Maya

 

 

As soon as I got into my office this morning, I was on the phone. I called several of my former clients to see if they had thought about moving. I pointed out the benefits of living in a residence hotel, but every reply was the same. They couldn't afford it.

I'm back at the penthouse now. I thought if I took a few minutes to stand in it, inspiration might hit me. It hasn't.

As I scoop up my purse on my way out, my phone starts ringing. I answer it immediately, not bothering to check who is calling.  I'm at the point of desperation where I'm tempted to answer with a sales pitch about the property.

"This is Maya Baker," I say cheerfully with a roll of my eyes.

"Maya? It's Todd Bolton. We met several weeks ago when I toured the Bishop Hotel property."

"Of course." I settle into one of the dining room chairs. "My client is prepared to make an offer if the property is still available."

I feel tears welling in the corner of my eyes, but I keep my tone controlled and professional. "That's great news, Todd."

"He'll be purchasing it through one of his holding companies so the documentation I'm sending will bear that name and my signature."

Sure, sure, whatever. As long as I sell the place, I don't care who owns it.

"I'm sending our offer and conditions via courier to your office this afternoon." He shuffles with something that sounds like papers. "Present it to your client and let us know as soon as possible."

"I will." I bounce to my feet. "I'm heading to my office now."

"Maya." His voice lowers. "I want to make one thing very clear. This is our best and final offer. We're not prepared to negotiate. It's a take it or leave it situation."

I close my eyes. That doesn't bode well for me. Julian has made it clear that he wants as close to list price as possible. Whenever someone says they won't negotiate, it generally means they are offering something well below asking.

"I'll speak to my client, Todd, and then I'll be in touch."

I end the call and stand in silence. This is the only offer I have. It better be good enough to please Julian because if it's not, another broker will get the sale and I'll get nothing.

 

***

 

"I'm calling the Clarksons." I look over at Jen. "I know they can beat this."

"You should be calling Julian to tell him that you have an offer," she points out. "You know he'll reject it, Maya. It's too low."

That's what I'm afraid of. I have exactly twelve hours left to secure a contract for the property and if I take Todd's offer to Julian, he'll refuse it which will leave me out of the running for the rest of the residential suites.

"No law says I can't use Todd's offer as leverage." I scroll through my phone's contact list looking for the Tom Clarkson's number. "I'm going to be honest with Tom and Irene. I'll tell him that I have an offer and if they're interested in the property they need to act now."

"Do it." She nods at my phone. "I hope to hell it works, Maya. I've loved working for you."

"You love working for me," I correct her. "I'm not sending you packing yet."

As she's leaving I dial Tom's number, but he doesn't pick up, so I leave a voicemail asking him to give me a call at his earliest convenience. Once I've done that I thumb out a text message to him essentially saying the same thing. I add to it that it's time sensitive with the hope that I'll hear back from him within the hour.

A faint knock on the doorframe of my office draws my attention up. "I don't have an appointment but do you think you can fit me in?"
"Falon." I greet her with a warm smile as I push back from my desk. "What are you doing here?"

She moves to hug me. I take advantage, wrapping my arms around her before I finally step back.

"Checking to see if you're still alive." She pushes my hair back over my shoulders. "I'm worried about you. I know that your window to sell the penthouse is almost up."

"I have time." I sigh heavily. "Not a lot, but I'm hopeful that I can present Julian with an acceptable offer before my time runs out."

"Tilly told me that you two had gotten close." She eyes me up. "I should have heard about that before her."

She's right. I know she doesn't feel any jealousy toward my sister. I've long considered Falon more of a sister to me than either of my biological siblings, but she knows that I'm trying to close the gap between Tilly and me. It's one of the reasons why I introduced them to each other months ago.

"I should have told you."

"Tilly was happy to. I don't care how I found out because I'm thrilled for you." She looks me straight in the eyes. "Is he good to you, Maya?"

"The best," I answer quickly. "I've never known anyone like him. I think he might be it for me."

She won't judge. Falon would never tell me that it's too soon to feel what I'm feeling. She fell for Asher just as quickly and now they're inseparable.

"I'm around for a few more weeks." Her head whips back when she hears a loud conversation filtering in through the open doorway. "Call me if you need a pep talk or just to vent about work. You've got a lot on your plate right now."

"I can handle it." I give her another hug. "I've got everything under control."