Betrayal - Fern Michaels [86]
A young girl hurried to the reception desk, a half-moon area that led to what appeared to be several small offices behind her. She was tall and thin, with perfect features. Nothing too big or too little. Long brown hair and dark eyes. Very pretty. Kate had secretly hoped she would find Sara in her mother’s office, whining, “My mommy said this, or my mommy said that,” but she wasn’t that lucky.
“May I help you?” the young woman inquired. Here goes. “Yes, thanks. I am new to the area. I have a couple of months left on my rental lease. I thought it was time to look for a house.”
“Well, that’s what we do. We find homes for people.” She took a clipboard with several sheets of paper attached and gave it to her. “This is a questionnaire we ask all of our prospective clients to fill out. Helps us to find just the right home for you and your family. It narrows down the list of possible properties.”
“Of course.” Kate took the clipboard and sat down in the television area. Her back was to the wall to the left as you entered. That allowed her to view the front door and still be able to glance at the reception area.
Kate decided it was best to stick as close to the truth as possible. She was single. Divorced. Worked in medical billing. Price range. She didn’t want to go too high, but then the lower-priced properties were probably listed with the junior sales staff. She’d go for the moderate-priced. The high two hundreds. She thought her chances of Debbie taking her as a client were slim. She didn’t want that anyway. She wanted to see her and get past her. Then, if she made enough visits to the office, possibly she would learn more about the owner and her family. She returned the clipboard to the receptionist.
“If you’ll have a seat, I’ll look this over, and we’ll be right with you. Would you like coffee or a Danish while you wait? We have a kitchen for our clients to use.” She smiled at Kate.
“That would be great. I didn’t bother with breakfast. Thanks.”
The girl walked around to the side of the reception desk and opened the door. Kate couldn’t believe her luck. There fifteen minutes and already she was inside the inner sanctum.
The receptionist led her to a small kitchen at the end of a long hallway. She could see inside each office as she passed, provided the doors were open. “You can help yourself. There’s juice in the fridge.” The girl left the room.
Kate grabbed a muffin and poured herself a cup of coffee. She took a few bites, deciding she was hungry after all. She peered down the hallway, left then right. Nothing. Before the girl came back, Kate hurried out of the kitchen and down the hall. If she was caught, she’d say she was searching for the ladies’ room. Slowly, she stopped to peer inside the open doors of the offices. Nothing looked lavish enough for Debbie. She’d have the best digs in the place, that much Kate knew. Still favored white furniture, from the looks of the waiting area. Kate would hate to pay her maintenance on such frivolous furniture. It must cost a small fortune to keep it clean, and Kate figured Debbie would have to replace it every few months at that.
At the opposite end of the hallway Kate hit pay dirt. An office the size of her apartment’s living room. White furniture, glass-top desk. No plants, not a thing to create a comfortable atmosphere. Cold and sterile came to mind. Knowing this might be her only chance, Kate slipped inside the office and closed the door. She didn’t know what she would say if she were caught; she sure as heck couldn’t say she was looking for the ladies’ room. She’d worry about it when and if. A tall glass shelf held plaques of different sizes and shapes. Apparently Debbie’d won quite a few honors in her career. One hundred million dollars in sales. Not bad, Kate thought. Voted best real estate office by the Better Business Bureau. She scanned the rest of