Page 3 of One More Chance
Charlotte felt her face flush. “He did what? When? Why?” she went into rapid-fire question mode.
“He retired and now he’s coaching the hockey team in town here.”
“Coaching local hockey? Seriously? The Chance Rapids Bobcats? Are they still a thing?”
“Oh, my god, are they ever. The town closes up shop when they have a game. I swear everybody in town goes.”
“And how would you know?”
“What is this, an interrogation?”
“Sorry, Meg.” Charlotte sighed. “You know how much I hate that guy.”
“Yeah, I do. But you still haven’t told me why. I mean, he seems like such a good guy.”
Charlotte practically spit her latte all over her desk. “Good guy? Hey, listen, Meg. I really want to catch up, but I have to prepare for this meeting.”
She had just met a potential buyer for her eight-million-dollar listing and wanted to follow up with him as quickly as possible. The news from Chance Rapids had caught her off guard and she could feel her hands starting to shake. She needed to calm herself down and she’d be damned if the memory of Logan Brush was going to cost her a deal.
“Sure. But, call me after. There’s something we have to talk about.”
Goosebumps sprang up on Charlotte’s arm, Megan’s voice sounded serious. “Are you okay, Meg? Is the baby okay?”
“Yes, everything is fine here. I just need to talk to you about something.”
“I’ll call you as soon as I’m home.” That’s not the way to leave a conversation, she thought but pushed the odd conversation with Megan to the back of her mind. She prided herself on her ability to compartmentalize, to be able to put aside her personal life when she needed to get down to business.
Charlotte had gotten to be the city’s number one realtor for a lot of different reasons. She worked her ass off, she knew the business inside and out, but what she felt was most important... she trusted her gut when it came to clients and reading people. It’s what gave her the edge in negotiations. Like a skilled poker player, she could read her opponents and she always got what she wanted – even if it meant letting others ‘think’ they had the upper hand.
Her assistant, Kate slid open the glass door, “How did the Maplewood showing go?”
“Weird. That’s how it went.”
“Another wacko?”
“I don’t think so, but I’m about to follow up with him and find out if he just wasted three hours of my time.”
“Ugh,” Kate commiserated. “Can I get you a cup of coffee?”
“I just got one.” Charlotte held up her paper cup and wiggled her mouse to bring her computer screen to life. Other than following up with the Maplewood buyer, she didn’t have any pressing work to do, but her office felt more like home to her than her actual home. She glanced to the photo on her desk, it was the last photo she had taken with her mom. She and her sister, Lauren had sandwiched her mom, Sharon, and well before days of selfies, had somehow managed to get all three of them in the frame of the Polaroid without cutting their heads off.
“You got it.” Kate started to close the door, “Oh, before I forget, your sister called, like a billion times.”
“My sister Lauren?”
“Do you have another one I don’t know about?” Kate asked. It was a genuine question; Charlotte kept her personal life very close to her chest.
Charlotte and Lauren had drifted apart after their mom’s death. They called each other on Christmas and birthdays, and Charlotte always made sure to send her niece, Tabitha a gift every year. Charlotte regretted not being closer to Tabitha; she knew that she could play the role of ‘cool aunt’ if given the opportunity. And the closer Charlotte got to her mid-thirties, she realized the likelihood of her having children was growing smaller by the day. And she was okay with that.
“Just the one,” Charlotte replied. “Thanks, Kate.”
***
CHARLOTTE HUNG UP THEphone after talking to her sister and immediately called Megan.
“Guess who came out of the woodwork today...”
“Ya got me.”
