Page 11 of Up All Night
"So, I'm Bowie.I'm from North Carolina."Bowie sticks her hand out for the girl to shake.
"And I'm Isabelle, but everyone calls me Izzy.I'm from Wales."I shake her proffered hand.
"I'm Lark.I'm also from North Carolina."She smiles.
Lark is tall and petite, with long brown hair in loose waves."Small world."Bowie says."What do you do for a living?"
"I'm a realtor.Mostly serving the elite, which has its ups and downs.One of the ups being my income, the down is that I hardly have the time to enjoy it.But I love it, so it's worth it."She takes a sip of her water."What do you two do?"
Bowie lets me speak first."My family business is called Drummond Motors.We're based in the United Kingdom; however, we do have a site in North Carolina."
Bowie interjects."And the business that my husband and I run is called Lawson Manufacturing, which is now partnered with Drummond Motors, and we operate out of North Carolina."
Lark points at us both."Oh my goodness, my colleague just sold a house to Stone Lawson."
"That would be Rush and Jagger's cousin."I smile."He's in town right now, hanging with Rush while I'm away.It really is a small world."
"Wow.Well, I'm glad that you came over and introduced yourself.Now that you know that I'm not some crazed lunatic backpacking her way alone through Europe, let me buy your dinner.It's the least I can do for you coming over to say hello."
I wave her off."Oh, not to worry.This meal is a business write off."
"Are you sure?"Lark looks me up and down."Because it looks like you've barely touched yours.Should I call the server to bring you something else?"
Bowie interrupts."Yeah, that's not a bad idea.Maybe the grilled cheese is too much.Maybe choose something different."
"I had the chicken pot pie, Izzy, and it was terrific.As you can see, I've just about cleaned my plate."
I consider this for a moment."Sure.That sounds like a good idea."
Lark calls the server over and has her take my plate away.
"So, tell me."Bowie says."What's Stone Lawson like?"
She shrugs."I have no idea.I've never actually met him.I just saw him when my colleague took him to look at the estate that she sold him."
"How come you didn't get him as a client?"I ask.
"Oh, because he's been Lucy's client forever, and I'm relatively new there."
"What were you doing before?"I ask.
"The same thing, just, I was working for a different company, and it just, well, it didn't work out."The way that she says this leads me to believe that there is a lot more to this story.
"Is that why you decided to hop on a plane, Paris-bound?"Bowie asks, catching the same nuance in her voice.
She takes another sip of water."That was well over a year ago.And this was the first time that Stone has been interested in the realty market for a while.At least, for personal use, anyway.Lucy has a dual license, for both commercial and residential property sale."
"And you just have the one license?"I clarify.
"Yes."She nods."So, I bet, with you working for Drummond Motors, you probably have a swanky car."
"You would think."I grin."But no.On the occasion when I do drive, it's just a Toyota.A top-of-the-line model, of course, but it's still just a Toyota.What about you?"
“I actually have two vehicles.A hybrid and a gas powered.Both worth less than twenty grand.I don’t like fancy cars."
"And you don't spend your money on vacations."I observe."So, what do you spend your money on?"
She folds her arms over her chest."I don't.I want to retire early, so I invest just about everything.My house is just a small fixer-upper, too.That's sort of what I do on the side, if you're keeping score.I like to buy them and fix them up over time and then sell them.I also have investment properties."
