Read Online Believe in Me: A Rosewood Novel by Laura Moore - Free Book Online
Authors: Laura Moore
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to be sneaky and underhanded, that was her business, but he didn’t appreciate being drafted into playing her game.
“I don’t understand what’s going on here. Why would you want to hire my firm? Jordan Radcliffe just spent close to two hours going over every square foot of the cottage with you. It’s clear she’s got taste and that she’s detail-oriented and is enthusiastic about the project. Plus her fee will be significantly less than my firm’s,” he said, certain this last would sway her as no other argument could. WhileNonie demanded top-of-the-line workmanship, she did her utmost to avoid paying for it.
The irony of the situation didn’t escape him. For the first time since starting his company he was advising a client to hire the competition—the competition being a woman who didn’t even want to give him the time of day. But his conscience balked at taking what by all rights should be someone else’s commission.
From Nonie’s silence he thought he’d succeeded in convincing her, but then she shook her head.
“I suppose it’s true that I’ll have to pay more for your work, but then again I’m hiring a
name
when I choose Gage and Associates. Jordan’s a dear thing, and I do feel wretched about the sordid melodrama enveloping her family, but really, how far should one take sympathy?”
Apparently not far enough to give a friend a job, he thought and glanced pointedly at his watch.
She didn’t take the hint. “You’re aware of what happened to the Radcliffes?”
“Yes, I heard about the parents dying in a plane crash last year,” he said with thinly veiled impatience. The tragedy had been enough to make him decide against imposing upon the family with a request to visit Rosewood. And he’d been incredibly busy. In addition to renovating Nonie’s cottage, he’d been juggling three other restoration projects and designing a Georgian colonial for a couple who’d bought some land over in Warren County. Signing the purchase agreement for Hawk Hill, and knowing that Rosewood was just up the road, had reawakened his interest in seeing whether the storied mansion lived up to its reputation.
“My dear, where
have
you been? The airplane crash was just the tip of the iceberg. As their new and closest neighbor, you simply must hear how very low the high and mighty Radcliffes have fallen.”
While he was curious as to what made Jordan Radcliffetick, Owen wasn’t interested in listening to Nonie’s gossip. But before he could stop her, Nonie began dishing up the dirt, making sure to add a hefty helping of spite. Her satisfaction over the Radcliffe family’s misfortunes was nothing less than stunning. Unfortunately Nonie interpreted his silence for interest.
“Even before RJ’s plane crashed into the Chesapeake, there’d been whispers about him and Nicole. It’s why most of us don’t believe the crash
was
a simple matter of instrument malfunction, no matter what the girls would like to think. You see, RJ was the quintessential he-man adventurer and as proud as the day is long. Word has it that he finally figured out what the rest of us already knew—that Nicole was carrying on behind his back. He was not the sort of man to meekly accept that kind of blow to his pride.”
“Come on, Nonie. Are you saying that people here think Jordan’s father
intentionally
crashed his plane because his wife was having an affair? A little drastic, don’t you think?” Christ, was this ever an argument against small-town life, he thought. The ties that bound also strangled as tight as a noose.
She shrugged, unfazed by his patent disbelief. “People do crazy things all the time, even crazier things in the grip of jealousy. And RJ was an utter fool for Nicole. But their deaths were only the beginning of the family drama. It turned out that RJ had run through the family fortune, right down to the last penny. The estate was riddled with debt.”
“But they’ve managed to keep Rosewood. An amazing
“I don’t understand what’s going on here. Why would you want to hire my firm? Jordan Radcliffe just spent close to two hours going over every square foot of the cottage with you. It’s clear she’s got taste and that she’s detail-oriented and is enthusiastic about the project. Plus her fee will be significantly less than my firm’s,” he said, certain this last would sway her as no other argument could. WhileNonie demanded top-of-the-line workmanship, she did her utmost to avoid paying for it.
The irony of the situation didn’t escape him. For the first time since starting his company he was advising a client to hire the competition—the competition being a woman who didn’t even want to give him the time of day. But his conscience balked at taking what by all rights should be someone else’s commission.
From Nonie’s silence he thought he’d succeeded in convincing her, but then she shook her head.
“I suppose it’s true that I’ll have to pay more for your work, but then again I’m hiring a
name
when I choose Gage and Associates. Jordan’s a dear thing, and I do feel wretched about the sordid melodrama enveloping her family, but really, how far should one take sympathy?”
Apparently not far enough to give a friend a job, he thought and glanced pointedly at his watch.
She didn’t take the hint. “You’re aware of what happened to the Radcliffes?”
“Yes, I heard about the parents dying in a plane crash last year,” he said with thinly veiled impatience. The tragedy had been enough to make him decide against imposing upon the family with a request to visit Rosewood. And he’d been incredibly busy. In addition to renovating Nonie’s cottage, he’d been juggling three other restoration projects and designing a Georgian colonial for a couple who’d bought some land over in Warren County. Signing the purchase agreement for Hawk Hill, and knowing that Rosewood was just up the road, had reawakened his interest in seeing whether the storied mansion lived up to its reputation.
“My dear, where
have
you been? The airplane crash was just the tip of the iceberg. As their new and closest neighbor, you simply must hear how very low the high and mighty Radcliffes have fallen.”
While he was curious as to what made Jordan Radcliffetick, Owen wasn’t interested in listening to Nonie’s gossip. But before he could stop her, Nonie began dishing up the dirt, making sure to add a hefty helping of spite. Her satisfaction over the Radcliffe family’s misfortunes was nothing less than stunning. Unfortunately Nonie interpreted his silence for interest.
“Even before RJ’s plane crashed into the Chesapeake, there’d been whispers about him and Nicole. It’s why most of us don’t believe the crash
was
a simple matter of instrument malfunction, no matter what the girls would like to think. You see, RJ was the quintessential he-man adventurer and as proud as the day is long. Word has it that he finally figured out what the rest of us already knew—that Nicole was carrying on behind his back. He was not the sort of man to meekly accept that kind of blow to his pride.”
“Come on, Nonie. Are you saying that people here think Jordan’s father
intentionally
crashed his plane because his wife was having an affair? A little drastic, don’t you think?” Christ, was this ever an argument against small-town life, he thought. The ties that bound also strangled as tight as a noose.
She shrugged, unfazed by his patent disbelief. “People do crazy things all the time, even crazier things in the grip of jealousy. And RJ was an utter fool for Nicole. But their deaths were only the beginning of the family drama. It turned out that RJ had run through the family fortune, right down to the last penny. The estate was riddled with debt.”
“But they’ve managed to keep Rosewood. An amazing
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