Page 3 of The Broker

“I hope you don’t mind that I’m here,” she continued, “but I wanted to show you how things work.” She said it like she was doing me a huge favor and I should be grateful.

My agent Rob and I exchanged a look, but I pushed past it and strove for a friendly tone. “Hi there. I’m Noah.”

She looked beyond me like she was waiting for somebody else to come through the door behind me. “Will your wife be joining us?”

What?“My wife?”

Judy grimaced. And then her expression went blank, like she realized she hadn’t meant to make that face out loud. “I’m sorry. I guess I meant yourpartner.”

“I don’t have a partner.”

She blinked as if she hadn’t heard me right. “You’re going to live in this big house... by yourself?”

“That’s the plan.” Not that it was any of her business.

“But you’re so young.” Her eyes filled with suspicion. “How can you afford it?”

Rob’s eyes went impossibly wide. “Ms. Malinger, I don’t think that’s—”

I waved my hand, telling him it was all right. “I worked for a brokerage firm in Manhattan, and I invested my commissions wisely.” I slathered on the fakest smile I possessed, showing her that while I wasn’t thrilled by her question, I wasn’t fazed by it either.

My agent cleared his throat, and his tone was pointed toward the woman. “I think my client might feel more comfortable if you’d step outside. If he has questions, we can discuss them after closing.”

Judy laughed like Rob was being silly. “Oh, nonsense, it’ll be fine. I promise I’ll stay out of your way.”

To prove her point, she stepped to the side, pulled out her phone, and stared at the screen, pretending we didn’t exist. It made Rob glance in my direction, and the look on his face read loud and clear.“You okay with this?”

I nodded back.“It’s fine. Let’s get on with it.”

At first, Judy stayed true to her word. She remained in the entryway and didn’t bother us as we walked through the house, but I felt her presence anyway. Her gaze bore into my back as I strolled into the living room and scanned the empty, dusty space. I couldn’t help but feel as if this were still her home and I was trespassing in it.

Technically, it was still her home—until I signed the closing documents.

She said nothing as we went left and explored the office and primary bedroom, where hair, dust, and crumbs littered the carpet in a perfect line where the headboard of a bed had once sat. She remained dutifully quiet when we walked past her and evaluated the kitchen, including the cabinets that looked like they hadn’t ever been wiped out.

It was as if she’d moved everything out... except for all the dirt and grime that had accumulated over time.

I understood the house had been rented out for the last two years, but it seemed like the tenant had done a shitty job of cleaning, and Judy hadn’t bothered to correct that.

Maybe she was bitter because I’d played hardball and offered well below asking. When she’d countered, I’d said no. I loved this house, but I was a risk taker and banking on thefact that if I lost out, another house I loved would come along. My New York dollars went a hell of a lot farther down here in Nashville.

I was by no means a clean freak, but I was annoyed with the state of the house. My moving pod with all my furniture inside was set to arrive tomorrow, and I didn’t want to move my things in on top of existing dirt. It meant I’d need to call my folks and ask for help, when I really didn’t want to bother them with this shit.

When we finished the walkthrough, Rob beat me to it. “Did you pack your vacuum first?”

Judy was confused. “What do you mean?”

He gave her a pointed look. “It doesn’t look like anything has been cleaned.”

“Moving’s messy.” She rolled her eyes. “Everyone knows the new homeowners’ going to clean before moving in anyway.”

My agent motioned for me to follow him out to the garage, where we’d be out of earshot. Once we were behind the door, he kept his voice low. “It’s not the worst I’ve seen, but in my opinion, you’d be justified in asking for a cleaning credit if you wanted to. I’m sure she’ll push back on it though, and it could slow down closing.”

“I’m not thrilled about it, but it’s fine,” I said.

I was eager to get the deal done and start the next chapter of my life, and I certainly wasn’t going to let a little mess stop that from happening.

TWO

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