Annie's Rainbow - Fern Michaels [11]
“Well, all right. I know I’m going to regret this at some point, but it’s a deal. There’s a young lawyer in town, Robert Rose, who can handle the lease. I’ve never used his services so we’ll be neutral in that respect. If we’re both agreeable, I don’t see the need to engage two attorneys.”
“That’s fine with us. I’ll call for an appointment. We’ll split the fee and tell him we don’t consider it a conflict of interest for him to represent both of us. If we can, we can set it up for tomorrow or the day after. In the meantime, I’d like to leave a deposit of two hundred dollars. In cash. It shows our good faith.”
“Certainly, certainly. What are you ladies going to be doing here? I guess I should have asked earlier.”
“Coffee,” Annie said, counting out the two hundred dollars from her pocket. She pretended not to see the surprise on Jane’s face. She shot her a warning look that said I’ll explain later.
“When do you think the repairs will be done, Mr. Peabody?”
“By the end of the week. You’ll have the weekend to set things up the way you want them. I don’t like that part about the extended lease after three years,” Peabody fretted.
Annie snatched the money back from his hand. Peabody grabbed for it saying, “I just said I didn’t like it. I didn’t say I wouldn’t go along with it.”
“You need to write that down on the back of the receipt,” Annie said coldly. “I don’t want this coming back to slap me in the face later on.”
“You certainly do drive a hard bargain. You’ve got to be a Yankee.”
“Mr. Peabody, I am Anna Clark. Let’s put that to rest right now.”
Peabody sucked in his fat cheeks. “It’s resting.”
Annie held out her hand. Peabody hesitated a moment before reaching for it. Annie squeezed hard. Jane did the same thing, smiling all the while.
“The key, Mr. Peabody. Jane and I want to walk around, take measurements, that kind of thing. I think two hundred dollars is sufficient for the key. We’ll lock up when we leave. I’m sure you have an extra, don’t you?”
“Yes, yes, of course. It’s someplace back in the office. I’ll say good night then, ladies.”
Annie and Jane whooped their joy the moment the door closed and Peabody was across the street.
“Lord, girl, I didn’t know you had it in you!” Jane said. “This dump is worth at least four hundred dollars.”
“Time will tell. It’s ours, and that’s all that matters. I know you’re dying to know where I got that two hundred dollars. You aren’t going to believe this. It was in my gym bag. Remember when we were saving for that television we were going to put in the living room? We finally gave up on the idea. I guess both of us just forgot about it. Good thing I found it, huh?”
Not only are you a crook, a thief and a criminal but you’re a liar as well. You just lied to your best friend. See how easy it is to go off the straight and narrow?
Annie gave herself a mental shrug, her breath exploding in a hissing sound. Yes, damn it, I am all those things but I’m not going to think about it now. I am going to pay it back, every single cent plus interest. Absolutely I am going to do that. Her shoulders felt incredibly heavy as she followed Jane around the spacious shop. The word felon found its way into her head just as Jane said, “Take a good look at this counter. It’s solid oak. Oak is such a beautiful wood. Why would someone paint it? Let’s strip and refinish it, Jane.”
“Sure, but we can’t do that until all the dust settles. The floor has to be sanded. Damn, we didn’t put that on the list for Peabody. Maybe for the time being we can just wash it real good and put some kind of wax on it. Or hire someone to clean it, buff it, and polish it with that shiny stuff they use today. It’s heart of pine and durable as hell. The boards are even, no sagging anywhere. Let’s not spend any money we don’t have to spend. Do you think it’s possible to rent a sewing machine