The Property Brokers by Sandi Lynn
Chapter 5
Grant
I looked over at Tom who stood there with his jaw dropped.
“Who is that woman?” he asked.
I paced around the room, rubbing my forehead.
“That is not the same girl I met fourteen years ago!”
“What do you mean, Grant? You know her?”
“I did, for like five days.”
“Wait a second. I’m confused.”
“We were sixteen years old at the time and we were both staying at the same hotel in Hawaii. We met by the pool. This is payback. That’s what this is.” I shook my finger. “She’s getting back at me.”
“What are you talking about? For what?”
“For sleeping with her and then promising to call her. Which I never did because — I had my reasons.”
“Whoa. Slow down.” He put his hands up. “You slept with her when she was sixteen?”
“Jesus Christ, look at her. Wouldn’t you? Ugh. I’m totally fired.”
“Calm down. Maybe not. She seems to know what she’s doing.”
“No. She doesn’t. She’s doing this to get back at me. It’s her revenge. And if she thinks she’s coming to work for me, she has another thing coming! I can’t believe she told him to bring the coffee!”
After we cleaned up, we headed back to the office. I was so fired up, and I couldn’t think straight. Hers was the only offer that came in. Everyone else contacted their buyers they thought would be interested, but when they told them the price and it was non-negotiable, they declined.
The moment we got back to the office, I got online and looked up Miss Bella Marcus. She was a real estate broker in Los Angeles for the past seven years and she also carried a New York broker’s license. She’d previously worked for Glassman & Ellis. I knew Walt Glassman, so I decided to give him a call.
“Glassman here.”
“Walt, it’s Grant Roman over at The Roman Group in New York. How are you?”
“Grant. I’m good. How are you?”
“I’m doing well. Listen, I had a little bit of a run in today with one of your ex-brokers.”
“Let me guess. Bella Marcus?”
“Uh, yeah. What’s up with her?”
“What did she do?”
“She called a client of mine and demanded they meet so she can present the offer to him. An offer he will refuse. I’m already on a thin line with this guy and she just made it a whole lot worse.”
I could hear his chuckle on the other end.
“She’ll get him to accept it. Don’t worry. Bella does things her own way. She doesn’t follow protocol so to speak with clients. She gets inside their head and works her magic. She’s one of the best damn brokers I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. She’s made this company and herself loads of money. I hated when she told me she was moving to New York, but she still has a small team here and she promised me she will continue to do real estate here.”
“Why did she leave L.A.?”
“Personal reasons. That’s her story to tell. Anyway, don’t worry about your client. Everything will be okay. She’s been there, what, two days and she’s already causing trouble. Gotta love her.”
“I’m not so sure about that. Thanks, Walt. I appreciate you taking the time to speak to me.”
“No problem, Grant. If you’re smart, you’re going to want to snatch her up before someone else does.”
“I highly doubt it. Take care, Walt.”
I ended the call and let out a sigh. What happened to her? She wasn’t the shy beautiful girl I knew all those years ago. Now, she was an incredibly sexy and tough woman. She was the same height at five feet seven inches. Her brown hair was longer and wavier than I’d remembered. She was still slender, but more fit and toned. The one thing I couldn’t help but notice was that her breasts were bigger than they were. Either they grew or she had a boob job in L.A. And those eyes. Those crystal blue eyes that reminded me of the ocean on a perfectly sunny day. I couldn’t believe she was here. What a way to make an entrance back into my life.
“Marcy?” I yelled from my office.
“Yeah?” She walked in.
“Do you have the phone numbers of all the agents and brokers that were at the open house?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“I want you to get me Bella Marcus’s number.”
“Sure. I’ll be right back.”
A moment later, she walked into my office and handed me Bella’s number.
“Thanks,” I said as I picked up my phone and sent Bella a text message.
“What the hell were you thinking?”
“By the way, it’s Grant.”
“Wow. How nice of you to finally text me after fourteen years.”
I stared at her text as I could feel my blood pressure rising.
“I can explain that.”
“That’s what they all say.”
“Listen, if this is some kind of revenge thing for you because I never called, I’m sorry.”
“Revenge?” She included six laughing emojis. “This isn’t revenge. This is me trying to sell your listing.”
“Trying to sabotage it is what you mean.”
“Think whatever you want, Grant. I don’t really care. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
I didn’t even respond.
“Anyone up for some drinks?” I asked my team as I stepped out of my office.
