Sweet Success

by Nicole Ellis

  “I apologize if Maggie gave you a false impression of my work history,” Gretchen said. What exactly had Maggie told him?

  “Well, is it true?” He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

  “Yes, I’ve worked there for ten years. It’s only been in the last few years that I obtained my real estate license and I’ve mainly worked on the property management side. Maggie knew I’d worked there for that time, but she may not have known the details of my job responsibilities.” She had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. He was obviously annoyed that his time had been wasted.

  Maggie had a tendency to look on the bright side of situations and see the best in people. She hadn’t meant to give Martin the wrong idea, but she’d twisted the facts to present Gretchen in the best possible light. Now, it was Gretchen’s turn to take the opportunity she’d been given and run with it.

  “No, I haven’t sold a new development like this,” she admitted. “But I welcome the chance to do so. Candle Beach doesn’t often have developments of this magnitude and I’m very excited about it. This will help drive other developments on the coast and I want to help make the project a success. Any new business brings tourist dollars to Candle Beach.”

  “Can you tell me what your best qualities are as a salesperson?” He picked up the stapled documents she’d given him and rifled through them again.

  “I’m driven, I’m a people person, and most of all I want to help clients find the best house for their needs. A house is the largest purchase most people will ever make and I want to be a part of that process.”

  “Good answer.” He smiled and ran his finger along the corners of the paper. “I’m still concerned about your lack of experience though. As you said, this is a big development and I need to make sure whoever we choose is well suited for the job.”

  She nodded. “I know I can handle the responsibility.”

  She wasn’t sure she was the most qualified person for the job based on experience, but she could handle the role and he wouldn’t find anyone more focused on the client’s needs. Working as a property manager for the last ten years had given her the ability to understand what a client really needed and to anticipate things that they didn’t even know they wanted. Until that moment, she hadn’t realized how much she really wanted to be the primary real estate agent at the new development.

  She pushed her feet into the floor and sat up straight. Looking directly into his eyes, she said, “If you hire me to sell here, you won’t be sorry.”

  He smiled and set his reading glasses on the desk. “I appreciate your optimism and drive.” He stood and she followed suit, gathering her belongings.

  “I’ll be in touch after I make a decision. I’m interviewing a few other agents for the role, but I should know something by tomorrow.”

  She thanked him and retreated from the office, pushing the door closed behind her with a resounding click. In the parking lot, she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The interview could have gone better, but she didn’t know what else she could have done to convince him to hire her.

  Another car had parked across from her, but she didn’t see anyone around. As she reached into her purse to pull out her car keys, the car’s door slammed. The sun obscured her vision and she had to shade her eyes to see who had gotten out. When the person came into focus, she was thankful she hadn’t laughed or cried.

  “Parker.” Gretchen’s face lit up. After the disappointing interview, she was happy to see a familiar face. “What a nice surprise. I didn’t expect to see you.” She hugged him and then stepped back. “How did you know I was here?”

  Parker’s face reddened and he shifted his weight from foot to foot.

  “Um,” he said. “I didn’t know you were going to be here.” Uncharacteristic nervousness flitted across his eyes.

  She stepped back further to assess him. If possible, he was dressed even nicer than he had been for their date on Thursday night.

  “Why are you here then?” She feared she already knew the answer to her question, but she needed him to say it.

  “I’m interviewing for the role of the real estate agent for the project.” He cocked his head to the side. “I’m assuming you’re here for the same reason?”

  “Yes,” she said in a tight voice. Her heart sank. “We just completed my interview for it.”

  “Gretchen, I’m so sorry,” Parker said. “This is such a crazy situation. Believe me, if I could change things, I would.”

  “You didn’t think to mention on Thursday that you’d be interviewing for this job?” She hadn’t realized before how small the real estate community actually was in their coastal region. What were the odds that she’d be up against Parker for a job soon after they met?

  “It didn’t seem relevant to our conversation. And to be fair, you never mentioned you were up for the job either.” He ran his fingers through his hair.

  “I’m sure you didn’t know anything about it,” Gretchen said sarcastically. Her mother had been right about Parker. Whoever was chosen for the sales position would earn a sizable amount of commissions. Had he only feigned interest in her to assess the competition?

  “How would I know then that you’d be here today? With all the drama regarding our parents, we didn’t talk much about work.” He edged toward the door. “I need to get in there, but I hope we can talk about this later. I’ll call you tonight, okay?” He clapped her on the shoulder.

  She said nothing. Was he telling her the truth? What was the proper thing to say in this situation? She didn’t wish him ill, but saying ‘good luck’ seemed an odd sentiment if it meant him getting the role over her. But she had to say something.

  “I hope your interview goes well. He was very nice,” she eked out.

  He nodded. “Thank you. I’m sure you did a great job in there too.”

  She quickly got into her car and slammed the door before driving off in a cloud of dust.

  Parker watched Gretchen drive away. When she’d realized why he was there, her face had crumpled like he’d stomped all over her with hiking boots.

  Should he have told her he was her competition prior to her interview? He hated lying to her, but he knew telling her about his conversation with his mother would be a bad idea. It would only hurt her to know his mother had betrayed her. But this had all happened at the worst possible time.

  Now, not only did they have to contend with parents that feuded like the Montagues and Capulets, they had this wrench thrown into the mix. One of them may win the role of primary real estate agent for the development, but no one would truly win. The tension created by this could ruin their budding relationship.

  He didn’t want that to happen. If it weren’t for the fact that he needed this job to show everyone he was ready to break away from the family business, he would concede the position. It was obvious that Gretchen badly wanted the job.

  He threw his head back and swore under his breath. Finally, he’d met a woman who challenged and interested him. Now this. Why on earth did they both have to have the same profession? He ran his hand through his hair and composed himself. He’d have to try to act like nothing had happened, or he’d have no chance of earning the job himself.

  9

  Gretchen had been looking forward to a brunch date with her friends, but now she dreaded seeing Maggie after the debacle with Martin earlier in the day. She knew Maggie hadn’t meant any harm by talking her up to him, but the interview had been an embarrassment.

  When she arrived at the Bluebonnet Café, Maggie and Dahlia were already deep in conversation and had ordered a round of coffee for the three of them.

  “Hey guys.” Gretchen gave them each a quick hug. “I’m so glad we were able to get together. Things have been crazy at work.”

  “At the bookstore too,” Dahlia said. “I guess I can’t complain. Last year at this time, I was begging for sales.”

  Maggie nodded. “I love this time of year—for the tourists, and because it’s finally warming
up. That’s one thing I liked about living on base in Southern California. It was always sunny there, no matter what time of year.”

  The waitress came by and they placed their orders.

  Maggie turned to Gretchen. “Hey. How did your interview go?”

  “Yeah, about that.” Gretchen tried to scowl at Maggie, but it came out as a lopsided grin.

  “What did I do?” Maggie asked, the picture of innocence.

  “You told Martin Egglesby that I had ten years of real estate sales experience.”

  “I did not!” Maggie exclaimed. She flushed from the V of her purple blouse all the way to the roots of her fiery red hair.

  Gretchen gave her the eye.

  “Okay, okay. I may have enhanced your resume a bit. But you deserve it. You’re great at what you do and I know you’d be awesome at that job.”

  “Well, I don’t think he felt the same way.” Gretchen squirted ketchup onto her eggs and smeared it around. Making a mess of her food was oddly satisfying.

  “So you haven’t heard anything from him yet?” Maggie asked as she dug into her strawberry-covered waffles.

  “No, nothing. I don’t expect to hear anything until tomorrow at the earliest.” She stirred cream into her coffee and then set the spoon down on the table. “Oh, and get this. The other candidate he interviewed was Parker Gray.” She brought the mug of coffee to her mouth and blew on it, causing the remaining blotches of cream to swirl. Steam rose up and tickled her nose. It was still too hot to drink, so she set it down.

  “Parker Gray? As in the married yet unmarried guy you went out with?” Dahlia asked. “Well, there’s one thing to say about him—he’s full of surprises.”

  Maggie nodded. “No kidding. Did you know beforehand that he’d be there too?”

  “No.” Gretchen leaned her elbows on the table and put her chin in her hands. “I had no idea. He said he didn’t know either. I don’t know what to believe. There seems to be a lot I don’t know about him.”

  “Don’t worry, Gretchen,” Dahlia said. “I’m sure you’ve got this.”

  “I’m up against Parker Gray. He has so much more experience as a real estate agent than I do. Most of what I’ve done has been property management with a few sales on the side. I’m never going be able to compete.” Gretchen slumped in her chair.

  “Suck it up, buttercup,” Dahlia quipped. “I didn’t know anything about running a bookstore when I arrived in Candle Beach last year and now it’s like I was born to be a bookstore owner.”

  “Yeah, but you owned the store and had control over it. I’ve argued with my parents for years to allow me to take a more active role in the sales part of the business, but they’ve always insisted my skills lay in property management.”

  “You are pretty calm dealing with the tenants and all of their crazy requests,” Maggie said. Dahlia nodded in agreement.

  “But property management is never going to get me any closer to my goals. I want to move to Seattle. For that, I’ll need the big commissions, not just an hourly wage.” She drank her cooled coffee and pushed a link sausage around the plate. “It seems hopeless.”

  “It’s not hopeless.” Maggie leaned forward. “The developer hasn’t made a decision, right? Is there anything you can do to convince him you’re the best candidate?”

  Gretchen was about to reply when her phone rang. She checked the caller ID. Parker again. It was the fifth time he’d called her since they’d seen each other at the sales office. She placed her phone face down on the table.

  “Who was that?” Dahlia asked before biting into her third piece of bacon.

  “Parker,” Gretchen answered. “He keeps calling.”

  “Maybe you should let him explain,” Maggie said. “You said he didn’t know you were interviewing for the job too. Maybe it’s all a big misunderstanding.”

  “I don’t know.” Gretchen sighed. “The more I think about it, the more I realize what a mistake a relationship with him would be. There’s always going to be things like this that come up. And with the animosity between our families, anything between us was doomed from the start.”

  “I think you’re wrong,” Dahlia said. “You said he was great. Now you’re giving up at the first hint of trouble.” She stared at Gretchen, who squirmed under her scrutiny.

  “I want to move out of this town and start afresh. I’m not sure how Parker fits into that. It’s probably best to nip the relationship in the bud now, before it gets serious.” She turned to Maggie. “To answer your question, no. There’s nothing I can do to change the developer’s mind. I’ve already showed him my sales figures and anything else I can think of.”

  “You’ll think of something,” Maggie said, always the optimist. “Also, I agree with Dahlia. You and Parker looked perfect together when I saw you at the café.”

  “Let’s talk about something else.” Gretchen turned to Dahlia. “Like your wedding. When do we find out what our bridesmaid dresses are going to look like?”

  Dahlia launched into a long description of the bridesmaid dress design. Gretchen did her best to appear interested, but her mind was far away from their cozy brunch. Her phone rang again. Parker. She held her hand over the button to send it to voicemail.

  Maggie noticed her distraction. “Is that Parker again?”

  Gretchen nodded. “Yeah, but I’m not going to answer it.”

  “Answer it!” Dahlia ordered.

  “Just do it.” Maggie stared her down.

  Giving in to her friends’ demands, she took a deep breath and answered Parker’s phone call, but it was too late. The screen had gone blank.

  “It already went to voicemail.” A little part of her felt relieved to have dodged his call, but she knew that the longer she put it off, the more awkward it would be when they finally connected.

  Maggie and Dahlia’s faces fell.

  “You could call him back,” Maggie said.

  “No, I’m not going to play phone tag.” Gretchen paid her share of the bill with cash. “Girls, I’m tired and my head hurts. I think I’m going to go home for a while.

  “Okay,” they both said in unison, and Gretchen walked slowly toward the door.

  “I’ll call you later,” Maggie called after her. Gretchen nodded to show she’d heard and exited the building.

  Her head throbbed the whole way home. As she let herself into her house, her phone rang. A thrill shot through her. Parker had called her back. They could finally stop playing phone tag and get this mess straightened out. She pulled her phone out of her pocket.

  It wasn’t Parker.

  “Ms. Roberts?” the man asked. “This is Martin Egglesby. How are you doing?”

  “I’m fine. How are you?” she asked automatically. Her heart beat double time. This was it. Her life-changing moment.

  “I’m fine, thank you. The reason I’m calling is that I’ve decided to offer the sales position to the other candidate I interviewed.”

  “Oh.” She leaned against her front door. The pounding in her head increased.

  “It was a pleasure to meet you, but I had to go with the other candidate as they had more experience.”

  She had been so close to her path to freedom and she’d let the job slip away. Could this be it? Was she doomed to stay in Candle Beach forever?

  “Mr. Egglesby,” she said. “Have you offered the job to the other person yet?”

  “No, I called you first.” He cleared his throat. “Why do you ask?”

  “I’d like for you to give me another chance. Let me prove to you that I’m the best choice. I can sell more houses for you, quicker than anyone else.”

  He chuckled. “I like your moxie.” He paused. “Tell you what, work up a presentation for me tomorrow that will blow my socks off. If I like it, the job is yours.”

  He spoke to someone off the line and then said, “I’m free at eleven a.m. tomorrow.”

  “Eleven o’clock it is. See you then.” She pumped her fist in the air and silently shouted yes. “And Mr
. Egglesby, you won’t be disappointed.”

  “I hope not.” He hung up the phone.

  She stood in her living room, frozen in place. What had she just committed to? Parker had so much more sales experience than she had, but she’d just promised Martin that she was the best candidate for the job. What on earth had she done?

  She flung herself on the couch and stared up at the ceiling. It was going to take some creative storytelling to make herself appear more qualified than Parker.

  10

  Someone knocked on the front door. Gretchen pushed herself off the couch and opened the door. A cloud of rose and gardenia perfume wafted into the room.

  “Mom.” She stepped onto the porch and shut the door behind her.

  “You act as though I never come and visit you at home. Can I come in?” Eliza Roberts looked pointedly at the closed door.

  “It has been a while.” In truth, it had been at least a year since her mother had been in her house. Eliza generally preferred to meet at a restaurant in town or have her daughter over to her house for family dinners. Gretchen opened the door and motioned to the inside of the house. “Uh, sure. Come in. It’s a little messy in here.”

  Her mother sat primly on the couch and surveyed the room. “What’s with all the boxes and packing tape?” She gestured to the stacks of boxes piled against the wall and the other moving materials Gretchen had left on an end table.

  Shoot. Gretchen hadn’t intended for her mom to find out this way that she was moving out of the main house. Not that it was any of her business. Grams had left her the house and she could do with it whatever she wanted. It was more that she didn’t want to have to tell her mom the reason for moving out. She surreptitiously moved the folder with her resume and sales information off of the end table and stuck them in a drawer.

  “I’m moving into the carriage house for a while.” She edged over toward the door and pushed it opened a crack. Maybe her mom would take the hint and leave.