Chapter 6
SADIE
Six weeks later…
“Yo, you alright?”
It took me a second to even register that someone was speaking to me. The nausea spell I’d been in the middle of was finally fading.
The browser page on the computer in front of me was open to Zillow, but it was nothing more than a blur of red and white.
“Sadie?”
I brought in a quick, deep breath that managed to quiet my stomach enough to turn to speak. Maggie, the other junior-level realtor’s assistant, stood at the entrance of my tiny office.
“Sorry,” I mumbled as I turned in my chair to face her. “Still feeling a little under the weather.”
Maggie nodded, her face communicating total empathy and understanding.
“God, sorry to hear it. You’re still going to that doctor’s appointment, right? I saw it in the schedule.”
“Yeah, I’m going.” I placed my hands on my stomach as if that might be enough to keep the nausea that’d been plaguing me for the last two weeks at bay.
“I mean, if you ask me, you should’ve gone two weeks ago when this all started. I know you’re a total workaholic and all that, but seriously, you can’t take chances with your health, you know?”
“You’re probably right. I just kept thinking it would pass. But I’ll get some answers today.”
“Good. Anyway, the people for the Davidson project are here. They were kind of just standing around, so I told them I’d come find you.”
My eyes flashed and my heart skipped a beat. The Davidson project wasthebiggest property acquisition that my firm, Lighthouse Properties, had been trying to land since the beginning of the year. I was the one spearheading it. Or, at least, I was supposed to be.
During those moments, I needed to be the bright, smiling face greeting clients when they entered the office. Instead, I was behind my desk hunched over in my chair trying to work through some of the worst nausea I’d ever experienced.
“I can talk to them!” Maggie said, her eyes lighting up. “I’ll tell them that you’re feeling under the weather. I’m sure they’d understand.”
“Not a chance.” I put my palms onto my desk and pushed myself up. Another wave of nausea took hold of me as I got to my feet. For a second, I worried I might need to run to the trash can.
Thankfully, it passed quickly once I was on my feet.
“There!” I said, a triumphant tone to my voice. “Totally fine.”
Maggie wasn’t convinced. She looked me up and down as if scanning for any sign that I might be hiding how I actually felt.
“You sure?” she asked. “I mean, if you’re feeling sick, you’re feeling sick.”
“I’m not feeling sick – I’m feeling totally excited. I’m going to go out there and blow the Davidson people right out of their dress shoes. Watch and learn.”
I took one look into the mirror on the back of my office door, then strode out of the place like a general ready to conquer the battlefield.
Lighthouse Properties was as bright as ever, with the morning sun streaming through the tenth-floor windows of our downtown offices on big, golden beams.
The staff of three dozen was bustling, people zipping here and there purposefully, all in search of the next big lead.
I’d been one of them, having put in three hard years on the bottom rungs of the place. The fact that I was now trusted to take the lead on a project like Davidson was a clear sign that I was being considered for a big move up.
If I were to nail this, not only would there be a sweet commission, but I’d almost certainly prove to the bosses that I was ready for bigger things.
From there, the sky was the limit. It was impossible to not daydream about all the places my career could go once I’d proven I could handle the big accounts.