His Dirty Bargain

by Fiona Murphy

  Dante laughs. “I was worried you did before you even met her.”

  “Hello? You were all ‘Chloe’s so intelligent’ and ‘Chloe’s so capable’ and ‘Chloe can handle any client and I wonder if when the time is right we might make her a partner.’ I totally hated her before I met her. When I met her and she’s all curvy and pretty the way you like them, I got hella worried. Until we had dinner, and it was clear she didn’t see you that way. Then we had lunch later and we got to talking. Her disdain for men rang clear as a bell. For a minute I did wonder if she was gay. But she’s not.”

  “Funny how you caught on to her not liking men when it took years before I figured it out. She does a hell of a job hiding it. I never know how much she can’t stand working with a client until it’s completely done. Her debriefings when it’s all over are always interesting. When I try and tell her I don’t want her working with anyone who doesn’t deserve her time, she always says they might not deserve her time, but she wants their money. It’s her decision. I’ll admit I’m looking forward to hearing her debriefing after she finds you your place, Enzo.”

  I shrug. I don’t need the woman to like me, I need her to do her job. It would be a simple transaction: she gives me some places that meet my needs, I pick the best one for me then we go on our way. Simple and easy, and if she’s half as good as Dante says she is she’ll keep it that way.

  2

  Chloe

  I can’t hold in my yawn. This is what I get for staying up late reading, again. My sleep schedule is constantly messed up from late nights reading, getting only five, maybe six hours of sleep, until my body demands sleep at eight o’clock then I’m up at four in the morning. Right now I’m in a particularly bad cycle, and even though it’s only Tuesday I’m already exhausted. My double shot latte I brought from home, after having my usual morning shot of espresso, isn’t really helping, but I’m not willing to give up and take another sip. With a last check for typos I call it good and send my email to Dante, letting him know I finished with my last client. We were in the office until almost nine last night nailing down the purchase, it was worth it. After everything was settled, he let me know he will be back when his daughter finishes school in Europe in a month to buy her a condo. Repeat business is the best business.

  A glance at the clock tells me it’s a little after ten thirty, so Dante should be here. I get a response to my email asking me to come to his office. I grab the report I finished last night, which is how I got my reward of reading a new book from my favorite author. Rewards were necessary, as the report was boring and time-consuming. As the quarter just ended it was a review of how our agents are performing for the quarter, properties sold and signed on to sell. It takes forever; I’m sure that’s why it was the first report Dante gave me to do when he made me vice-president of residential sales.

  My back goes a little straighter. Two years later, my title still fills me with pride. Even as I miss a step when I remember my longtime dream has taken a backseat, considering how happy I’ve been. It’s not as if I’ve stopped working toward it or saving money toward it, it’s simply not something I have focused on. I can’t even remember how long it’s been since I searched properties fitting what I wanted. A multifamily property where the income gave me the independence I longed for, an eight to fifteen-unit property not too big or too small. It was the plan as I went through college and during my first few years working for Sabatini Real Estate. I was lucky to get hired to work in property management as a lowly admin. It was where I started but I was determined to go further, and I was promoted again and again until I took the jump to become a real estate agent.

  Real estate agents foam at the mouth to work here; I was honored I was given the chance to even be considered. Even though I only get half of the seven percent commission, agents starting received a salary starting at sixty grand a year with benefits that included paid time off and maternity leave and health insurance. There is also a whole department devoted to marketing, as the Sabatinis believe agents should only have to worry about one thing, and that is selling. Even before I was made vice-president I loved everything about what I did every day. In the last two years I had the kind of independence and support and salary I never thought I would have. When the reality was already so awesome, the dream faded a little.

  Gretchen, Dante’s assistant, smiles when she sees me. “Go on in.”

  “Where’s Hannah?” Hannah is Cesare’s assistant, she’s been here since the beginning of the company. It’s rare for her not to be at her desk in front of Cesare’s office, even though Cesare works from home most days.

  “Her grandbaby is sick.”

  “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah, just an ear infection.”

  I open the door to Dante’s office, where he’s highlighting a pregnancy and childbirth book. Seeing him practically giddy at becoming a first-time dad is adorable. I love how completely unashamed he is in his excitement. “How is Bethany doing?”

  He pulls a face that doesn’t take away from his ridiculously good looks as he leans back, then motions for me to sit. “Cranky, I’m glad she stopped working. She was too in the beginning, but as things get harder for her to do she hates not being busy.”

  I sink into one of the plush chairs in front of his desk as I slide the report across the desk to him. “You can’t have her help out Alicia with the foundation? Doesn’t Alicia need help with both Matteo and Sophia mobile and her pregnant again?”

  “Hmm...I’ll talk to Che and see. Thanks for the suggestion and the report. The report isn’t why I asked you into my office, though.”

  “What’s up?” He’s tense, Dante isn’t one to get tense. He’s charming, easygoing, and loves to laugh.

  “It’s about my brother Enzo. I can’t remember, have you met him?”

  I’ve seen pictures in the paper and on the internet. Although he often comes up to Cesare’s and Dante’s offices, I’ve never run into him. The rumors are he’s even more intimidating than Cesare, which I find hard to believe. Cesare, the oldest Sabatini brother, is coldblooded, ruthless, and I don’t think I’d seen him smile more than a handful of times in the years I’ve worked for him until he met his wife. I had hoped never to find out how someone could possibly be more intimidating than Cesare; but from the look on Dante’s face, I’m going to find out. “No, never met him.”

  “His divorce finally got the sign-off. Which means he can move out of where he’s been living, he hates it. He only stayed to prevent his ex from getting the condo in the divorce. I’m going to warn you now, Enzo is...” He runs a hand over his face. “The whole marriage and divorce, it changed him. He’s never been the loosest guy in the room; I blame his eight years in the Army with five of them spent in the Rangers. I don’t think he’s ever lost the soldier mentality. Only now it’s like he’s trying to be an asshole, to push people away. I want to apologize beforehand and warn you before I send you to help him find a new home. Assume nothing and take nothing for granted, go in like he’s a new client you’re trying to land.”

  The idea of working with Enzo Sabatini causes my stomach to dip in apprehension. Which is odd, I work with asshole millionaires on an everyday basis. Then again, Enzo Sabatini is a billionaire, a few times over. Or it could be because he’s the brother of my bosses. It can’t be his reputation, I don’t scare easily. “I can handle him. It’s not a big deal, at least you’re giving me a warning. He doesn’t sound any different than half of our clients.”

  “I knew you’d be able to handle him. He’s got time for you at three this afternoon.”

  “Three it is. Can you send me his current address? I want to take a look at it.”

  “Sure, I’ll email it to you, but do not go off it in your search. Sheila picked it out then decorated it in all white, gold, and marble, making it as warm as a surgical room.”

  Another case of a man using the wrong head to make a real estate purchase. “The things men do for a pretty woman.”

  His head
tilts. “Do you not know why he married Sheila? I guess I assumed since it’s been in the fucking gossip columns, most people knew.”

  I shake my head. “I don’t pay attention to gossip.”

  “Enzo only married her because he wanted kids. I blame Matteo, the kid was freaking adorable and sweet from the moment he was born. After a while, Enzo wanted a few too. It was written into their prenup three kids within the first seven years of their marriage. He didn’t love her, I’m pretty sure he didn’t want to. Only two months in, he figures out something wasn’t right. Turns out she was fucking around, and before they got married she had an implant put in to prevent pregnancy. Sheila was after his money, not a marriage. Even though they had an iron-clad prenup she’s been fighting it, trying to get more.”

  Wow, just wow. “What a control freak. Does he like hate women or something?” Crap, I said that out loud.

  Dante doesn’t flinch. “Yeah, he is. We all are. I’m nowhere near as bad as Che and Enzo, though. It comes from feeling as though we had no control over our lives with the whole...”

  I nod. I know what he’s referring to. Reminded of it all over again, I wince. Their father, in a fit of jealousy and despair went after the wife who left him and killed her and her lover before turning the gun on himself. I don’t have any right to judge Enzo or anyone else in how they run their personal life, Ms. Hasn’t-fucked-a-guy-in-over-five-years. My childhood was craptastic, yet it was nothing compared to the nightmare of what their father had done. I can’t even begin to imagine what the three brothers went through or how it shaped their lives since.

  “Enzo doesn’t hate women, he just doesn’t trust them. Our mother, she cheated on our father constantly. Seeing it happen instilled a deep distrust of women early on. Then there’s the fact for eight years, from eighteen to twenty-six he was in the Army, the last five years as a Ranger. He was buried deep in Afghanistan. In all those years he came home twice, for all of six months. He was all in as a soldier, with complete commitment. I never asked, but I’m not even sure he got laid for several years at a time.

  “When he came home for good, because of all he’d invested into Sabatini Real Estate he was a multimillionaire and a war hero. He got some attention, a few writeups, in the Trib and the Sun even though he never granted an interview. Women were all over him, the whole thing made him even more cynical. There hasn’t been a woman who has changed his mind once.”

  Nodding, I get it now. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I have no room to talk. I apologize.”

  Shaking his head, he shrugs. “We all have baggage, some worse than others. It’s just frustrating that since he filed for divorce he went to ground, pulling away from the family. Bethany has reminded me and Che every time we bitch that it can’t be easy for him to see us with everything he wanted and didn’t get.” A sigh escapes him. “Sorry, you don’t want to hear all this. I’m sure you can handle Enzo in the few days it will take you to find him something. If you need anything, if he pushes you past your limits, don’t be afraid to let me know and put him in his place.”

  I force a confident smile. I’ve conditioned myself from the time I was ten years old not to show weakness; twenty years later it’s as instinctive as breathing. “I’ve got it. No worries.”

  “Three o’clock. Don’t be late, he hates it worse than Che.”

  “Will do.”

  Dante goes back to his book and highlighter.

  At my desk, within seconds I have my dual monitors filled with everything I can find on Lorenzo, “Enzo” to friends and family, Sabatini. Not all of it is new information. I’m a nominal investor in his hedge fund, and I researched him before making the decision to invest. Dante and Cesare worked with Enzo to allow their employees to invest in a fund that would have been completely out of reach otherwise, as the fund has a requirement of five million to invest. And Enzo is good at what he does. I put in the money I had left over after purchasing my two flat and fixing it up. Almost five years later, it’s grown by over thirty-four percent. That doesn’t even count the two grand I put in every paycheck.

  When Enzo started the hedge fund no one expected it to succeed, not even Dante and Cesare. They encouraged him to keep doing the venture capital he’d started when he came home from the Army. While Enzo was in the Army, all of his income went into Sabatini Real Estate to help Dante and Cesare build the business. When he left there was the expectation Enzo would join them, only he wanted something different. He asked if he could get his investment back. By that time the company was already in the hundred-million sphere.

  Enzo enrolled at the University of Illinois at Chicago. While he was in school he made investments in multiple startups and floundering companies. In nearly every investment, he made his money back plus a hefty return. It only took him three years to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in finance. Five months later he set up the hedge fund. In four years he went from laughed at to lauded on Wall Street, and within eight years he was a billionaire.

  My email pings. It’s from Dante, the address for where Enzo is currently living. I plug it in the MLS, the multiple listing service, where any broker can view properties for sale. For some addresses you can also see the history of the property, price changes and pictures used in previous sells. Eight thousand square feet, with a thousand-square-foot balcony. Nice. It doesn’t look like a mausoleum; however, the pictures are from before the ex-Mrs. Sabatini got her hands on it.

  How do I make him see I’m the best agent for him? Okay, big-shot billionaire wants a new place to live. Taking a look at his past properties, he wants square footage, not a surprise, amenities, also not a surprise, upgraded everything, no doubt with everything electronic. I go through the properties we have. There are quite a few to choose from; I pull the four best in line with his previous two properties and the black glossy folders with the Sabatini logo on the front. Each folder includes pictures, a fact sheet giving bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage, and a few paragraphs detailing the properties.

  It’s almost one and I’m starving, except preparation isn’t over as I look down at what I’m wearing. Since I wasn’t sure if I would finish with my last client, there are no meetings scheduled for today. Which means I’m not dressed for one. I’m in black slacks and a red blouse with a ruffle down the middle. This isn’t what I would wear for my first meeting to land a client, especially not an old-fashioned one like Enzo Sabatini. Dante admitted he and his brothers prefer women around them to wear skirts and dresses over pants. They don’t care about tights or pantyhose, they simply prefer women to dress like women. When I told him it was sexist he agreed, but it was a preference he wasn’t going to apologize for. He wasn’t making it a requirement for his employees, it’s simply what he preferred.

  I call down for a car then make another call, I need to go shopping.

  Lydia answers on the first ring. “Hi, Chloe. How are you?”

  “Wondering if you are able to save me.”

  Her laughter tells me she’s willing. God, I love Lydia. “Considering how good you are at shopping for yourself and how rarely you need me. You know I love a challenge. What’s up?”

  “I have a client meeting with Enzo Sabatini at three today. I’m feeling like I need something wow.” Every few months I’ll take a weekend to shop on my own. However, when it comes to needing something with a wow factor immediately, Lydia is amazing.

  A whistle loud and high comes through. “I understand completely. I’m wrapping up with a client now; head down to me. I’ll have some things pulled for you. Still not doing heels, right?”

  My mother and grandmother were slaves to fashion. Living in Milan, it was a given. I was only eleven when I wore my first heels, and I hated them the moment I put them on. Walking around cobbled streets in heels was torture. Nonna, my grandmother, told me while style was important the first rule of style was comfort in what you wore; without it nothing you wore was stylish. Against my mother’s objections I stopped wearing heels, even though I’m a boring fiv
e-foot-six. Instead I’m the proud owner of an enormous collection of stylish flats, and a very small collection of shoes with a stacked heel of an inch or even two, but those spindly death traps of four or five inches are not something I will ever wear. “Nope, haven’t for the other Sabatinis. I’m not going to start for this one.”

  “I love you for that, I’ll see you in twenty.”

  Hanging up, I run to the break room. I buy my usual on-the-run lunch of a tasty chicken wrap with mozzarella and tomatoes in a flat bread I could eat by itself, it’s so good.

  I finish the wrap as the car pulls up outside the enormous department store. Out on the street a breeze hits me; it’s such a beautiful day. It’s still a little cool for the first week of April. However, after the rough winter we had, I’ll take it.

  Lydia greets me with a hug. “It’s been months since I saw you. How have you been?”

  “Good, thanks, sorry it’s been so long. Usually winter is slow but not this year, we’ve been crazy busy. How has Ella been?”

  “Great, she’s wonderful, growing like a weed.” Lydia pulls out her phone to show me pictures. “She is not happy she’s going to be a big sister though.”

  “What?” I pull back. I can’t believe it—she doesn’t look pregnant.

  “I know, right? I’m twenty weeks now. When I was this far along with Ella I looked like I was six months.” She shrugs. “Everything looks good as far as my OB is concerned. I’m just grateful I finally stopped throwing up.”

  I am not at all jealous all the women around me are having babies seconds after getting married. Okay, maybe a little bit, but it’s about the babies, not the married. “Congrats on the baby and on not throwing up anymore.”

  “Thanks. As great as you already look, let’s get you wow for Enzo. His mood is always better for a beautiful woman.”

  “I got a warning from Dante on him already. What’s your take?”