Chapter 21 #2
I don’t have the time to be offended as I’m too busy working out how we can get the hell away from him. The longer we stay, the more chance there is of him working out we’re not real viewers, and the more chance there is Teddy will be in for a world of pain at the hands of this prick.
‘That’s right,’ Karina says, stepping forward. ‘I’d like to start by seeing the kitchen.’ She walks right past him into the house, and I’m left to follow after her, open mouthed.
‘If it’s a family home you’re looking for,’ Ed says as we walk under the huge chandelier in the entrance hallway, ‘you couldn’t be in a more perfect space.
It has a magnificent kitchen you’re going to be dazzled by, six bedrooms, and I’m sure your husband will love the outdoor office and gymnasium. ’
Karina glares at him with daggers. ‘No, that’s not what I’m looking for at all. And I don’t think it’s a good idea to presume only a husband would appreciate the outdoor office and gym, do you?’
‘Oh. I, I suppose not,’ Ed mutters.
‘No. Let’s have a look at this dazzling kitchen then, shall we?’
I follow them round for another twenty minutes as Karina makes it clear she hates everything about the house.
From the huge marble island, immaculate monochrome bathroom, to the modern home office in the garden with space enough for a rose-pink sofa that I would never leave if it was mine.
She turns to me a few times to make comments about the poor light and the impractical room sizes, and I nod along, fighting a smile every time Karina locks eyes with me.
Ed throws me the odd funny look as he tries to work out why I’m here.
I guess he must think I’m Karina’s assistant or poor relation as he seems to decide by the third room that I’ve no influence on Karina and doesn’t give me a second more of his time.
Back at the front door, Ed proffers his business card and offers it to Karina. ‘If you’d like to arrange another viewing or make an offer, get in touch, but I warn you, this one will go fast.’
Karina keeps her hands down by her side. ‘Consider me warned. I won’t be getting in touch, thanks all the same.’ She turns on her heels and walks down the drive.
Inspired by Karina’s display, I can’t resist getting in my own parting shot.
‘See, I did love the house. It’s really beautiful,’ I say sweetly.
‘If I’d have told my girlfriend how much I loved it, I know she’d have put in an offer to make me happy.
That’s love for you. Shame you looked at me the whole time like I was shit on your shoe.
Now I’d never let her spend a penny on this place if it meant dealing with you again.
’ I leave him open mouthed and rush to catch up with Karina.
‘What the hell was that all about?’ she whispers.
‘Nothing. You were ace back there,’ I whisper back, making sure to put an arm around her for Ed’s sake.
She smiles. ‘I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of being impressed by the place, did I? Can you believe that shit about me liking the kitchen and my husband liking the gym? And calling Teddy “the girl who sorts my bookings” as if the whole house wasn’t her big success story? Dick.’
‘Did you actually hate it?’
She laughs. ‘Of course I didn’t. It was unbelievable. Did you see the size of the bath?’
We get back in the car, and as soon as we do, I take out my phone and videocall Teddy.
‘Thank God,’ she says. ‘I was so worried you’d not got my message in time and ended up going to the house.’
‘We did,’ Karina tells her.
Teddy’s eyes grow wide with alarm. ‘What?’
‘Yep, we’ve just finished our viewing with your boss,’ Karina tells her.
Teddy’s hands fly to her cheeks. ‘No. No, no, no. Do you have any idea how much trouble I can get in for this?’
‘Don’t worry. Luckily, Karina looked the part of a millionaire looking for a new house, so he didn’t have a clue it wasn’t an ordinary viewing you’d booked in, although it was hard to be civil to him after what he did to you,’ I say. ‘That man is awful.’
‘I know.’ Instead of raging at the injustice of him taking such a huge, career-making listing off her, Teddy looks like she’s about to cry.
‘I can’t believe he did that to me. He pretty much said I was above my station trying to sell this kind of property, that I’d go and make a mess of it and if I didn’t let him take over, he couldn’t support me any longer in my career. ’
‘Let me get this right. He threatened to sack you to make you give him the listing? The listing that you found?’ Karina asks, the anger building in her voice with each word that comes out.
Teddy sniffs. ‘Yeah. That’s exactly what he did, and I just gave it to him. I hate this job, and I hate him, but I need to work. I couldn’t say no.’
‘Couldn’t you?’ I ask. ‘Couldn’t you tell him to take his poxy job and shove it up his arse?’
‘No. Shitty as it is, I need my wage, and future employers are going to need a reference which he wouldn’t give out of spite.
I’m stuck.’ Tears begin to fall down her face.
Teddy is the last person you’d expect to cry over a job.
The last person to be so demoralised by a boss.
I’ve lost count of the number of times she’s given us pep talks about not giving a shit about anyone else.
It’s horrible to see the effect Ed’s had on her.
‘Oh, Ted. I hate seeing you like this. You can’t keep going this way,’ I gently tell her.
‘I know,’ she says. ‘Something’s got to change.’
‘Well then, let’s work out what we can do as soon as possible because one thing’s for sure, you can’t go back to work for that man. Until you’re away from him and we have a plan for what happens next, this is our number one priority. Agreed?’ I ask them.
‘Agreed,’ Karina says immediately.
And after a long pause, in a shaky voice that is so far from her own, Teddy quietly says, ‘Agreed.’