"You have thirty days to sell the penthouse, Maya."
Her brow bunches in confusion. "Thirty days to sell the penthouse?"
"I want that sold in thirty days. If you can accomplish that, the remaining eleven units are yours to sell. If you can't, I'll find another broker."
It's a near-impossible task, but the board insisted and I agreed. I may want Maya in my bed, but I'm not going to allow my better judgment to be clouded by my selfish needs.
Those residences have to be sold quickly and as close to list price as possible.
"You have a deal." She holds out her delicate hand in the air between us.
I take it in mine. "I'll have legal prepare the contract, Maya. Welcome onboard."
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Maya
"If anyoneelse came to me with this deal in hand, I'd scream at them." Anne looks up from the stack of papers I gave her just now.
It's the contract I signed with Bishop. I gave it to Anne two days ago when Bishop's legal team sent it to me via courier. She perused it before handing it over to Lillian, the head of legal at Carvel Properties. She went over it carefully at the same time, my lawyer, Zoe Beck, did.
It got everyone's approval, so I signed on the dotted line an hour ago. I had a copy made for Anne for her records. Zoe is holding onto my signed copy.
"You know that I'm going to sell that penthouse," I try to sound more confident than I feel. I'm fully aware of the mountain that I'm facing. The penthouse is priced high and the list of buyers willing to part with more than twenty million dollars is short and tapped out at this point.
We hit most of our overseas contacts up just six weeks ago when Dax was desperate for a buyer for a luxury condo he'd been trying to sell for more than three months.
My listing will appeal to more of our high-end clients simply because they are buying a piece of New York history. Bishop is offering a full floor penthouse with panoramic views of the entire city and beyond. That alone isn't history making, but the fact that it's the first ever Bishop Hotel residence to be sold is. I'm going to play up that fact because many wealthy buyers want to lay claim to something that no one has before them.
"We need to schedule a broker's open house." Anne grabs her cell phone from her desk. "I'm thinking Thursday night."
"I'm already on it." I laugh. "Jen is handling the caterer and the flowers. I've got Dan working on the e-invites for that. I've narrowed the list down to the brokers I know have contacts who would be interested in a residence inside of a hotel. My list is just over one hundred at this point."
"Maya." Anne pivots on her heel to face me. "What the hell? You're way ahead of me on this."
I have to be. The clock is officially ticking on my thirty day trial period. I had my new assistant, Jen, working on the broker open house an hour after I hired her. That happened the afternoon of my meeting with Julian.
Jen worked as a rental agent here at Carvel when I did. She left after the birth of her first child and when we met for our regular monthly lunch three weeks ago, she expressed an interest in getting back into the workforce part-time. I called her to offer her a job after I left Julian's office.
I'm borrowing Anne's assistant to help me with the e-invites because she offered his services if I ever needed them. I'll gift him with a bottle of wine to thank him for pitching in.
This listing is costing me a pretty penny, but I have enough in my business account to cover the expenses and I have anaccountant who works financial magic like a wizard. In real estate, you have to spend money to make money to get ahead.
"I'm heading over to the hotel now to do a walk through and get a feel for the space. Do you want to come with me?" I offer because it's the right thing to do. I want and need Anne's help with this, even though it's my listing.
"I can't." She looks up at the large circular clock hanging on her office wall. "I have a meeting in thirty."
Even though I saw the penthouse just a few days ago, I want to revisit to get a better feeling for the space. Julian had his assistant take me over to it after our meeting. He said he would have liked to have given me the grand tour himself, but he had a pressing matter to deal with.
I didn't mind. I needed the time to catch my breath after witnessing that kiss between him and Isadora. He didn't seem like a willing participant but it still shook me to see the two of them in a lip lock after he'd confessed just the night before that they'd broken up.
"You're going to make me proud, Maya." Anne pulls me into a quick embrace. "You remind me of myself at your age."
I smile at that. I know I'll make her proud. I have every intention of selling that penthouse before the deadline. I have exactly thirty days to make it happen.
"I didn't expectto see you here, Julian."
He turns instantly from where he's standing facing the wall of windows that overlooks west Manhattan and the now setting sun. His gaze rakes me from head-to-toe.
