“What kind of situation?” I asked, feeling uneasy.
“It’s always feast or famine in this business,” she muttered. “It’s really very annoying.”
“Did Dr. Johnson reject my offer?” I was surprised if he had, especially since Mrs. Numi had been so certain he’d take it.
“Not exactly.” She rifled through the files on her lap.
I frowned. “Did he counter?”
“No…” She grunted. “Here it is.” She opened the folder.
“I wish you’d tell me what’s happening. I’m feeling extremely stressed.” I let out a shaky breath.
She glanced over. “It would seem another party has also made an offer on the property you’re interested in.”
“Seriously?” Even I could hear the alarm in my voice.
“I’m afraid so.”
“Does that matter? I mean, I… I made my offer first.”
“Yes. But because Dr. Johnson hasn’t yet accepted your offer, he’s still open to other offers. Just because yours was first doesn’t guarantee he’ll turn down the other offer.”
“I see. Is this other offer better than mine?”
She grimaced. “Not sure yet.”
“You thought my offer was fair though, right?”
“It was an excellent offer.” She pulled out a sheet of paper from the folder. “I’m just going to look over this other person’s offer. I’m trying to see what would entice Dr. Johnson to go with them instead of us.”
“I thought you were the person handling Dr. Johnson’s property?”
“I am.”
I frowned. “But you didn’t know about this offer until now?”
“It just came in a half hour ago. Other brokers can approach the owner. I, of course, have to be involved in the sale since it’s my listing. That’s why I was notified of this offer.”
“Oh.” I watched her as she scoured the pages.
“What in the world?” she squawked.
“What is it?” I swallowed hard.
She met my gaze. “They offered a hundred thousand more than you.”
“Seriously?” My stomach sank. “But… that’s ridiculous. I was already offering over the asking price.”
“There’s something about this that just smells fishy.” She flicked the corner of the page back and forth, looking deep in thought. “How did anyone even know the property was open to an offer?”
“The only person I’ve told is Royce. I only told him about ten minutes ago. There’s no way he would share my personal business, but this offer came in way before I told him anyway.”
“Yes. Who could have known about the property?” She squinted at the roof of her car. “Only the people I’ve shown the property to should even know it’s available, and they were told not to spread it around.”
“So, you didn’t tell anyone I’d put in an offer on that property?”
She shook her head. “Of course I didn’t. Not a soul.”
