Selling it All Read Online Free PDF Page B

replied.
    As the bright afternoon sun blasted into the
club, Sarah turned to see Jessica timidly walking in through the
open door. After the door closed, everything went back to its
regular hue of maroon and pink. Sarah watched over her shoulder as
Jessica approached.
    “Sarah? Why did you want to meet me here ?” She asked with a wide-eyed look on her face.
    “Because, this is a quiet place to think.
Have a seat. Roxy, this is my friend Jessica. Jessica, this is my
friend Roxy.” Roxy smiled to the both of them, and strolled off to
offer up a private dance to a patron. With it down to just the two
of them, Jessica unleashed her full freak out.
    “Oh my God! Sarah? What are you doing? You're
drinking in a strip club, and it's three in the afternoon! What’s
going on with you! I haven't seen you in the office in over a
week.” She blurted out in one long streak of syllables.
    “Relax, I checked in with Mr. Nelson. By the
way, he's a silent partner in this place.” She said, gesturing
around with her empty shot glass. “I see him all the time in here.”
She let that new little morsel of knowledge swim around in Jess's
head while she stood up to stretch. After Jessica pulled her jaw up
off the floor, she continued her mother hen routine.
    “This little wager between you and Joseph
Blake is blowing up. It's all anyone will talk about. The thing is;
you're actually both neck and neck! Not that you would know, since
you slid of the face of the Earth or something. You have two weeks
to go, and two more open houses. If you pull this off Sarah, you're
the one at the top of the dog pile!”
    “Yeah, and if I don't I'm the indentured
servant to the most chauvinistic power monger this side of Genghis
Khan. Look, I just wanna finish up here and go have a shower.” Tell
the office hi for me.” She said. Sarah slid off of the pink vinyl
barstool and walked confidently out the door.
    She struggled to adjust her eyes to the
bright sunny day, as she felt an email buzz in:
    Hey, lets lay down the weapons for a bit and
get a drink.
    -Joseph Blake.
    Sarah looked long and hard at the message.
While she stared blankly at her phone, it began ringing loudly. So
startled that she almost dropped it in a storm drain, she unlocked
the screen and answered.
    “Hey Joe! Are you calling a truce?” She
teased, as she fished her sunglasses out of her bag.
    “No, but I am taking a time out so we can
catch our breath. Look, I need to relax and stretch my limbs before
we break for the final sprint. Lets just meet for cocktails and
call it good?” He offered.
    “Make it dinner and you're on.” She replied
flatly. Her liver thanked her profusely for turning down more
booze.
    “It's a deal. Why don't you come over to my
place then?” He said in a calculated manner.
    “Hmm, going into the lion's den while it's
feeding time? I don't think so Joey boy.” She teased evenly in
response.
    “Ugh, look; I can cook like it's nobody's
business. I was merely offering to prepare a meal that I had
control over. That's all.”
    Sarah's stomach growled and groaned at the
thought of a home cooked meal. All of her planning had left her as
a vessel full of takeout food and liquor store sandwiches.
“Alright, you have my stomach's attention. Where's your place at?”
She turned when she heard the telltale snarl of his turbocharged
Porsche. Looking up at her from the low-slung car, he smiled
genuinely as he reached over to open the door.
    Sarah wasn't sure how she pictured Joseph
Blake's house. In her head, she had always envisioned him sleeping
in some kind of criostasis while his batteries recharged or
something. In reality, he had very good taste. The twisting,
Oceanside road dipped and switched through sunlit canyons as they
climbed above the other mansions and high-priced homes, and into
the hills even more. After one last turn, there arose in the hills
a brilliant white Spanish style villa, with pronounced archways and
winding vines. It was set into the