Love It or Lose It

Chapter 4

Despite the 1980's laminate kitchen and a couple of bathrooms with cotton candy pink utilities, 451 Wagon Drive was a beaut. And a steal at just over two million dollars. Yes, a steal. To the untrained eyes, the focus would be on how much modernizing the four thousand square foot, two-story home would require. As I stood in front of the floor to ceiling windows in the vaulted great room, I marvelled at the scenery before me. Beyond the well cared for vegetable and flower gardens and expansive blue grass, the serene lake glistened as the sun hit its surface. On either side of the house was two acres of deciduous trees, giving the owner the proper amount of privacy and peace. It was an excellent piece of property, and it checked off all the marks on my client, Lee West's list.

As soon as I was done rearranging the flowers in the vase, which the seller had personally gathered from her garden and had left for our viewing, the loud knock on the front door echoed through the house. Why didn't they ring the doorbell? Note to self: check if the doorbell worked. I hurried down to the foyer to greet my clients. Before I opened the door, I did a quick self check out of habit. My hair could withstand a hurricane with the amount of hairspray my stylist had applied to it, but I fiddled with it anyway, ensuring that no red lock would stray. My newly purchased skirt had a very little crease, and for added measure, I ironed it with the palms of my hands. Finally, I double-checked that I didn't look like I would pop out of my silk blouse (thanks to the helpful and touchy sales associate who had measured me for the right bra size). There was only one thing for sale in this area, and it wasn't me. I took one glance behind me, running through the checklist of the enticing features the property had in my head. With a smile plastered on my face, I turned the handle and swung the door open.

"Hi! Come on in," I greeted, but almost choked on my own words when the person turned to face me. Who was this guy? Salt and pepper hair hadn't looked hot on anyone else besides George Clooney. Cut short on the sides and the top expertly mussed, the man before me knew how to work it. Underneath a plain black button down shirt and a pair of designer dark jeans was a toned body. I'd become adept on what great muscle tone was shaped like underneath clothing from spending hours in the gym.

"Mrs. Nolan?" he asked in a voice gruff with exhaustion.

Earth to Sheri, answer the man!

"Yes?" I was too gone in the clouds to correct the missus part.

"I'm Lee West." The lines on his forehead deepened. He wasn't impressed. He was also not the man I was expecting. Lee West was a rotund man who loved to laugh and loved to eat, as he exuberantly confessed the first and only time we had met a year ago.

"Oh, you are?" Before he could formulate a response, I corrected myself, "Of course you are. Come in." I waited for him to step through before I exhaled a nervous breath. "I thought your daughter was going to join us."

"I'm here!" Tamara West popped in at the same time he said, "She is."

"Hi, Sheri." She leaned forward to hug me. I was glad that she was with us. Most of the communication regarding the house hunt occurred between Tamara and me due to her father's busy schedule. I sincerely doubted I would have been coherent around Lee West if we had been alone.

"Oh, this is nice," Tamara said, glancing around the interior of the house. "Isn't it nice, Dad?"

We both waited for his reply, which turned out was just a low grunt. What had happened to the Lee West who cracked jokes every chance he got? I much preferred him to this—although good-looking—grumpy man. It would have been much easier to work with and sell a property to a happier person. I invited them to walk through the house, pointing out the detailed millwork throughout, and not one or two, but three fireplaces in the living, great rooms and master bedroom. However, when we reached the kitchen, I knew instantly that Lee hated it. He sneered at the white appliances and outdated cupboards. The current owners were an elderly couple who had been too busy running a business and a household to do any renovations, and when their three kids had all grown up and had gone out on their own, the couple didn't have enough energy to tackle any of the needed work.