Page 21 of Finding Home

“Mr. Lewis, good afternoon,” Lizzie greets, her voice cheerful.

I put the phone on speaker and set it down to zip my suitcase shut. “What is it?”

“Mr. Moore stopped by the office to drop off papers. He’s signed on to be your client.” Lizzie’s voice brims with excitement. “He’s hoping the meeting he has scheduled can turn into a showing of some properties”

This is fantastic news. I’ve been chasing Sean Moore for months!

“When was this?” I demand, straightening.

“He just left.”

I curse under my breath. I should have been there.

I’ve been wining and dining Moore for weeks now. I’d dedicated hours to convincing him that nobody knows real estate on the East Coast like me. Now, when he signs on, I’m not even in the city. Because I’m in Maine, worrying about a stupid piece of property that will produce about half as much as what Moore is offering

To be fair, I didn’t have Moore on the hook until now, and the Kendall property is worth a hell of a lot… but I should have bailed on the Kendall land when I realized Knox was going to be juvenile about it.

Willowcreek apparently has infected my ability to see clearly. Why, I’m not sure. Maybe I caught a brain fungus.

Knox can have the property and run himself and his friends into the ground trying to be altruistic. Hell, maybe they’ll be successful at their venture.

“All of your hard work has paid off, Mr. Lewis,” Lizzie says, oblivious to my internal annoyance with myself. “Shall I tell the pilot to ready the plane?

“Yes. Thank you,” I say, checking the drawers of the dresser to ensure I didn’t forget anything. I had planned to call her on my way to the airport.

Lizzie makes a weird noise and then clears her throat. “Oh, Mr. Moore. You’re back. Can I help you with something?”

My head snaps to the phone. I stride back to where I left it and pick it up, switching off speaker mode again. “I want to talk to him.”

“Actually, sir, Mr. Lewis is on the phone right now,” Lizzie says. She’s using her ‘sweet’ voice, the one she always uses with older male clients. They respond better to that than her ‘business’ voice. “Why, yes, he is asking to speak with you, too.”

The phone switches hands and Moore’s booming voice echoes across the line. “Lewis! Bet this lovely secretary of yours has already delivered the good news, eh?”

“I’m glad to have you on board,” I tell him.

“No doubt, no doubt,” Moore replies. “I was just coming back in to see when she expects you back. She told me already but sometimes an old man forgets these things.”

“I’m just finishing up some business in Maine but will be back in New York soon,” I tell him. “I know we had a meeting planned but I can have a list of potential properties drawn up for you as soon as tomorrow if you’ll just give me a bit more understanding of what you’re looking for with your new headquarters.”

I know he wants something huge. His budget is higher than my entire net worth, for fuck’s sake. He’s always been weirdly cagey about the specifics, though. From what I understand, he likes to “keep people on their toes” and wants quick thinkers on his team.

Moore makes a thoughtful humming noise. “I want to have my corporate offices throughout the building, but I also want to be able to be on-site. Something with a livable penthouse. At least three floors, mind, and I don’t want to share my living space with any offices. I want the space to be malleable. Instead of a gym here and a kitchen there, I want to be able to put it together the way I want.”

I grin. There are at least five places that could work for that right off the top of my head.

“I have two excellent prospects we can look at tomorrow if you’re available,” I tell him. I’ll have to arrange with other realtors to look at the other properties. “I’ll email the specs to you.”

“Excellent. I knew I could count on you, Lewis.”

He hangs up. I shoot Lizzie a to-do list—no doubt she'll have it done before I even board the plane—and scan the subject of an email that just came in.

Initial Sketches – Kendall.

I hesitate before I open it. Yes, I’d been a bit too sure of myself when I asked for these sketches drawn up. At this point, I should just cut the Kendall property loose. I have bigger fish to fry and I can always circle back around once Knox and his friends realize their clubhouse is doomed to failure.

All the same, this could be the last chance I get. I open it and skim the sketches showing the various ways to divide the property.

Shit.That’s a bigger profit margin than I anticipated.

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