Page 20 of Hands off his Dudette

Chapter 9

The first apartment in TriBeCa was a little small for his taste, but clean and modern; a refreshing change from the stuffy Johnson home.

"What do you think?" the estate agent asked enthusiastically, as she walked them to the second place they were viewing that day.

"I liked it," said Anna cautiously. "But I can't say I loved it. You?"

"Same. Plus there's no room for you to do yoga, unless we convert the third bedroom. The lounge and office are too small."

The second apartment was a little more expensive, considerably better inside, but Anna had grimaced as soon as they'd seen the building, a contemporary red brick and metal box. It looked like an office building.

Finn was reconciled with it by the time they reached the large open plan kitchen, and Anna was impressed by the master en suite.

At the end, Finn declared,"It won't do."

Anna nodded."The master is nice and large but neither of the other bedrooms are big enough."

The estate agent wasn't discouraged. "You're going to love the next one," she said confidently on the cab to the Upper East Side.

Finn and Anna exchanged a glanced, rolling their eyes. The woman had been overly enthusiastic for the last two hours.

Turned out, she was right, of course. They should have expected it. At twice the price of the TriBeCa place, the three bedroom penthouse atop an elegant high-rise was beautiful and luxurious.

While the master was nothing short of magnificent, the two other bedrooms were just as splendid, bathing in sunlight with floor-to-ceiling windows and thick curtains.

Anna bit her lip. "It's expensive," she whispered.

It was. "Twice the price tag of the others...and ten times the value."

The estate agent caught that. "Yes, while the market is still very expensive in the city, luxury apartments are still on the decline. This one has been on the market for two years. The owners have finally lowered the price this week."

In other words, it wouldn't stay on the market too long now.

Finn sighed. "I have a little under half. You?"

"Just over."

He wasn't surprised; as the head of the department, Anna earned as much as him, and rarely had cause to use it.

"So, we might be able to swing it?"

"Marvelous!" The estate agent smiled.

"We need to talk the details though. We'll email you if we want to put an offer through," Finn told her.

"Of course, of course. Oh, and just so you know, the agency is waiving their buyer fees this December, so if you were to purchase the house before the end of the year, you'd save about three percent."

And they certainly would need to consider their pennies after they wiped out their entire saving accounts.

Finn and Anna were almost silent on the ride home.

"I mean, it's a lot of money," Anna finally said as they walked in.

"And we've only seen three places..."

"We should look into it. The neighborhood, the building itself..."

They headed to the kitchen and Finn pulled two beers out of the fridge.

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