Traci Tyne Hilton - Mitzi Neuhaus 04 - Frozen Assets (14 page)

“Well… thank you.”

He leaned in for a kiss.

She tensed and gave him a quick smooch. It was nice of him to do her this favor, but it didn’t exactly send her to the moon.

He pulled away, eyebrows drawn, but eyes laughing. “You don’t get it, do you?”

She opened her mouth, then just shook her head with a shrug.

He turned the page of the portfolio to an artist sketch of the front of the house. “Does that help?”

Mitzy squinted. She traced the roofline and then saw the house number. “Our house?”

“My house. Even after a year of living in it, it never really was your house, was it?”

Tears sprung to her eyes. “Is this…?” If he was willing to remodel, then that was brilliant. But, if this was a remodel to sell…

“It is. We’ll remodel it and sell it. Why not? Your idea to make a cool, small house for your client reminded me of what could be done with this one.” He turned another page. “These are the Energy Star specs. We’ll sell it as a little green house.”

Mitzy flung her arms around her husband, her heart pounding, sending pulses of pure joy from the top of her head to her toes. “Oh, thank you so much!”

“We’re married. We should decide together where we live.” He popped his door open and stepped into the cold night.

Mitzy followed him out. The sidewalk was slick. They were fairly high on the hill. The moon peeked from behind thick, dark clouds. The evening was already black, and the Christmas lights sparkled. Alonzo took her hand and led her down the walkway to the one house with no lights on it. At the front door, he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her again.

She broke away and laughed. “Is this the second present? Sneaking off to a vacant house to make-out?”

“Close.” He unlocked the door and led her inside. He turned on the work flood lights to reveal an empty house, stripped to the studs. “This is the house you really wanted.”

Mitzy turned, slowly taking it in. “The Fantasy Home, 1987, Rockfort Builders. The second to last Fantasy Home they built. The first year that acrylic windows appeared in a Fantasy Home, and the only home in 1987 that included both a hot tub room and a wine cellar.”

Alonzo laughed. “Happy anniversary.”

“You mean it? We can buy it?”

“We already did.”

Mitzy frowned. “What?”

“It’s not much of a gift to say, ‘Let’s buy this house after all,’ is it? So I bought it.”

Mitzy’s mouth bobbed. She was speechless when there were so many things that needed to be said.

“I know we have an agreement now where we discuss purchases over a certain amount, but… we did already discuss this house. I just finally came around to it.”

She held up one finger, then shook her head.

“So… technically the business bought it, and when the construction is done, you and I can talk about buying it from the business. Does that help, my darling control freak?”

Mitzy nodded. She took a deep breath, trying to relax. Her mind was at war.

He bought a house without consulting her.

He bought her dream house.

He did a major financial transaction without consulting her.

He bought her the 1987 Fantasy Home.

She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

“You can start discussing the finishes to the home on Monday.”

“I love you, Alonzo Miramontes.”

“And I love you, Mitzy Neuhaus.”

“Speaking of, I have a present for you.” She pulled her driver’s license out of her wallet, a big grin on her face.

Alonzo read it. “No hyphen?”

“No hyphen.”

“When did you manage this?”

“Quite a while ago, actually. I just wanted to keep it a secret until today.”

“I love it, and my mom will be very relieved, Mitzy Miramontes. It sounds good.”

She hooked her arm through his. “Professionally, of course, I’ll be DBA as Mitzy Neuhaus.”

“I’d expect nothing less. So long as you sign all of our contracts as Mitzy Miramontes, I couldn’t be happier. Are you ready to tour your 1987 Fantasy Home?”

“Absolutely.”

15

Mitzy woke up the next morning warm with contentment in her very core. She might be surrounded, at this moment in life, by failing marriages, weak men, and difficult-to-please women, but her own home was solid. She rested her head on Alonzo’s arm, flung across the bed in his sleep.

He had seen how much she wanted that house and cared more about her than about himself. In a way, it was impossible to believe. She kissed his arm and then snuck out, not wanting to wake him.

The morning was bright and crisp. A peek out the window proved that the roads and skies were both clear. They had slept in, and while she made coffee, she could hear Alonzo’s heavy footfalls in the bedroom. She’d miss that in the new house. If this house had only one thing going for it—which was about all she could figure it had—it was intimacy. A perfect nest for a baby marriage.

Mitzy had been good to her word and kept the phone off through their whole anniversary. It hadn’t beeped, rung, or vibrated during the tour of her new house, during dinner, or at any point during the rest of their night.

Turning the phone on was like getting out of the steam room: a fresh blast of cool, refreshing air.

Five texts and ten calls. She closed her eyes. Relief was quickly replaced by irritation.

After sifting through all of them and figuring out who she ought to call back, who she would call back, and in what order she’d do it, she called Cheryl, who had been waiting the longest to hear from her. They set up an appointment for all three of them, Cheryl and Sean and Mitzy, to talk about what they wanted in a new house, which always reflected what they wanted from life. It would be interesting to see if Cheryl and Sean were really on the same page with the house, their marriage, and life in general.

Then Mitzy called Ulrike… the one message she hadn’t expected.

“Good morning.” Ulrike answered with a bright lilt at the end of her voice. Perhaps a bit of her Swedish accent coming through.

“Good morning. This is Mitzy, just returning your call.”

“Ahh. Thank you.” Ulrike’s tone was clipped. “I think we have a small problem.”

Mitzy sucked in a quick breath. Bonnie and Dirk had the real problem, as far as Mitzy was concerned. “How can I help you?”

“Your client put down a deposit on a cottage, but the second check bounced.”

“You don’t mean an earnest check, do you?”

“Of course not,” Ulrike snipped. “He wrote two checks for a total of ten-thousand dollars as a non-refundable deposit on a home with us.”

“Is that how you normally handle these transactions?”

“Because he did not have his wife with him to sign the contract, I deemed it a necessary precaution.”

“Why two checks?” Mitzy exhaled slowly. She needed to stall while she planned her next move.

“Two accounts. His first check cleared, but the second did not.”

Points to Bonnie. Mitzy appreciated the quick thinking that emptied a bank faster than the business could cash the check

“I need to speak to your clients right away. They have to get in here together and sign the contract again with another check if they want this house.”

“Ah. Well, that is the problem.
They
don’t want it. Bonnie won’t sign.”

Ulrike sucked a sharp breath. “I will be calling Dirk, then. I tried to keep you in the loop, but no matter.”

“Ulrike… I don’t think you’ll be able to get the money from him.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“Wait—don’t hang up. You deserve to know that Bonnie has money, but Dirk doesn’t, and Bonnie doesn’t want the house. I think Dirk wants out of the marriage. You can keep working with him, if you feel its best, but he doesn’t have any money on his own, and they haven’t been married long enough to have a joint property settlement if they divorce.” Mitzy got it all out in one breath. It felt good. Funny, not being helpful felt really good in this instance.

“Bonnie doesn’t want one at all?” Ulrike asked after a pause.

“No. Not at all.”

“That’s not what he said.”

“But he also asked you out, which makes me think his opinions on his wife are suspect.”

“Listen, Mitzy. I think you are trying to help…”

Mitzy smiled to herself. “I am watching out for my client’s interest.”

“Fine. But if Dirk wants this house, I’ll find a way to sell it to him.”

Mitzy went cold. Ulrike, as friendly as she may have been, had no feeling for the wife—not Dirk’s wife, or Arnold’s wife. It was best Mitzy didn’t forget that. “I just want to let you know I’ll be talking to Bonnie about this conversation.”

“Fine.” Ulrike said.

“Fine.”

Mitzy paused.

“Look for a call from my lawyers about that check.” Ulrike hung up.

From the lawyers? Mitzy sighed again. If she heard from the lawyers about the bounced check that she had played no part in creating, she’d be surprised.

The next call she made was easier. Just Alonzo’s sister Carmella, updating her on the hotel business. Mitzy hadn’t spent a night at The Miramontes for over a month, and wasn’t in a rush to do so, but plans for adding a restaurant had to move forward, so a visit wouldn’t hurt. She promised to come by and bring some lunch to her husband’s sister.

It took over an hour to respond to all of her calls, texts, and emails. When she ended her last call, she left to check out some new listings Cheryl and Sean might like. After that, she’d pick up lunch to bring to Carmella while they talked the hospitality business.

***

Carmella ran the inn with style, that much was sure. Little of Mitzy’s original staging remained, but the over the top Italianate look was fun, too. Housemaids in khaki pants and polo shirts slipped in and out of the rooms, seen but not heard in their bright red, white, and green striped aprons.

Mitzy carried the take-out into Carmella’s office.

“Hey, sis.” Carmella gave her an air kiss. She had her Bluetooth wrapped around her ear, and turned away from Mitzy for a moment. Her thick, black hair was pulled into a huge, but sleek bun. Tortious shell reading glasses perched on the end of her nose. She had grown into a professional woman in the last couple of years, and Mitzy was impressed every time they got together.

She even looked older, the stress induced crinkle lines around her eyes and the streak of grey in her hair added an air of dignity that Carmella had lacked before.

Mitzy set a Styrofoam box of carne asada chips on Carmella’s side of the desk and took a seat in an oversized, velvet wingback chair. The inn seemed to have no problem getting bookings during wedding season and the summer, and it didn’t go too far into the red during the winter months. All in all, for a handful of people who hadn’t had any hospitality experience, the place seemed to be a success.

Carmella pulled her earpiece off and sat down. “We’re ready for the restaurant, Mitz.”

Mitzy popped a loaded chip into her mouth and crunched it. Carmella had finished her associate’s degree in hospitality management in the summer. She ought to know if they were ready.

“The dining room is fully furnished, and we have all of the equipment we need. All we’re missing is the chef and staff. What do you think?”

Mitzy dabbed her mouth with a napkin. “Sounds like you’re right. We should call a board meeting to discuss it.”

Carmella rolled her eyes. “How long will it be before we can do that?”

“It won’t be long. When do you want the kitchen up and running?”

“I want to be ready for the early spring weddings, and no later.”

Mitzy snagged another chip. “I’ll call Al now.”

Alonzo answered on the first ring. “Hold on.” He spoke in a hushed whisper.

Mitzy raised her eyebrows at Carmella.

“Thanks, man, I won’t forget this.” It sounded like Alonzo was speaking to someone else, but his voice was still low. After a few beats, he came back to Mitzy’s call. “Perfect timing, Mitz.”

“What’s up?”

“I just got done chatting with someone who worked on Arnold English’s cottage project.”

“Ooh!”

“Exactly.”

“Was he six-and-a-half-feet tall with broad shoulders?”

“Hey now!” Alonzo laughed.

“Charlie said that’s what we should be looking for.” Mitzy tapped her toes on the glossy wood floor.

“Of course he did. Could you get a description less like Charlie himself than that?”

Mitzy paused.  Surely she could trust her eyewitness… right? “What did he say?”

“He said that Ulrike’s brother has been odd jobbing for Arnold.”

“Reeally?” Mitzy drew the word out. “And now Kjell is rushing out of town as fast as he can, which I think is pretty suspicious.”

“Not Kjell. Peter.”

“Wait, she has two brothers?”

“She might even have more. But she has two brothers who have been in Portland this winter. One is Kjell, the guy you met, and the other is Peter.”

“Is Peter also a professional basketball player?”

“Nope. He’s an Olympic skier.”

“Alonzo… what are we going to do?”

“We’re going to try and meet Peter. He’s an odd jobber, and I’ve got plenty of odd jobs. I’ll call you back when I’ve got him on a project.”

“Okay. I’ll try to wait patiently.”

“Love you.”

“I love you, too! And thank you for getting messed up in this.”

“It’s a matter of principle. You started it, so we’ve got to finish it right.”

After she hung up, she stared at Carmella.

“Yeah, so did you forget the restaurant thing?” Carmella scowled.

“Oh, just put an ad out for a chef. We’ll get the formalities taken care of later.”

“Fine.” Carmella scooped a pile of carne and guac onto a chip.

Mitzy shut the lid on her lunch. “I’ve got to run. Call me if you need anything.”