Sex, Lies & Serious Money

21

They had hardly sat down in the realtor’s office when Laurence’s cell phone rang. He excused himself and walked outside to answer it. “Hello?”

“It’s Marge,” she said.

He didn’t like the sound of her voice. “Yes, what is it?”

“Someone has been in the apartment again,” she said, “and it’s not the hotel maids.”

“Did they steal anything?”

“Not that I can tell, but there are little traces around the place that tell me someone was here. I checked, and the maids haven’t been inside since I left work yesterday.”

“We haven’t been using the security system, have we?”

“No, we’ve been waiting for the company to come in and activate it.”

“All right, activate it, and have cameras installed — the best and least conspicuous available, at least two in each room. I want wall-to-wall coverage everywhere.”

“Right away,” she said. “Any idea when you’re coming home?”

“Not yet — at least a few days. I’d like the cameras operating by the time I get there, and I want to be able to check them on my iPhone. I’ve read that can be done.”

“I’m on it,” Marge said.

Laurence hung up and went back inside. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Where were we?”

“Theresa has been giving me a list of what she wants in a house. Now tell me what you want,” the agent, whose name was Diana, said.

“A view, new enough not to require remodeling, a study where I can read and work, enough room to swing a cat.”

Theresa laughed. “That’s Britspeak for pretty roomy.”

“Let’s start at the top,” Diana said. “Something very good has just come on the market. It’s a new house built by a woman who is widely regarded as the best builder in town, named Sharon Woods. She bought the property, designed the house, built it, had the landscaping done, and furnished it. It’s a large, two-bedroom house with a two-bedroom guesthouse and a sitting room. It has every modern convenience, and it’s in one of the best neighborhoods. Would you like to see it?”

He looked askance at Theresa, who nodded. “Now would be a good time,” he said.

“Then let’s go.” She drove them to a spot overlooking the city, with views for a hundred miles. The house was beautifully designed, finely crafted, and handsomely, completely furnished, including linens and kitchen and dining things. The study was lined with bookcases, and there was a second, smaller one. The guesthouse was cozy, and the landscaping was wonderful. There was a pool, a hot tub, and a three-car garage. Diana gave them the price.

“Any wiggle room there?” Laurence asked.

“No, because you’re the first to see it. If you want to avoid a bidding war, you should consider committing now.”

He took Theresa aside. “What do you think?”

“I don’t think ‘ideal’ is too strong a word.”

He went back to Diana and took out his checkbook. “To whom would you like the check made?”

“To Woods Design and Construction.”

He wrote out the check and handed it to her, but he kept hold of a corner. “The owner will be Theresa Crane, and everything about the sale will be held in the strictest confidence, especially my name.”

“Of course, Mr. Beresford.”

“Oh, and we’d like to move in today.”

“Let me make a call,” she said. She walked out onto a terrace and spent a minute on the phone, then returned. “Done, if your check is good.”

“Have your bank call my bank now. My name isn’t Beresford. The real one is on the check.”

“Let’s go back to my office and sign a contract,” Diana said.

Less than an hour later, they had a completed sales contract, with closing to come a few days later. Diana handed Theresa the keys. “Congratulations on your new home,” she said. She took a map from a drawer and made some marks on it with a highlighter. “This is how to get back to it. I’ll have the utilities and phone put in your name immediately. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“We have only to do some grocery shopping and pick up our luggage at a friend’s,” Laurence said. “Oh, and I suppose we’ll need a car. What kind would you like, Theresa?”

“Is there a Mercedes dealer here?”

“Yes,” Diana said. She made more marks on the map. “A ten-minute drive, and if you’ll give me a grocery list, I’ll take care of that.”

They arrived back at the house later in a new Mercedes station wagon, to find the refrigerator stocked and a bottle of Dom Pérignon on ice, with a note from Sharon Woods, welcoming them and saying that she would visit them to see if they wanted any alterations to the house.

They took the champagne and glasses onto the terrace and sipped as they watched the day laten and the sunset wax and wane.

“That was breathtaking,” Theresa said. “I think I’m going to like living with you.”

“I’m going to like it, too,” he said.