Work ended, miraculously, earlier than usual on Friday and the last thing I needed was that phone call from Olivia informing me of a newly available townhouse. Yes, my brother and I had been viewing places for well over two months with meager results but honestly - it was Friday. If Olivia didn't happen to be my brother's long-time friend and if she hadn't been killing herself trying to find us the perfect home, I would have probably blown her off.
"Victoria Street and what? Bronte?" I hollered into my cell, hating that she had me on speaker in her car.
"Yeah, Victoria and Bronte. I'll meet you there." Olivia's voice, likewise, came through much too loudly.
The drive there was delightfully short. So for once, the place was actually located in the neighborhood we wanted. Turning onto the narrow street, the second thing to impress me was the amount of mature trees in the sidewalk pits. I parked my car in 'visitors' and got out. All the townhouses on the strip were doubles --which was a rare find- with gorgeous Edwardian exteriors. Even the lawns were faultless and a nearly unrealistic shade of green.
"It's around 1800 square feet and just came on the market today," Olivia said, marching up the walk behind me. "Hi Mika."
"Hi Liv," I smiled and stepped out of her path so she could get to the entryway stoop.
She unlocked the front door but paused before fully opening it. Over her shoulder, she gave me an up-and-down look. "What's with the skirt?"
I was very much a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl and fairly sure Olivia never saw me in anything else. This should have been perhaps embarrassing considering I was in my late twenties and, according to most cultures, an official adult.
"Conference downtown. You know, had to gain the confidence of those bigwigs in corporate," I told her, beginning to feel a bit self-conscious under her steel-gray stare.
"You look hot," she said and disappeared inside.
The complimented not only took me by surprise me but also thrilled me since, in secret, I was flat out intimidated by her. Despite knowing Liv through my brother during most of my teen years, I never really got to know her on my own until recently. Being a real estate agent, she was very successful. Not long ago, she also launched a joint partnership painting company. She owned an impressive home, a cottage in Muskoka country and drove a luxury car. Most women in her position were stuck-up, narcissistic bitches. Olivia, however, was ethically professional and emitted a vulnerable innocence which made her incredibly alluring. I could see why any guy, including my brother, would find that attractive. My brother stopped seeing her after college but they managed to stay comfortable friends.
A large mirror hung in the foyer of the townhouse and so of course the first thing I did was check myself out. The charcoal colour of my casual business ensemble complimented my black hair and fair skin. My mossy green eyes stood out like emeralds amongst all the black and white. Perhaps I didn't have the greatest chest (I was a moderate B cup) but I was lean and had an amazing ass. I took a moment to adjust my skirt which had fit perfectly at the store but turned out to be a little too short. Subsequently, I had spent most of the day pulling it down.
"You coming?" Liv asked from half-way up the stairs.
Her arms were sternly crossed over her full breasts causing her cleavage to be drastically extenuated. A slight smile spread on her rosy lips and I realized I had been staring. Even her rack was intimidating.
I cleared my throat. "So this is the first floor?"
Olivia nodded. "An interesting feature of this place is that this floor includes only the staircase, closet and a laundry space. Most townhouses with this much square footage have some fictitious 'media room' down here."
She made her way up the first flight of steps, explaining as she went. "That alone will add a significant amount to your resale value. You're still planning to move within two years, yes?"
"Uh yeah. Two years," I repeated obtusely.
"You've got an open concept kitchen and a dinette with a walkout patio. It's been re-tiled recently and the appliances are all only about three years old."
White ash cabinets and thin, horizontally long, tiles on the backsplash gave the kitchen a very modern aspect which I really liked. I ran my hand across the slate countertops, enjoying their irregular texture.
"Check out the view," Liv encouraged, motioning to the sliding doors adjacent to the kitchen.
I approached them and noticed that this row of townhouses banked onto a park, effectively creating a private view. "Wow. That's really nice," I admitted.
"Thought you'd say that." Liv smiled victoriously. "Now I know it's hard to tell because of the way it's set up but this living room is about fifteen by twenty-five feet."
"No separate dinning area?"
She hesitated and I could tell that, although she was expecting the question, she had been hoping that I didn't ask.
"It is certainly large enough to be divided and serve as both rooms."
"I don't know Olivia, I mean Connor and I have a big family. I'm not sure we can fit a decent sized dinning table in here along with a living room," I said, in mock dissatisfaction.
Liv crossed her arms again, her sleek, oyster-gray pantsuit even more perfectly hugging her curves than before. Her tits looked about ready to pop out of that low cut top. I was sure it's what she subconsciously did when negotiating house prices with brokers. On top of that she had honey-toned skin and natural, pale blonde hair so that probably helped land plenty of deals as well.
"A table that seats up to eight guests is roughly thirty-six by seventy-eight and would comfortably fit in the second half of this area," she recited coolly, not at all pleased I was provoking her.
"Judging by your stance, I can tell I've upset you," I teased, clearly aiming my eyes at her accentuated cleavage this time. "Is that what you do to win over clients?"
A ghost of a smile touched her mouth. "Let's move on to the next floor. Why don't you lead? The stairs are behind you." There was a challenge to her voice that I didn't comprehend until she was climbing the stairs below me.
