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“Yeah,” Olivia agreed. “You too?”
“Had to get a look at it.”
She decided there was no danger and stepped out of the car to speak to him. “I’ve dreamed of getting a good look at this place for years,” she said.
“You know the house pretty well then, I guess?”
“Are you not from around here? I haven’t seen you before.”
“I’m in town from Boston.”
“How doyouknow about this place?”
“Saw it online,” he said. “It’s listed as one of the oldest buildings in the state.”
“Oh,” Olivia said. “Yeah, it is. And now that Marge Coldwell has died — I don’t know if you knew that or not — it might be going on the market.”
“You want to buy it?”
“I want to sell it. I’m a realtor,” she explained. “This would be the biggest moment of my career, if I could list this property.”
“And that’s why you’re out here scoping it out?”
“I’m just daydreaming. Picturing how I would set up the open house, how I would manage the listing…”
“You really want to sell this place,” he observed. “You must think you can get a lot of money for it.”
“I do,” she said.
He pondered for a moment. “Have you ever sold a place like this before?”
“No,” Olivia admitted.
“So what makes you think you’d be any good at it?”
Olivia laughed. “Jeez.”
“I don’t mean it rudely,” he said. “I just wonder how you can be so confident if you haven’t got any experience.”
“Well, I do have experience,” Olivia said. “I’ve never sold a massive estate like this one, but I’m a pretty successful realtor. And my usual clients might not be massively wealthy, like the Coldwells, but I think that would actually serve me pretty well here.”
“How so?”
“You ask a lot of questions.”
The guy shrugged. “I’m just curious.”
“I’m used to working for people who will probably sell their house once or twice in their life,” she explained. “For most people, that’s a huge moment, and getting the best offer possible is a big deal. For most people, it really matters how much you get in the sale of your house. That’s probably not true for the Coldwells. I’m guessing they’ll be willing to settle for a lesser amount just in the interest of having things over with. And I’m guessing most realtors will know that, and will be focused on giving the family what they want. I mean, it’s going to be a huge cash cow for any realtor no matter how much it sells for. But me — I’d like to get the best possible deal. That’s what I do for all my clients.”
“Sounds like they should go with you,” the guy said.
“Yeah, but they won’t,” she said with a little laugh.
“You’re so sure?”
“I mean, I don’t know if they’re even planning on selling the place at all,” she said. “It’s probably going to be inherited by some rich playboy who’ll keep it as a party house. Kind of tragic to think about that happening to this place, but that’s what I’m expecting.”
“Gotcha,” the man said.