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“Sophie, what do you have going on?” Sophie gave updates on her listings and mentioned her new buyer. “I think that’s the closest thing to an offer. I showed him three listings on Saturday and we’re looking at three today. I think he’ll make a decision, and I suspect he’s leaning toward Sue’s listing as it is in the same building. If that closes, then he’ll give me his unit to sell.”
Rick nodded. “Good luck with that. He’s the buyer you got off a mailing I think?”
“He is,” Sophie confirmed.
Rick looked around the room. “Those mailings can really be worth doing. Sophie put the time in to build a list of local homes and I am always happy to pay for the mailing itself. Keep it in mind to keep your pipelines full.” He grinned. “Okay, have a great week everyone!”
They all filed out of the room and went back to their desks. Ten minutes later, Sue walked over wearing a big smile and leaned against Sophie’s desk. “Good news. Dan just called and he and Paula want to put an offer in on your listing.”
Sophie was truly surprised. “Really? Wow. I didn’t expect that.”
“You and me both. But a few things they said gave me the sense that they were flexible. And once they saw that unit, they fell in love and didn’t want to consider anything smaller. They will likely have a second child and this way they won’t have to worry about moving again.”
“Well, that’s great news for a Monday morning,” Sophie said.
“Do you have any other offers yet?” Sue asked.
“No, not yet. A few people seemed interested, but I haven’t heard from their realtors yet.”
“Okay, they are prepared to offer full asking price. They really want it and don’t want to lose out. I think they were a little spooked by all the traffic at your open house. Dan’s going to drop a check by this morning and sign the offer paperwork.”
Sophie smiled. “That’s awesome. If all goes well, it wouldn’t surprise me if Russ wants to offer on their unit, too. He really doesn’t want to leave the building if he doesn’t have to.”
“I thought his unit would be the one they would go for, I really did. But they don’t even want to consider it now. Emily’s unit is in a great location too, so they are pretty excited about it. I’ll text you as soon as I have his deposit check and will email the signed offer letter over ASAP.”
Caroline turned around and gave Sophie a high-five. “That’s an awesome way to start your week!”
Tessa was also looking her way and had clearly overhead everything, but instead of commenting she turned back and got on the phone. Sophie almost felt a little guilty that things seemed to be going her way while Tessa was still struggling and, if she didn’t find a buyer very soon, she was likely going to lose her big listing.
Sophie finished up replying to emails and was about to head out for her first showing when a woman holding a big box stormed past the reception desk and into the main room where all the agents sat. Sophie’s desk faced that direction so she saw her coming but couldn’t see her face, as it was blocked by the box she was holding. Evidently the woman could see her though as she stopped by Sophie’s desk and then dropped the box onto it. It was Julia, Rick’s ex.
“Sophie, right?” Julia said.
Sophie nodded, wondering what she could possibly want from her.
“Here you go. He’s your problem now. I don’t care what you do with this stuff, but I wanted it out of my house.” She spun around and walked off.
Sophie peeked into the box. It was filled with Rick’s belongings, a few suits, toothbrush, shirts, ties and sweatpants. She glanced at Rick’s office, and he was looking at her in horror. The bullpen was suddenly silent, and all eyes were on Sophie, and she didn’t know what to say. Rick walked over and picked up the box.
“I’m so sorry, Sophie.” He glanced around the room. “I apologize for the interruption. I haven’t announced it but a few of you know that Julia and I recently broke up. Sophie last minute agreed to go with me to a charity networking event that Julia was going to attend until we ended things. She somehow got the idea that Sophie and I are dating, and I can assure you that we are not.” He took the box into his office and stuck it in a corner, then sat at his desk and stared at his computer. After a moment, everyone resumed what they were doing.
“Well, that was certainly dramatic,” Caroline said.
This time Tessa spoke up. “And very interesting. I didn’t realize that they’d broken up either. I thought you’d just said she was out of town?” Her eyes were accusatory as if Sophie had deliberately misled her. Which in a way, she had.
“I’m sorry. Rick wanted to keep quiet about the breakup. Maybe he thought they’d get back together, I don’t know.”
“I wouldn’t say that looks very likely now,” Tessa said.
And Sophie agreed. “No, it sure doesn’t.”
Sophie met Russ at the first listing address. The three properties were in the same area, both were on side streets off of Fifth Avenue. Russ liked them both, they were perfectly fine one-bedroom units. But she knew he was most interested in seeing the one in his building.
And when they walked in, a big smile spread slowly across his face. It was a sunny day, and the apartment had a huge window that faced Fifth Avenue and the Met and sunlight poured in, lighting up the whole room. It was about eleven hundred square feet with an all-white kitchen, that was small but efficient, and a spacious living room with a dining nook. Russ walked all around the unit from the entry foyer to the bedroom and when he came back to the table by the window, his smile was even bigger.
“This is it. It’s perfect. I love that I’ll just be moving down a few floors. This unit has everything I need. And I’ll be able to sock a little money away in the bank.”
“Yes, you should be able to. I would guess around four hundred thousand at least,” Sophie said.
