. She’ll probably still have some idea, hopefully she’ll agree. Don’t be surprised if she wants you to go higher. You could try a little higher if she really pushes back, but I wouldn’t go more than two hundred over. And that’s only if she agrees to lower it if we don’t have offers right away.”
“Great, thank you.”
