Page 33 of The Broker

“Hi, Noah.” She sounded as warm as the July sun overhead. “I’m so sorry for the mistake. I don’t know what I was thinking. Habit, I guess. I made you some cookies for the trouble, but I’ll come back later when you’re home.”

“I’d be happy to help you now,” I offered.

Judy’s eyes narrowed. “That’s sweet of you, but I’m sure the box will be too heavy.”

“You should be fine,” he said. “It’s really not that heavy.”

Her laugh was overly bright and fake. “Oh, of course you’d say that. You’re a big strong man.”

Wow.She was laying it on awfully thick.

She stared at me and lifted an eyebrow. “What?”her expression asked, feigning innocence.“I’m not doing anything.”

Oh, Judy, I need you to be so for real right now.

I slathered on an over-the-top smile. “You’re already here,” I said to her. “Why don’t we just try it, and see if we can save you from having to make another trip?”

She froze, looking like she’d been backed into a corner, and her face soured. She flung daggers at me with her eyes, before grumbling, “I guess we could do that.”

“Great, let me know how it goes,” Noah said. He tacked it on at the end, his voice dropping downward like it carried more meaning than a simple sendoff. “Good luck.”

I doubted she heard it, but I picked up on it. Was he wishing me luck on dealing with Judy?

I ended the call, told her to meet me at the garage, and watched her sulk as she went down the path that led to the driveway. Once I walked through the house, I pulled on my shoes, went out into the garage, and opened the overhead door. As it rolled up, I glanced at the side of the box sitting on its side.

It was only a twin mattress.

Although the thing was kind of heavy, it wasn’t bad at all. The oversized box was more awkward than anything because it didn’t have any handles to grab onto.

As I dragged it out of the garage, Judy stood motionless to the side, holding her plate of cookies as she watched. She made no effort to help. It was irritating, but I wasn’t going to be defeated, so I lugged the box to the back of her SUV by myself.

Apparently, she was only willing to supervise and pop the back hatch. When it was open, I peered inside and saw the back seats were down already, ready for the mattress.

I looked at her, and she stared back expectantly.

Oh, I see.

I’d ruined her plans, and now I was nothing more than the fucking help to her. I clenched my teeth behind my smile, bent, and hoisted the goddamn thing in. It would have been a lot easier with her help, but at least I had spite powering me.

I slid the box in as far as it would go and turned to deliver my victorious gaze at her.

She was unimpressed. The cookies were shoved at me, and her expression was bitter as she pulled the hatch closed with an aggressivethump.

“Thanks,” she spat out, and then moved to the driver’s side door and climbed in.

I didn’t have to wait long for her to go, and afterward I carried the plate inside, set it on the kitchen island, and tapped out a message.

Me:We were successful, but I’m betting that’s not the last you’ll see of Judy.

I peeled back the side of pink cling film to look at the chocolate chip cookies inside. I’d lifted that woman’s mattress into her car—didn’t I literally deserve a cookie?

Once again, my phone buzzed with an incoming call and Noah’s name appeared on screen.

“Hi,” I said.

“Hey,” he answered back. “What did you mean?”

“That shipping mistake? I’m pretty sure the whole thing was a setup.”

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