Chapter 7

Emerson sat uncomfortably in the realtor’s office the next day. The air conditioning made the place ridiculously stale, and he was glad to have worn a blazer that day. The pear-shaped woman with the poofy hair sat humming behind her desk, straightening papers absently without the slightest regard to the man sitting across from her. He wondered if she had forgotten he was there.

He cleared his throat, but this only made her hum louder. Consternated, Emerson stared at her until the bell on the door rang, announcing a new entrant.

“Hello,” the agent sang out. “I’m Mimi, and I’ll be right with you.”

The girl with red hair turned toward the woman and took off her sunglasses, causing Emerson’s heart to stop in his chest. He quickly interested himself in a brochure for local properties, hoping she would not recognize him.

ShayAnne addressed the realtor, saying, “I just wanted to drop off this listing for Ms. Reyes. She’ll be seeing to the disposal of the lot.”

“Oh, I see,” Mimi chirped pleasantly as she accepted the paperwork. “I’ll let her know you stopped by.”

“Thank you,” ShayAnne said, hesitating slightly before adding quietly, “It‘s for short sale, you know.”

“I understand,” Mimi clucked sympathetically.

ShayAnne turned to go, but paused to peer a little at Emerson. He could practically see her mind turning like clockwork, so he shrank further into his brochure, causing her to shrug. She mounted her sunglasses on her nose again and walked out of the office. The moment she was gone, Emerson seized the listing from the agent and read it with hungry eyes.

“Sir, what are you doing?” Mimi gasped, taken aback.

Emerson ignored her as he read twice through the brief page. Then he looked up and asked, “Where is this? I don’t understand.”

He handed her the paper and she looked at it.

“They’re not selling their orchard, are they?” he asked, perplexed.

“Well, now, I don’t know about that,” Mimi said, looking over the form. “We have a lot of homeowners putting up houses for sale… the economy, you know.”

“Yes, yes,” he said impatiently, wishing he understood these sorts of transactions. “Where is Ms. Reyes? If she is to be the agent for this property, I must speak with her immediately.”

“Sir, she is not in the office today,” Mimi said huffily, “but if you take a seat and fill out this form with your likes and dislikes, I am positive that I can find you something more than suitable.”

“I don’t want something suitable,” Emerson said firmly, yanking the paper out of Mimi’s hand. “I want this! I do not want this listing to see the light of day. Talk to Ms. Reyes and tell her I want to make an offer on this property and nothing else.”

“Sir, are you sure? You haven’t even seen any of the other listings we have to offer! I assure you, we have something to meet everyone’s needs.”

Em was shaking as he dropped the paper on Mimi’s desk. Through clenched teeth he said clearly and carefully, “This is the property I want, and I will not stop until I have it. Do you understand?”

Looking a little frightened, Mimi nodded.

“Good,” he said, collecting his hat and taking a breath. “You will have Ms. Reyes contact me immediately to begin processing the sale.”

“Of course,” Mimi murmured.

“Excellent. I’ll look forward to your call.” He turned and left the building, grateful to feel the warmth of the sun again. He got into his car and sat shaking for a moment, then pulled out a cigarette and lit it. The simple act soothed him and within moments he felt better. Now he could only hope that this Ms. Reyes would call him sooner rather than later. He wanted to have his plan in place before Mei returned from vacation. He started the car and drove himself slowly back to his hotel. Purpose, he thought. It felt good.

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