Page 26 of Taking a Chance on Charlevoix
Marlowe understood completely. A new house for a single woman was a real accomplishment. She had felt that way when she bought her own condo. But after everything was decorated, she had lost some of her enthusiasm. And now she wanted to thank Shari for taking on Landon about the Port Royal property.
“What's this about you having a talk with Landon about Port Royal?”
She shook her head as if to dismiss it. “Oh, it was nothing. Ran into him in the parking lot and let him know that his grabbing the Bobby Jensen deal was not right.”
That was putting it mildly. “Thanks, Shari. The figure he mentioned isn’t close to what I would have gotten when it was my listing. But I’m not going to haggle about this.”
“Smart woman. Always spend time on the positives, not the negatives. Bobby Jensen is an idiot who probably had a couple of drinks with Landon one night and let himself be bamboozled.”
“Bamboozled?” Sometimes Shari made her smile.
Shari had found her earring in her handbag and clicked it into place. “You know what I mean. The guy thing. Those two are a bad combination.” In all the time that Shari had been building her business, she’d probably run into that situation a lot. Yet she'd come out on top.
“I don't know how you worked it, but I appreciate your going to bat for me.”
“He doesn't want me bad mouthing him to his children.” She gave Marlowe a sly smile.
“I suppose not.” What was Shari talking about?
“Landon is my former son-in-law. My daughter Ainsley was his first wife.”
Well, that explained a lot. “And I want you to know I'll never share that information with anyone.”
Shari’s brows lifted. “I appreciate that, Marlowe. I see my grandsons quite a bit. Ainsley has moved on but being married to him was no picnic.”
“I can only imagine.” Pieces of the puzzle were falling together. Marlowe had thought longevity and success had given Shari leverage. But no, it was really a family connection. Their conversation ended and Shari soon left.
As she worked on Shari’s offer that morning, Marlowe knew that she’d made the right decision. Did she want to end up like Shari someday? Single and living in a wonderful little house by herself. No, that wasn’t where Marlowe was headed. There were some risks in relocating, but she’d get through those with the help of family. She had to keep reminding herself of that.
At least Shari had been married at some time. Marlowe hadn't taken that leap yet. The years had gone so quickly. Butshe didn't want to think about that now. She wanted to talk to Izzy about the two contractors who were bidding on the work at Sunnycrest. What had she thought of them? What kinds of suggestions did they make? While she sat there mulling over the possibilities, Shari poked her head back into her office. “I hate to rush you, but do you think you could stop by this evening to look at my condo? I really am eager to get it rolling.”
“I've scheduled a call with my family tonight. How about tomorrow night?”
Shari nodded and they agreed on a time. This was so bizarre to be talking to each other like old friends. Something had changed, and Marlowe was glad.
Other colleagues had come and gone. Marlowe had learned to separate her professional and personal lives. Back in the beginning she’d dated a colleague but that hadn't worked out. Eventually he’d left the company. Now Rex was married with two children, from what she'd heard. Dating someone where she worked had been a bad idea. Marlowe had decided to never do that again. That policy applied to her friendships too.
That night Sam called her around eight o’clock and then dialed in Aunt Cate and Izzy. “How did it go?” Marlowe said as soon as her aunt and Izzy's pictures appeared on the phone. “Did you like the architects?”
Aunt Cate and Izzy were sitting on the sofa in the living room and Marlowe could hear Holly babbling away happily somewhere in that room. Marlowe could picture the baby sitting in her pink runabout playing with her fingers or her dinosaur. “I'll let your sister answer that one,” Aunt Cate said.
“Right. Aunt Cate was missing in action again. But I think it went well.” But Izzy looked uneasy.
“I only met one,” Aunt Cate said. “And Seth Barrett seemed very nice. Very... competent.”
“Now don’t hold back, Aunt Cate. You told me he was hot,” Sam said with a giggle.
“Really?” Marlowe didn't think she'd ever heard her aunt use the word “hot” to describe a man.
“That's total nonsense.” Aunt Cate folded her arms over her chest. But she was blushing.
“Well it ticked Skipper off,” Izzy said. “Seeing Seth there, I mean.”
“Skipper was there too?” Sam sounded surprised.
“Yes, he picked Holly up at the daycare center for me. We all had pizza together.”
“How is daycare going for you?” Sam asked.
