Still, she’d stuck around. After Landon walked away to “work the room,” as he always said, Bobby mentioned that he was putting his house on the market. Marlowe had been stunned when she jokingly offered to list it and he’d taken her up on it. “You look like a woman who’d be perfect for the job,” Bobby had said from the side of his mouth.
“That I…I am. Right. Excellent.” She could hardly get the words out.
Bobby had leaned closer. “Do you think this’ll piss Landon off? Haven’t said a word about this to him yet.”
“Probably.” Would that kill the deal? Her stomach had twisted at the thought.
“Love it! A fearless woman.” Bobby rocked his head back with a raucous laugh that made Landon look their way. Marlowe left right after that, her mind swelling with dollar signs. That had been in October and she’d been quietly working on the rolloutever since. The plan was a bit delayed because Bobby traveled so much and December wasn’t a good time to launch a new property. He had at least three other homes, which might be why he didn't need this twenty-five million dollar oceanside home anymore.
As she developed the plan, their conversations had been short. Usually at the end, he'd toss out “Send the details to Marvin.” Marvin Brash was his executive assistant. Someday Marlowe wanted a dedicated assistant. But for right now she had Jenna. Marlowe glanced at her phone again. No messages.
The property market was booming in Florida. By January many visitors had often enjoyed the holidays in Naples and wanted their own place in the sun. The timing of this open house was critical. Everything had to be perfectly suited to the clientele she hoped to attract. As she nibbled on the croissant and sipped her latte, she opened the event spreadsheet on her phone. What was this? The buttery roll choked her for a second when she ran down her planning list, from food to favors. No updates. How could that be? She was typing in her questions when Jenna’s response came.
“No worries,” her protegee wrote. “Open House was a huge New Year’s Day success. Update to follow.”
Wasa success? What was this about New Year’s? Marlowe's fingers went numb. How could she feel hot and cold at the same time? Shaking out her fingers, she was tempted to fire off a response. But no. Her mind raced and she needed time to think. Landon had once told her that she was too quick on the trigger. Maybe she’d missed a text from Jenna. The two weeks in Charlevoix had been relaxing but totally involving in a wonderfully mindless way.
Had she let her family distract her from business?
Chapter Two
MARLOWE
Sitting at her little table in the Brioche Doree coffee shop, Marlowe didn’t know what to do. The latte felt clogged in her throat. Jumping up, she grabbed a bottle of water, paid for it and twisted the cap. Her lunch felt like cardboard in her stomach, and she gulped down some water. But the cold liquid didn’t clear her head. Mixing up details of a critical open house was not like Jenna. What was going on? Grabbing her bag, Marlowe headed for her departure gate.
What was the flight number for the Fort Meyers airport? Chest heaving, she checked a departure board. What? She was in the wrong concourse and she quickly jerked around, almost tripping the woman behind her. “I'm sorry. So sorry.” Marlowe took off, jogging toward the central point where concourses converged and signs pointed in several directions.
Why did this have to happen now?She didn’t have time to miss a flight today. Panic seized her. She had to get back to Naples and straighten out this mess. Hoisting her handbag onto her shoulder and pulling her carryon behind her, she raced down the concourse and hopped onto the escalator. More than one traveler threw her a dirty look. “Sorry, sorry.” This wasn’tlike her. Marlowe liked her life planned efficiently. This race to the gate had her breathless and scrambling.
Of course her flight was taking off from the farthest gate. Her chest heaved and her pulse raced as she sprinted along, dodging travelers along the way. By the time she reached her flight, Marlowe was out of breath. Thank goodness people were still boarding. Phone tight in her hand, she found her boarding pass.
The flight attendant checking her in looked so calm. “Thank you,” Marlowe gasped, wanting some of the woman’s serenity.Deep breaths, deep breaths, she told herself as she thumped down the passageway and onto the plane. After jamming her carryon in the overhead bin, she shoved her purse under the seat in front of her and sat down. Then she grabbed her phone. Her hands shook as she scrolled through her messages.
But she couldn’t find anything from Jenna about the rescheduled open house. Nothing. Marlowe even went into her trash in case she’d deleted a text or email by mistake. During her visit to Sunnycrest, she’d been casual about checking her phone. Okay, it had been worse than that. She’d ignored calls, certain that Jenna could handle things. She rarely took vacations. Now she wondered. How could she have let this slide? Had she overestimated the new hire?
Or had she underestimated her? A wave of doubt brought a chill. Marlowe shivered.
Somehow Landon was involved in this. For months she'd fended off his not too subtle flirting. And she tried to ignore his comments about how his marriage wasn't working, comments that were only made when the two of them were alone in the copy room. His hand would accidentally cover hers reaching for the creamer or he’d invade her space, asking questions about her weekend. Creep. Was this somehow his revenge?
Thank goodness an older gentleman had taken the seat next to her. A polite nod and that was it. No distracting conversationson this flight. Marlowe needed to concentrate. Adjusting his headrest, he quickly fell asleep while they were taxiing down the runway, lips parted in a soft snore. Wanting to keep her wits about her, she waved away the flight attendant’s offer of champagne and opted for ginger ale instead. How could her open house have taken place without her there? What had she missed?
Thank goodness the flight was short. By the time they touched down at the Southwest Florida International Airport, her ears were popping and her head throbbed with unanswered questions. Waiting for her suitcase seemed to take forever. While she stood there watching the empty conveyor belt slowly make the circuit, her sister Samantha phoned. “Are you home yet or still in Atlanta?” Sam asked.
“Just got in. Waiting for my suitcase.” Where was her luggage?
“Did you have a bad trip? You sound tense.”
“Guess I’m tired.” Marlowe would not tell her sister about this fiasco at work. No way would she admit that she'd made such a huge mistake. Where was the luggage? She had to get home to deal with this. Seated at her semi-circular desk that overlooked the ocean, hopefully she would make sense of the confusion holding her hostage right now.
“Those were two long weeks,” Marlowe said. Maybe the vacation had been too long. Originally she'd planned to be back in Naples before New Year’s Day. But she was having such a great time that she'd extended her stay.
“Yeah, wasn’t it great?” She could hear a yawn in her sister’s voice. “Can’t wait to take a nap. Just drove through the gate.” Her sister lived in a gated community in Oak Brook, a suburb outside Chicago.
Marlowe was having trouble concentrating. Her mind spun like the luggage carousel. Had she been wrong to think that theopen house for Bobby was all set when she left? Why hadn't she brought her calendar with her? Unlike the other realtors, she still worked from a printed calendar. She even used a dry-erase board in her home office. Well, that had to stop. Jenna had teased her about it. Right now she’d give anything to have her full calendar on her phone. The information would be right there. Wouldn't it?
“Marlowe? Everything okay down in Florida?” Now she had her sister worried. Marlowe heard the whirr that sounded like a garage door opening. Sam must have reached her house.
“Sure. Of course. How about you?” Marlowe tried to inject confidence into her voice. She didn't want to worry her older sister. Sam had enough on her plate right now. Recently divorced, Sam and her former husband Kurt had divided up their accounts as part of their settlement. That process had sounded civil when Sam told her about it. “Are all your clients still in place? No one’s baled on you yet?”
