Page 4 of Timeless Pages
“If you don’t want to sell it, why are you?” Evan asked, sounding confused.
“I’m not selling it; he is,” I snapped. “And until I get the bogus conservatorship overturned, there isn’t anything I can do about it.”
Evan’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Nothing. It’s none of your business. Please leave.”
Before he could respond, we heard Dominic calling for him. “Evan? You down here, buddy?”
I could also hear my father’s voice, and they were getting closer. “You could easily turn this room into an office with little work, so don’t mind the state it is in now.”
Terror gripped my heart like a fist. “You have to hide! If he finds you in here, he will be angry!” I shoved Evan into the closet before he could protest. Realizing I still had the list of lawyers in my hand, I threw the paper at him and shut the door. Quickly, I moved to my kitchenette, grabbed the kettle, and filled it at the sink.
The door opened, and Dom stepped inside, followed by my father, who looked extremely unhappy. The looks he gave me when Dom wasn’t paying attention nearly had me shaking in fear. Tonight was not going to be a good night for me.
Dom looked around the room. “Nope, he’s not here. Where could that bookworm have run off to?” He winked at me as he pushed my father out of the room and closed the door behind them.
I went to the door and cracked it open as Evan emerged from the closet. “Ok, they’re gone. You need to leave now!”
Evan handed me my list and then tilted my chin up with a single finger. I look into the dark-haired man's soft brown eyes. His black-framed glasses make him look like someone I could learn to confide in, and they make him seem kinder.
“Why are you afraid of him?”
I ached to tell him everything. To find another savior, but he wasn’t someone I could confide in. He was one-third of the company that wanted to take my home. “What difference does it make?” I scoffed.
“Maybe we can help,” Evan suggested as I shooed him out.
“Nobody can help me,” I replied, closing the door in his face.
The only person who could help me was dead, and now I had to fight this battle on my own.
I had to be my own savior.
Chapter six
Dominic
Morris's demeanor relaxed when we “found” Evan with his nose in a book in a secluded corner of the store. When he decided that we needed to hunt Evan down so that he could be part of the business discussion, he made a beeline for where Isabella was. I quickly rushed ahead of him and called for Evan to warn him that we were coming. I didn’t know why, but I felt it would be bad if Morris found him with Isabella.
The deer-caught-in-headlights look on Isabella’s face confirmed my suspicions.
“Now that we’re all here, I want to discuss numbers. I feel my asking price is more than generous, and I’d like to fast-track the sale,” Morris said.
“I admit,” Nate said, “the price is good. As far as fast-tracking goes, we’ll move as quickly as possible, but our lawyers will need time to draw up the contracts, and since Jason only just died, I imagine it will take time for you to get the deed put in your name.”
“I’ll have all that handled in a day or so,” Morris assured us.
I exchanged a look with Evan while Morris’ attention was on Nate. It should take him far longer than “a day or so” to finalize all of Jason’s estate paperwork. If he can do it that quickly, we’ll need to look into how. The last thing we wanted to be involved in was a shady deal.
“All the same, it will take longer than two days on our end to get everything in order and do our due diligence,” Nate replied.
“As businessmen, I’m sure you understand that if I find another buyer willing to close earlier, I won’t have any other choice but to go with them,” Morris replied.
We didn’t do business with people who tried to manipulate us or force our hand. I turned to leave the shop, assuming my friends would be right behind me, when I heard Evan shout.
“We’ll double your asking price to keep you from selling it to someone else!” I spun to look at him in shock and saw that Nate was taken aback as well. “Of course, that will be with the caveat that you will adhere to our necessary timetable. If you agree, I’ll write you a check right now for ten thousand dollars as a deposit.”
“Evan,” I started, but quickly shut my mouth after the look he gave me. Whatever was going on, it was serious. Morris turned to look at me when I spoke and was waiting expectantly for me to finish my sentence. “Do you need a pen?”
