Page 22 of Enchanting the CEO

"Hi, I'm Diane," she greeted.

The guy looked at her, then at me, and said, "I'm Dawson. This is the car?"

"Yes. Do you want to take it for a test drive?"

"I will later," he said. "I just want to take a look at it for now."

"It's a bit battered, but I did say that on the sales page."

"Yes, you did." After circling the car once, he stopped again, looking from Diane to the house as if he couldn't quite figure out why someone who lived here had this decrepit old thing. "Why are you selling it?”

"I honestly can't afford owning a car right now," she replied.

He jerked his head back. "And you can afford living here?"

"That's none of your concern. For all you know, I could just be making this my meeting point. Anyway, you said you were very interested in buying it today. Cash."

"True, but there are more scratches on it than I saw online. I'm going to have to fix them. That'll probably cost about five hundred. I want that taken off from the overall price."

I opened my mouth, then closed it again. Diane wouldn't want me to step in right now.

She straightened her shoulders, putting her hands on her hips. "I've posted specific photographs of these three scratches, and I also explicitly wrote about them in the description, so no, I will not be accepting any attempts to negotiate. As it said online, the price is final. If you don't want to buy it, that's your decision."

He scoffed. "You just said you can't afford making car payments."

"I've got other people interested. Two are scheduled for tomorrow morning."

"I don't believe you."

She shrugged. "Believe what you want."

I had to admit, she definitely knew how to negotiate.

"Fine, I'll take it for a test drive."

"I’ll need something to hold on to while you do." She smiled sweetly. "Just so I know you're coming back."

"You think I’d steal it?"

She quirked an eyebrow at him. "Dawson, you're a perfect stranger."

"Fine, here you go." He handed her his credit card before getting into the car, starting it up, and heading down the street.

"I’m impressed," I said, stepping closer to her.

She looked at me over her shoulder. "I told you I'm good, and I was expecting him to try and wheel and deal. He already did online. It was his right to ask and mine to decline."

"If he doesn't want to take it, you've got those other sellers lined up anyway."

She grinned. "No, that was a negotiation tactic."

I whistled. "Damn, you're good. You fooled me."

On instinct, I leaned in even closer.

Why couldn't I keep my distance from her? She was my neighbor and Celia’s sister. There was a line in the sand, and I absolutely didn't want to cross it.

"Told you," Diane said triumphantly, then sighed. "Today feels like I'm starting a new life. I'm so excited about it. Maybe it’s a sign that my bad luck is gone."

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