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Liz laughed. “Maybe if you’d been on a date in the last three years you wouldn’t be so quick to fall for a pretty girl making eyes at you.”

Carmela narrowed her gaze. “We all can’t have a ten-year, long-distance partner who swoops in when the desire strikes,” she snapped before getting back to what was really upsetting her. “It was completely unprofessional. These new agents have no boundaries. No sense of decency. You’d be shocked to see who’s working out there today. Morons think they can pass a test and be a realtor. They have no idea what it means to have integrity. None,” she added, growing more agitated with each passing second.

Liz’s sideways grin didn’t falter. “I remember when you were a hungry young thing. If you’d had the idea to stalk an open house to get intel to make a sale, you would’ve done it.

Remember when you used to o er to drive client’s rental trucks for them on moving day? Or when you had that brilliant idea of o ering a free flatscreen TV with every new house?” She sco ed. “Please, just because you’re seasoned with a cushy nest egg doesn’t mean you were a stranger to a gimmick in your early days.”

“It’s di erent,” she added, pursing her lips. “I never resorted to espionage.”

“Doesn’t she work at that agent farm? They make their money o all those fees they charge those agents. The kid probably has no idea what she’s doing,” Liz countered.

Carmela shook her head. “It wasn’t some mishap. She acted with intent and malicious forethought.” The buzz in her pocket forced her to look down at a new email from a prospective client. Her fingers moved of their own accord to respond as Liz talked.

“A little dramatic, no? Listen, it’s been a long time since someone got the best of you. You learned something and you’ll take it with you to the next deal, right? Don’t take it personally,” she advised with her typical aplomb.

“I suppose,” Carmela agreed when she sent her reply email, but it was mostly because she was tired of even thinking about that shark.

“Good. Now, onto something else. Did you get a chance to look at those notes I sent you? I really liked Ti any and that Aaliyah was sharp.”

Carmela took her time swirling the wine around in her glass. She didn’t understand why Liz wanted to expand the brokerage. Between them and the eight other agents, they were an elite group with a sterling reputation. So what if at thirty-nine Carmela was the youngest by a couple of decades. They didn’t need anyone else.

“Ti any’s only been an agent for a year. I think she’s too green for us. Aaliyah I liked, though I noticed all her ties were to Knoxville. Is she coming with a book of business?”

Liz stared at her, clearly unhappy with having to repeat herself. “We need new blood, Carm. Don’t you want to shape our legacy?”

“You make it sound like we’re all about to drop dead,”

she said with a laugh to dissipate the anxiety rising in her

belly.

Her broker was having none of it tonight. “You might have another twenty years in you, but I sure don’t. And I want to pick the right people to continue our work.”

Carmela dropped her tensed shoulders. She knew Liz was right, but that didn’t mean she wanted to face it. “Okay, all right,” she relented as if there was a gun jammed in her side.

“I’ll look at your notes again. Have you given any more thought to pushing into Palm Beach?” she countered as her pocket buzzed again.

Liz waited for their food to be placed on the table before answering. “You’re not letting that go, are you?”

“Nope. If we’re looking at our legacy, then I think we should be everywhere in this county. The island included,”

she replied while cutting into her halibut.

“It’s going to cost a lot of money to break into that market. On the island it’s all word of mouth and in-person connections. Millionaires don’t find their realtors online,”

she warned for the umpteenth time.

Carmela speared a piece of scallop with her fork. “I’ll get involved with bringing on new agents if you’ll seriously consider expanding our area of influence. How about that?”

Liz leaned back in her chair as if Carmela were driving a hard bargain. It was impossible for them to use any tactics on each other when they had the exact same toolbox. “You got a deal,” she said lifting her glass to toast on it. Before Carmela managed to eat half her meal, her phone rang.

Another client with another perceived emergency.

CHAPTER FOUR

THE LATE SPRING day was brutally hot with record high temperatures and humidity levels. Carmela and Liz moved from their car and into the stately home quicker than if it had been pouring rain.

“Welcome to our broker’s open,” a young man greeted as he handed them each a bottle of cold water. “When you’ve finished touring the home, we have some feedback cards for you to fill out near the refreshments. They can be anonymous, and we look forward to learning what you think about the house, the price point, and whether you might have any interested clients before we o cially put it on the market.”