Love Me Till Wednesday (Sapphire Stars #1)

18

18

Lisa was updating a spreadsheet in her study when her phone rang. It was Noah from the estate agents.

‘I’m so sorry it’s short notice, but that buyer I mentioned is in town today and he would love to look around.’

‘Yes, sure. What time?’

‘In ten minutes?’

‘Oh,’ Lisa looked out of the study door into the kitchen. It was looking like a tornado had hit it thanks to Elise cooking herself lunch and abandoning the washing up before dashing off to Jordan’s. ‘The kitchen isn’t looking at its best, shall we say.’

‘This buyer won’t mind, I promise,’ he said.

‘OK then. If you’re sure. I’ve got a Teams meeting in five minutes, so you’ll have to let yourself in.’

‘No problem. Thank you so much. I’m sure he’s going to be keen. See you soon,’ he said.

It must be lovely to be that enthusiastic all the time. She looked out at the kitchen again. A quick tidy wouldn’t hurt.

By the time the Teams call notification rang out, it was looking reasonable as long as no one opened the cupboard where she’d shoved all the dirty pots and pans that wouldn’t fit in the dishwasher .

A few minutes later, she heard a car pull up outside the house. She glanced up from her meeting to see a well-dressed, portly man in his early 40s emerge from a black car. She couldn’t see the car’s make from her study window, but it looked large and expensive, and the man looked like someone who could afford to live in a large house. Promising. She went back to concentrating on the meeting.

Noah was the next to arrive. She heard their footsteps and the low murmur of conversation as the two men walked around the house. By the time her Teams call ended, Noah was in the kitchen with the mystery buyer.

Lisa was about to leave her study to meet them when her ears pricked up at what they were discussing.

‘We should get at least five apartments in the main house and fit another two, possibly three properties into the garden,’ the potential buyer said.

Five apartments? And concreting over the garden? Lisa wasn’t an enthusiastic gardener, but she loved her outdoor space. Even two small houses on there would leave no room for any decent lawn. Some of the trees would have to go as well. No way was she letting that happen.

She walked into the kitchen. ‘I’ve finished my call now if you want to look at the study.’

‘This is the owner. Lisa Watkins,’ Noah said, smiling at her.

The potential buyer offered her his hand. ‘Good to meet you. Adam Evans-Johnson. Call me Adam.’ He shook her hand vigorously. ‘You have a nice home.’

‘Can you see yourself living here?’ Lisa asked innocently.

‘No. I buy houses for other people to live in.’

So he wasn’t even going to be honest with her about his plans. ‘I was hoping a family would buy it and have as much enjoyment out of the house as me and my family have had. ’

Adam looked at her with a patronising smile. ‘It’s just bricks and mortar, Lisa. I don’t know why women get so sentimental about houses.’

Women. Not people, women. She wasn’t taking to Adam Evans-Johnson at all.

‘Noah says you’re open to offers,’ Adam said.

Lisa crossed her arms. ‘Really? From what I overheard, you’re planning to make a tidy sum from ruining my cherished home, so I’m expecting you to pay full price.’

She could see Noah’s face fall.

‘Developing has tight margins,’ Adam said.

‘But not so tight that they’re stopping you from driving a top-of-the-range car and wearing expensive clothes.’

Noah looked ashen, disappointed at losing the prospect of getting his hands on his commission quickly, she guessed. ‘Lisa and I can have a chat about the price after you’ve gone.’

‘That would be fantastic,’ she said. ‘I’d love to discuss a special price for Mr Evans-Johnson.’

‘￡4 million,’ Lisa said as she put a mug of tea down in front of Noah.

‘We’ve already advertised it at ￡3.5 million.’

She sat down opposite him at the kitchen table. ‘As a family home, not a development opportunity.’

‘Does it matter what whoever buys it does with it? You said you wanted a fresh start.’

‘I do want a fresh start, and I know I shouldn’t care once I’ve handed over the keys. But I’ve looked after this house for longer than you’ve been alive. It was a wreck, and I rescued it. And now Mr Misogonistic Show Off wants to rip the guts out of it, turn it into a load of pokey flats, and fill the garden with more of the same. What’s the local wildlife going to do when all that’s happened? Never mind how pissed off my neighbours are going to be with all the extra cars that will need to park on the road.’

‘He was talking about ￡3 million in the office earlier.’

‘He can talk about it all he likes. He’s not getting it for a penny less than four. That’s my final word on the subject.’ Hopefully, that would scare Adam and any other developers off, and someone who wanted to keep it as a family home would come along and fall in love with it.

Noah sighed. ‘I think you have to be realistic here. He’s a genuine buyer. He’s bought lots of properties through us. No chain to worry about. Their sales have all gone through smoothly. You’d probably have the money in your bank account in less than six weeks.’

‘I am not selling to that awful man for anything less than four. End of. If you’re not happy with that, I can take the property out of your hands and move to another estate agent.’

‘No, please don’t do that.’

‘Then go back to him with my offer. And if he doesn’t like it, carry on looking for another buyer.’