A Margin of Lust (The Seven Deadly Sins #1)(6)

"Maybe not for you," said Caroline Bartlett—a teased blonde in leopard print pumps with a sweater that reminded Gwen of a shedding Pomeranian.

"I'd be happy to partner with one of the women. The men in the office should do what we can," Lance Fairchild said. Gwen could have sworn she heard a sigh float up like a cloud of pollen from the estrogen producers in the room. Lance was handsome—extremely handsome. Eric Woo, the only other man in the room, stared at the ceiling.

"Everyone needs to use a little common sense." John bristled.

"The old rooster doesn't like the competition," Maricela said out of the side of her mouth.

"Take the most recent case." John liked to hear himself talk. "She met the guy alone in an empty house. Not the brightest bulb on the tree if you ask me."

"You probably meet people alone all the time." Caroline's over-painted lips pouted.

"In his dreams," Gwen said under her breath.

"Maybe I do. But I'm not a woman." John sneered ever so slightly.

"Anyone who is willing to buddy up please write your name on a slip of paper and put it in this basket." Taryn held up the container normally used for sweetener packets in the coffee room. "I've also printed up a new list of safety tips issued by the Board of Realtors. Take one and read it please."

Maricela leaned closer to Gwen. "Put your name in."

"Why?" Gwen said.

"Don't even ask me that."

"We've had our fun. Things like finding dead bodies in empty houses don't happen to people twice in one lifetime."

Maricela reached for a pen and a slip of paper and wrote her name. She handed the pen and another piece of paper to Gwen when she was done. "Write."

Gwen obeyed. "Now can I get to work, Mom?" She turned from the conference table and collided with a white shirt and striped tie. It was Lance.

"I'm glad you're being smart," he said. Then he winked, threw his name in the basket and walked away.

Gwen's face grew hot. The other women in the office might find him irresistible, but she found him insufferable. He'd only been at Humboldt eight months, but he strutted around like he owned the place. The fact that he'd bagged the top sales position for five of those months and Gwen, who'd been there for years, had never had the honor, only deepened her animosity.

She sank into the chair behind her desk, flipped her laptop open and logged into her email. Today was going to be busy. She had three listings. Two were nothing to write home about, a condo and a 1,500 square foot tract, but the third took some of the sting out of temporarily losing the Laguna Beach house. It was currently a crime scene, barricaded and off-limits. She didn't know when or if Fiona would put it back on the market. She wasn't sure if she could face it if she did.

Gwen had acquired the third listing a couple of weeks ago at the end of January. It was a five-bedroom, oceanview home in Dana Point. It wasn't oceanfront, but it was in mint condition. The owner was a builder, and he'd designed the place himself.

"Are you showing the Sailor's Haven house today?" Maricela asked, as if on cue.

Maricela's desk was next to hers, which was one of the great blessings of Gwen's life. Three years ago, Gwen had sat at her empty desk for the first time with a mix of pride and dread.

She wondered how, or if, she was going to get this new enterprise off the ground. Real estate seemed like such a great idea when she and Art had discussed it, but there she sat on day one staring at a phone that wasn't ringing and a calendar as pristine as a field after a snowfall. Then Maricela sat at the desk next to hers.

They'd seen each other at St. Barnabas events but had never spoken. Once Maricela found out Gwen was Art's wife, she lit up like one of those crazy neighborhoods that go all out at Christmas. She was a fan. He had lots of them.

Within hours, Gwen was out the door previewing other agents' listings, had two appointments to show properties Maricela was too busy to handle and was scheduled to hold her first open house that Saturday.

Since then Maricela had learned to appreciate Gwen for herself, and they'd become best friends. Sometimes Gwen felt life was a constant battle with suburban obscurity. Around St. Barnabas, she was known as Art's wife, sometimes Jason, or Tyler, or Emily's mother, but never as Gwen.

"Next week," Gwen said. "I have a couple coming in from Chicago. I'm trying to bump them up to that price range."

"Bueno," Maricela said and picked up her phone.

They worked companionably for about a half hour. Gwen, engrossed in updating her listings in the Multiple Listing Service, didn't notice Taryn Humboldt's presence until a slip of paper dropped onto the calendar in front of her. Gwen picked it up and swore under her breath. Lance was her safety buddy. To her great annoyance, her heart tapped a few extra beats and her face grew hot for the second time that morning.





Chapter Five


I pulled the wrinkled newspaper article from my drawer and stared at it as I had countless times over the past week. It was illogical, but I hoped that if I looked long and hard enough the answer to my dilemma would leap from the page into my consciousness.

But I saw what I'd seen a hundred times before, a color photograph of the house with yellow, crime scene tape encircling it like a ribbon around a gift. I had handed it to them. Made a present of it. It galled me I'd been so shortsighted.