Chapter 21
A nita ran from the lunchroom to her desk and snatched up her phone just before the call went to voicemail.
“This is Anita,” she said, huffing and puffing.
“It’s Tim, Anita,” he said, and the tone of his voice already told her what she longed to hear. “They’ve accepted your offer.”
She stood at her desk, clutching the phone to her ear, too emotional to respond.
“Anita, they accepted your offer,” Tim repeated. “Candy Alley will be yours.”
She forced herself to find her voice. “Did they ask for more money or anything?”
“Nope. I think the fact that you’re a cash buyer and willing to close escrow in ten days did the trick. Your only contingencies are the inspection and a clean title report.”
“How soon can we get the inspectors in there?”
“I’ll call the firm I use for commercial projects as soon as we hang up. I’ll stress that we need a fast turnaround. You’ll probably have the report in three days—four at the most.”
“Wow,” Anita said, bringing her free hand to the side of her head. “I almost can’t believe this.”
“Congratulations,” Tim said. “What are you going to do to celebrate?”
“I’ve been thinking about that,” she replied. “I’d like to invite a few people to the space once I have the keys. We’ll christen the place with a toast and open those crates in the basement. I think it’ll be fun to have a public reveal.”
“That’s a terrific idea,” Tim said. “I hope Nancy and I are on the guest list.”
Anita chuckled. “You’re at the top of the list. I thought I’d invite Jeff and Judy, Sam and Joan, Sunday and Josh, and Maggie and John—plus Gordon, of course.
He’s been on Long Island this week doing an appraisal for an estate, and we haven’t spoken for a few days.
He knows I made the offer, and he’ll be thrilled they accepted it.
I need to find out when he’s available to come to Westbury. ”
“It might be wise to wait until they remove the damaged walls and remediate the mold. Sam doesn’t want anyone spending more time in that space until those things are done.”
“Did he say how long that will take?”
“He told me they’ll be able to get it done within a week. He also suggested the new roof should go on right away.”
“Can they do that during the winter?” Anita asked.
“The extended forecast shows temperatures slightly above average—and, most importantly, no rain or snow,” Tim said.
“Everything is going my way with this project,” Anita said. “I’ll call Sam as soon as we hang up, so he can start work as soon as the deed transfers to me. I’ll ask when he thinks it’ll be safe for me to throw my party. Once I have a date, I’ll let you know.”
“Nancy and I aren’t going anywhere this winter, so we’ll be available,” Tim said. “But do you really intend to wait that long to find out what’s in those crates?”
Anita bit her lip. She’d been wondering the same thing. “If I invite my dearest friends for the great unveiling, I’m not going to peek ahead of time. If it’s disappointing, I’ll have my friends around me, but, if it’s something cool, it’ll be more fun to share my joy with all of you.”
Anita kept her cell phone in her pocket for the rest of the day. She had texted Gordon her news as soon as she’d finished her conversation with Sam and asked him to call her when he had a chance.
He’d mentioned the day before that the heirs were becoming increasingly contentious with each other.
The old mansion had been in the family for decades, filled with items that were fine when acquired and were now extremely valuable.
Gordon said he loved seeing people enjoy their prized possessions almost as much as he hated seeing them fought over by greedy heirs, who only appreciated them for their financial value, not their intrinsic beauty.
Bursting with excitement to share the news and get his input, she waited for his call. She was on her way to bed when her phone finally rang.
“Gordon,” she said, “I’m so glad to hear your voice.”
“Congratulations, sweetheart,” he said, his voice thick with fatigue. “I’m sorry it’s so late.”
“Don’t worry about me,” she replied. “It’s an hour later where you are, and you sound exhausted.”
“I had dinner with the family tonight. My appraisals are finished, and the plan was for them to divide the furnishings they wanted to keep and sell the rest. I was prepared to offer my recommendations for various auction houses.”
“You said that was the plan,” she replied. “What actually happened?”
“We were in a private dining room at a restaurant,” Gordon said. “I’ve learned from experience to hold these meetings outside the home. Public spaces tend to encourage better behavior.”
“Uh-oh. I don’t like the sound of this,” she said.
“We made it through the salad course easily enough, but things got testy during the entrée. By the time they handed out dessert menus, the discussion had become heated. A shouting match turned into a shoving match over coffee, and the restaurant finally asked us to leave.”
“Good heavens,” Anita said. “Aren’t these heirs wealthy in their own right? What in the world are they doing fighting over chairs and carpets?”
“I’ve seen this happen many times before,” Gordon said. “It doesn’t matter how much people have—they want more. I love my job because I get to handle some of the most beautiful things in the world, but the downside is that I’m forced to interact with greedy people in high-stress situations.”
“I’m so sorry to hear this,” she said. “When will you finish out there?”
“We decided—in the parking lot after the restaurant ejected us, no less—to meet for breakfast tomorrow morning. If they reprise last night’s scene, I’m packing up and heading back to Manhattan.”
“I’ll be thinking about you the whole time,” Anita said. “Please let me know how it goes, one way or the other.”
“I will,” Gordon replied. “Anyway, that’s not why I called. Tell me your good news.”
She gave him the Reader’s Digest version. “The details can wait until you’re back home and have had a good night’s sleep. The only thing I’d like to know from you now is if you would like to come to my party where we open the mystery crates?”
“Are you kidding? Of course I want to come,” Gordon said. “I don’t want you to open those without me.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” she said. “What does your schedule look like?”
“I’m tied up for the next couple of weeks,” Gordon said. “Even if I return to my office tomorrow, it’ll take another three or four days to complete the appraisal documents. After that, I’m accompanying a client to an auction at Sotheby’s in London for a few days.”
“Gosh, Gordon,” Anita gasped. “You lead such a glamorous life.”
Gordon chuckled. “You wouldn’t say that if you’d seen me getting thrown out of that fancy restaurant tonight.”
“Now that you mention it, I would like to have seen that,” she teased. “I’ll make sure my party is after you get back from London. I’ll text you several dates to choose from.”
“That’s very nice,” Gordon said, stifling a yawn.
“And now,” she said gently, “I’ve taken enough of your time. I can hear how tired you are. I don’t want to impose any further.”
“Talking to you about the frustrations of my day has helped me,” he said. “If I hadn’t spoken to you, I would’ve been ruminating about them until the wee hours. Now that we’ve talked, I can set them aside and go to sleep peacefully. You’re like a tonic for my soul.”
Her knees went weak, and she sank onto the side of her bed. “I’m happy to be your sounding board any time,” Anita said softly. “You’ll be in my thoughts tomorrow. Sweet dreams,” she said.