Page 4 of Some Like It Hops

Standing slowly, I smooth my suit jacket and look down at him. “Name?”

“I’m sorry, sir?”

“The name of the real estate agent?”

“Uh…” He scans his computer screen. “Josephine Gallagher.”

I give a curt nod and leave his office. Once I’m in my car, I dial Brad and pull out of the underground parking garage into the bright morning sunshine.

Marlena answers on the second ring. “Fast Lane Enterprises. How may I assist you?”

“Hey, Marlena. Brad in?”

“Just a moment, Mr. Lane.” There’s an edge to her voice; six months later and she’s still sore about the holiday party. “Hey, Griff.” Brad’s familiar voice fills the McLaren. “How did it go?”

“We need to find a new commercial real estate firm.”

Brad hisses in a breath. “That bad?”

“That bad.” I pull out onto Santa Monica and head toward the freeway. “Marcus lost the south Riverside county property.”

“We only made that offer yesterday.”

“Looks like the seller found out who made the offer and didn’t want tosell out.”

“Jesus.”

“I need you to do a little research for me.”

“What, Marlena’s busy?”

I scowl even though he can’t see me. “If I wanted Marlena to do this, I’d have asked her.”

“You know I have shit to do, right?”

“I didn’t have to make you CFO.”

“But you did.” Brad chuckles. “And I have shit to do.”

I guide the McLaren in and out of LA traffic, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel, waiting for Brad to come around.

“Fine. What do you need?”

“Find me an agent named Josephine Gallagher. She’s out of some no-name firm in Temecula.”

I pull onto the southbound freeway and merge into the flow of traffic, my foot itching to drop the pedal. It’s mid-morning in LA; I won’t get to really open her up until I’m out of the city.

“Got her.” The sound of Brad’s fingers clicking on the keyboard fill the car. “She’s cute.”

“Focus. She’s the buyer’s agent. I’m not giving up that warehouse without a fight.”

“That’s my boy.”

“Get me an appointment with her. I’m heading down south now.”

“All right.” Brad’s quiet for a second, then he clicks his tongue. “Interesting. Looks like she’s just a junior agent.”

Nice. Still wet behind the ears. This should be fairly easy. “Have her meet me at Evans. I can be there in an hour.”

---