CHAPTER 2
Leila
I drove out of the parking lot to show another house to Nan. She was a wealthy client, so I was willing to work with her, but she ran me ragged. She was being meticulous over the new house that she was buying for her and her new boy toy, Cameron. Nan was over fifty, though she wouldn’t confirm that for me and getting a divorce from a bank executive. Her new boyfriend Cameron was thirty and he hit on me at the last house I showed the two of them. It was laughable.
I pulled into the hills and followed my navigator to the mansion, pulling into the long, winding driveway. Nan was there, standing outside of her new Jaguar and talking on the phone as she giggled. Fucking hell.
I smiled and parked, getting out of my car to walk over to her. She was a beautiful woman but there was nothing genuine about her, body, or mind. She acted every moment of the day, as far as I was concerned.
“Ready to see it?” I asked her as she ended the call and slipped it into her designer purse. I gently tossed a random curl over my shoulder and unlocked the door using the new app on my brand-new iPhone, smiling at how far technology had come in the last few years. I walked in and let her wander past me into the massive foyer, her heels clicking on the marble floors. This house had six bedrooms and was a total of ten thousand square feet and I had no clue why she needed something this size for her and one other person. The soon-to-be-divorced couple had no children and she was walking away with a mint, so I assumed she wanted to spend all of it.
It was an interesting job selling real estate in the city of Los Angeles.
I told her to take a look, preferring to let the clients see the houses on their own. I wasn’t a fan of following them to point things out and I made my way to the kitchen as I looked around the empty house. It was pretty, but I preferred my two-bedroom apartment that overlooked the Santa Monica Pier. It was small, but I loved the ocean and my surroundings there. I was blessed that I was doing well enough to afford such a cute place and reminded myself to stop being judgmental of a woman that was going to hand me thousands of dollars once she got a house. What did I care that she didn’t need it?
I wandered across the floor and unlocked the sliding glass door, stepping outside as I breathed in the air outside. It certainly wasn’t the cleanest but there was a nice breeze today that I couldn’t help but enjoy. The backyard offered a large pool and spa combo and massive grassy area, along with the part that I was in that had a huge BBQ and dining area.
I thought about living somewhere with this backyard with a family. There was no use to even buy something like this without kids. I was only twenty-five, but I’d been betrayed by a long-term boyfriend back home in Carlsbad. I wasn’t looking for anyone at all right now. I was focused on work and I glanced back at the house, knowing that Nan would be taking a while.
I heard my phone chime and glanced at it to see a blessed text from my best friend back home. I loved talking to Viv any chance I got, and I responded to her message with a text of my own. She was still in Carlsbad running a successful art gallery that featured some of her own amazing work and I was beyond proud of her.
We talked about work and the latest artist that she was sleeping with while I waited for Nan. He was a few years younger than her twenty-eight years but an amazing human, according to Vivian. I knew that it wouldn’t last because things with her generally didn’t when it came to relationships. I was the timid one that was scared to jump into a relationship from one bad experience and she just danced from one man to the next. We were different all around, but I couldn’t live without her free spirit and mind in my life. I was just planning a weekend there when I heard the sliding glass door, telling her that I’d call her later. I turned to Nan and asked how she liked the house, longing to leave her right there in the driveway and find her another agent.
“It didn’t have the master bath that I’m looking for. I want a bigger tub and shower.” Her face couldn’t show her emotions that her voice conveyed because of the work she had done, but I understood it. I’d seen the bathroom. It had amazing sunken tub and shower big enough for three and to me, it would be a dream bathroom. In fact, my bathroom would fit inside of it with room to spare. What the hell did she want?
I pulled up some more houses on my tablet, showing them to her before making the drive. Nan had a clear idea what she wanted, though it seemed to change frequently. Her eyes lit up at a beach front home in Newport Beach and I asked her if she wanted to look at it. This sale would give me a great paycheck and that’s what I held onto through the more difficult clients. I moved here to make something of myself and grow in the busy, bustling city. When she said that she did, Nan asked if I would drive her since the mansion that she was renting was so close to here. She could leave her car at home and just ride with me. She even offered me dinner on the way home and I geld in the groan. It would be a good meal at one of the finest places in LA, but not fun. When she mentioned Cameron joining us with a friend of his, I told her that I had to meet up with a work friend when I was finished here. I didn’t want anyone setting me up. I had a boyfriend back in Carlsbad that that ended badly when he cheated on me and all our friends knew before I did.
That was a lot of my reason for a fresh start. I knew that I could probably date a different guy every night here but that wasn’t my jam. I wasn’t a virgin, but I also wasn’t a slut or anywhere near close to it. I was just a twenty-three-year-old that was trying to make something of herself.
“Are you sure? It would be so fun, and he has some gorgeous friends!” Nan gushed as I got into my car. “You’re such a pretty girl, Leila. You should be out there dating.”
“I am just focused on work so far. You must work hard to make a name for yourself here. You know that.” I told her as I started my car and rolled down the window, agreeing to meet her at her house and drive the rest of the way. I backed and out and made my way first, turning on my music for the few moments I had to myself as I sang along to the song.
I thought about Viv and my mom back in Carlsbad. Dad passed away when I was younger, and Mom worked hard to help us survive, both as a waitress and a graphic designer from home. I admired her so much and missed her, but I got a great opportunity to sell homes here through a connection in San Diego and I went for it. I just wanted to help my mom out the way she did me for so many years. She was amazing.
I moved here and got the apartment through a colleague and hit the salon immediately. I got my hair cut into some manageable curls and highlighted it with some warm caramel shades to compliment the natural brown color. I went to Sephora and got a brand-new makeup collection and clothes to fit my career with the cash that I saved up working at the art gallery in Carlsbad. I put too much into this to not keep trying and Nan was going to be a great paycheck and with her referral to friends, I’d have even more clients. It seemed like a lot of her friends were getting divorced and looking for new places.
I never wanted to get married and stuck with anybody. I just wanted to support myself as best I could. I turned onto Nan’s street and parked in her driveway as she walked over in her heels, chatting on her phone.