From feeling stunned, Rachel moved quickly to feeling angry. This was the last straw! She’d had enough of this guy and she didn’t care if the Crawleys dropped her as their realtor and then lambasted her on Yelp. Dan needed to hear some truths and Rachel was about to be the one to provide them.
But just as she opened her mouth, Malina said, “We’ll offer the asking price.”
Both Rachel and Dan looked at her.
Dan, chuckling, said, “Honey, let’s not go crazy, okay? Buying a house is a process of negotiation and—”
“Shut up!” Malina barked. Dan took a step backwards, as if he had been slapped. Crossing her arms, Malina went on.
“If this is a proces
s of negotiation,” she said, “where are the other negotiators, huh? Why is it that nobody who is selling a house is actually calling us back with counteroffers; you know, like in a negotiation?”
Dan opened his mouth to speak but again was cut off.
“Shut up!” Malina barked again.
Meanwhile, Rachel was watching this unfold with a shocked look on her face and feeling tremendously proud of Malina.
“I love this house,” Malina continued. “I loved all the other houses Rachel showed us and which we lost because of you! Now, you either agree with me to make a competitive offer on this house or I buy it myself and live in it without you. And you know I can.”
Dan leaned in and whispered, “Can we talk about this in private, please?”
“No!” Malina snapped. “We have spent so much time with Rachel looking at houses that I now consider her one of my best friends!”
“Honey…”
“I invited her to my birthday party!” Malina screeched.
This was true. The evite had landed in Rachel’s inbox a couple of days ago.
“I swear to God, Dan,” Malina said, “I will use my money to buy this house. But when I do, you will not be living here with me since you apparently enjoy living in your mother’s spare bedroom so much!”
Malina turned to Rachel.
“Asking price!” she instructed.
***
After the couple left, with Malina walking in the lead and Dan following behind her, his head hanging down, Rachel stayed behind in the house, standing at one of the kitchen counters and using her laptop to submit the offer paperwork, hoping beyond hope that an offer of asking price would be accepted. Malina she adored; but if she never laid eyes on Dan again, it would be too soon.
Once done, she went through the house again, making sure the doors to the backyard and the side yard were locked. On the front porch, she secured the front door once more with the lockbox and then headed to her car. With Malina finally finding her voice, the house-hunting saga with the dreaded Crawleys could finally be over and Rachel decided that merited a caramel latte at La Vida Mocha, despite her being so far off with her guess on what Dan’s ridiculous offer would be.
As she was approaching her car, the older gentleman from the house next door, who was outside washing his vintage Mustang, waved at her.
“Make a sale?” he asked cheerily.
“I think I did!” she answered with a smile.
“Congratulations! Have a great rest of your day,” he said.
“You too!”
Getting nearer to her Tesla, she heard a car which was parked nearby on the same side of the street as hers start up. The noise made her look over in that direction but all she registered was that it was a white car and that the person in the driver’s seat was wearing sunglasses.
But as soon as she stepped off the curb and came around the front of her Tesla to get to the driver’s side door, she heard the unmistakable sound of squealing tires and she looked up just in time to see that white car suddenly zoom away from its parking spot and speed right towards her.
At first, her brain had trouble deciphering what her eyes were telling it: that this car wasn’t about to drive past her. This car was about to hit her!