AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sophie placed their usual order and when Max arrived, he handed her a bottle of red wine. She opened it and poured them all a glass. Caroline had set out a bowl of nuts to snack on until the pizza arrived.
When Max asked how their week went, Caroline and Sophie hesitated. They both felt bad talking about their big sale when Sophie’s buyer decided against Tessa’s listing.
Tessa answered the question though. “Caroline and Sophie made a huge sale this week. I haven’t sold mine yet, but my open house went well, so fingers crossed.”
Their pizzas arrived soon after and they all helped themselves and settled in the living room to watch the latest episode ofMurders. When it was over, Sophie and Max went back for another slice of pizza and Tessa opened a new bottle of wine and topped off their glasses. They sat around and chatted for the next hour and it was a fun, relaxing evening. Tessa had them laughing as she told them about a super picky buyer that she’d shown a listing to earlier that week.
“It was perfect. Everything she said she was looking for. She couldn’t find one thing wrong with it, but still wants to ‘see what else comes up’. I am starting to think she’s not serious. And she’s wasting my time!”
“You never know though,” Caroline said. “I’ve had a few like that and when I haven’t given up and keep showing them new listings, eventually they have bought. I think it’s more a timing thing with whatever might be going on in their lives.”
“Hmmm. Maybe. I guess I won’t kick her to the curb just yet.”
“Sophie, are you here Wednesday night?” Max asked. “A buddy of mine gave me tickets to see a comedy show. I thought it looked pretty good.”
Sophie felt a pang of regret. “No, I wish I could go. I’m heading home Wednesday afternoon.”
“I could go,” Tessa said. “I love a good comedy show. And I’m not going home until Thursday morning.”
Max looked surprised but quickly recovered and smiled. “Sure, let’s do it.”
Caroline stood and glanced at Tessa with a cold look. “I’m tired and am going to head to bed. Goodnight, all.”
Max took his last sip of wine and stood too. “I should head out too. Sophie if I don’t see you before you go, have a great Thanksgiving. Tessa, I’ll swing by around six on Wednesday.”
Tessa glanced Sophie’s way and a slow smile spread across her face. “Great. Looking forward to it.”
Once he left, Sophie dumped the rest of her wine out in the sink and rinsed it out. Tessa was still sprawled on the sofa sipping her wine.
“I’m off to bed, too,” Sophie said shortly. She didn’t feel like trying to make conversation with Tessa. She was too annoyed that she’d jumped to go to the comedy show with Max. And she knew that had bothered Caroline, too.
Chapter Thirty-Three
After the morning meeting on Monday, Rick emailed and asked Sophie to pop into his office for a minute. The meeting had run a little longer than usual, as several people had new listings and updates to share. Both Sophie and Caroline had rung the bell, and everyone had clapped, even Tessa, though hers was more like a golf clap, not overly enthusiastic.
Sophie grabbed her iPad and headed to his office. The bullpen was buzzing. Just about everyone was on the phone talking to clients. The energy was high, and Sophie found it inspiring and motivating. When she reached Rick’s office, he waved her inside and gestured for her to sit across from him.
“What does your day look like today?” he asked. “Are you free around eleven or twelve to go with me to see a new client?”
“I could do either time. I don’t have any appointments until this afternoon.”
He smiled. “Fantastic, we’ll leave here at eleven. We’re off to see one of my very first clients. I’ll fill you in along the way. I have to jump into a Zoom meeting now.”
Sophie stood. Apparently the meeting was over. “Okay, sounds good.”
She headed back to her desk and Caroline raised an eyebrow as she sat down.
“What was that about?” Caroline asked softly.
Sophie shrugged. “I’m really not sure yet. Rick wants me to go with him to see an old client about a new listing.”
Caroline smiled. “Oh, I don’t want to jinx anything, but that might be very good for you.”
“Good how?” Sophie pressed for more info.
“I don’t want to get your hopes up. He might just be taking you along for the experience. Keep me posted when you get back.”
Sophie swung around and dove into her email. She had a busy morning with several scheduled calls, and she needed to book some showings. And she was meeting with Emily at three to see her current apartment and take pictures. She was very excited about that listing. Her preliminary research, based on the size and recent sales of similar properties in that area, gave her a range of five to six million depending on the layout and condition. Given that price, she wasn’t sure how quickly it would sell, though it was a highly-desired location.
