Chapter 14
The past week has been very busy for Heath and me.
Not only did we have our work, but we also had an after-hours project.
Though, in this case, I didn’t see it as work.
I had too much fun to call it that. Heath and I had allowed Nora to show us four more houses.
She hadn’t lied about having more to show us.
What I liked was that we’d given her our wants, needs, and then a list of nice-to-haves.
She then trolled through everything she had listed herself or that another realtor had.
Nora curated those and brought us the best options she believed were available.
However, she still gave us data on the other houses just in case she missed anything.
The answer so far had been a resounding no.
All of them had their pros and cons. It wasn’t until we’d walked into the one last night that I felt it.
We were home. The house had not only our wants and needs, but also the must-haves.
It was so well cared for. And though I would paint the rooms in different colors and probably get rid of the carpet upstairs, I felt good about the rest.
It had an extensive yard, and it was outside Hampton, but not too far away.
No neighbors sat right up on it. It had five bedrooms and four and a half baths.
There was a dining room big enough to host several people for the holidays, and the rooms weren’t cramped.
And, surprise, it already had a swimming pool and a fenced-in backyard.
The price was a bit more than we wanted to spend, but it wasn’t like we couldn’t afford more for the right house.
We’d promised Nora we’d get back to her on what we thought.
It was hard to hold my tongue until we were in the car alone with each other.
Both of us burst out talking. We talked over each other, pointing out many of the same things we loved. We laughed.
By the time we made it home, we had placed the call and told her we wanted to make an offer.
I figured we’d have to wait for an answer, do this back-and-forth negotiating for days longer before we came to an arrangement.
Our initial offer was rejected, and the owners countered.
Heath didn’t panic. He came back with a higher bid, but it was still a decent amount below the asking price.
It had been on the market for three months.
They were asking above the comps for equivalent houses.
I worked not to get my hopes up. It was too nice a house for us to get without spending way more than we could afford, or for the sellers to change their minds. We were now in the waiting mode. I had a hard time concentrating at work when I wasn’t directly working with patients.
In the afternoon, Caroline asked me how things were going.
I broke down and admitted to her that we were bidding on a house, and I was terrified to love it in case it fell through.
I thanked her for giving us Nora’s name.
It was that conversation that had us seated at a table in the break room so that I could show her pictures of the house on my phone.
She thought it was amazing. Then Caroline asked me if I thought we’d get it. It was as we were talking about the odds of it that others came into the room. We didn’t pay much attention. All we heard were their low murmurs. Suddenly, the room filled up with more bodies.
“What’re you looking at?” A medical tech asked.
“Just some real estate in and around town,” Caroline replied.
“Are you moving?” The tech asked me.
“Yes, my boyfriend and I are looking for a house. We found one we really love and made an offer. Now we’re waiting to hear what the seller has to say,” I replied.
Someone else muttered, “Don’t you hate waiting to hear. It’s the worst part of buying a house.”
Others muttered their agreement. I showed some of the pictures, and they received a lot of positive feedback. However, I soon excused myself to get back to work and thanked Caroline again for Nora.
Thankfully, the remainder of the day flew by, and it was finally time to head home. I drove myself today. People said goodbye as they passed my office, and I called it back to them. I was just wrapping up a small bit of charting, and then I was out of here.
When I typed in the last word, I sighed in relief. Logging out, I gathered my purse and lunch bag, then locked up my office. I was headed toward the door to leave, thinking I was alone, until I heard them.
There was no mistaking those voices. It was Julie and Holly. I kept walking, planning to ignore them. They were back in the copier room behind the main reception area. I would’ve kept going if I hadn’t heard them say my name. I stopped, fumbled, then waited.
“Danae thinks she’s something special. She’s a PA, has a gorgeous boyfriend, and she’s trapped him with a baby.
You have to give her credit for that. Now, he’s stuck, and they’re shopping for a house.
It’ll be no time before the bitch gets him to marry her.
She’ll whine about not wanting her kid to be born a bastard, and he’ll stupidly marry her.
I bet it won’t last a year. I don't understand why men fall for women like her. She has that innocent look. They look at her and see this little Asian doll who needs protection. When the truth is, women like her are conniving bitches,” Julie said bitterly.
“What can you do about it? It’s unfair, but women like her win all the time,” Holly replied.
There was a pause for a few moments, then Julie answered her.
“What if we were to show him and Caroline that Danae isn’t who they think she is?
If she fucked up with a patient, that would be grounds to fire her, maybe even get her license pulled if it’s bad enough.
And then if some concerned person were to call that boyfriend and tell him that she’s cheating on him, I bet he’ll dump her pregnant ass.
It’ll leave him free to find a real woman like us.
And she’ll be left on the street raising that bastard herself.
That’ll be hard if she can’t get a job,” Julie’s spite and jealousy came across loud and clear in her tone. Both of them laughed heartily.
I had two options: burst in and confront them.
Or leave and tear down their world before they did mine.
There was a part of me wanting to confront them, then punch those bitches repeatedly in the fucking face.
But I had to use my brain on this. When I was done, they’d be the ones lucky to get a job waiting tables.
Turning, I tiptoed out the door. They had no clue I heard them.
My mind was occupied the entire drive home. Their words kept flashing through my brain. I was plotting as I drove. By the time I made it home, I knew what I was going to do. Heath wasn’t there yet.
After changing into more comfortable clothes, I started cooking the rice to go with the herb chicken I’d roasted in the slow cooker all day. While the rice was cooking, I prepared a salad to go with it. My mind was divided between the task at hand and the conversation.
I was dragged out of my head by the sound of the garage door opening.
I hadn’t heard his truck. I let him come to me.
I smiled as he swept in, grinning at me.
Heath wasted no time coming over and kissing me.
However, he did it with flair by bending me partially back over his arm.
When he raised me back up, I was thoroughly kissed and slightly breathless.
“Hello, Divine One, I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you. What do you need help with?”
“Hello to you, too. If you want to get out the plates and utensils, that would be good. I’m chopping up the last thing for the salad.”
“Let me wash my hands, then I’ll get right on it,” he promised, and that was what he did.
By the time he did that and poured our drinks, it was time to eat.
The meal was simple yet tasty. We both ate until we were ready to burst, or at least I felt that way.
While we ate, there was small talk, but nothing major.
That would happen after dinner, when the cleanup was done, and we were sitting out on the back deck.
“Something is bothering you. I can see it. Tell me what’s wrong,” Heath insisted after we were outside.
“I showed Caroline pictures of the house today. As we were talking, others came in and asked what we were looking at. I announced we were shopping around for a house. Many people were happy for us, and they loved what the pictures showed. They wished us luck in getting it.”
“That’s good. I showed Ben and Beau today. They loved the house too. Are you stressed about waiting to find out if the owner will accept our offer?” he asked.
“It’s a little stressful, but that’s not the actual issue.
As I was leaving work, I thought I was the only one left in the building.
Until I heard voices talking in the copier room.
I stopped to listen because I heard my name mentioned.
And my gut told me to do this,” I said, picking up my cell phone and turning on the recording I’d made. It had been an automatic thing to do.
Heath sat there listening to the shit Holly and Julie spouted off about me. When it was done, he was scowling.
“Those bitches think they can talk about you like that, then plot to frame you with a patient, and accuse you of cheating, so I dump you. They’re delusional. Did you confront them?”
“No, I left.”
He studied me, then a slow smile spread across his face. “Danae, what are you up to?”
I gave him an innocent look and put my hand to my chest. “What do you mean? I’m not up to anything, honey.”
“Like hell you’re not. I know the real you underneath that face. You’re not going to let this go.”
I chuckled then nodded. “You’re right, I’m not. Here’s what I’m planning to do.”