Spice

Spice Chapter 1Another day on the battlefield. Evie Solomon had no scruples, and there was no depth she wouldn’t go to show that she was the best real estate agent the company had. I was good at my job, but I did not need to broadcast it to the entire world because I was being paid for work done – not for showing everyone how much I did. I had thought about quitting so many times, but then I remembered that Evie Solomon would just continue with her life without remembering that I existed. I had to learn to develop enough mental strength to not let her obnoxiousness cause me to make irrational decisions when she would not even care if I lived or died.I often wondered if she knew that everyone hated her, and my mother always told me that there was a reason for people who behaved like that. She said they were either suffering from an inferiority complex or there were so many negative things happening in their lives that they had to beat down on others in order to feel better about themselves. However, I did not feel as if either of those applied to Evie Solomon. It was a personality thing and everyone was sick of it, especially me. I was not sure if she could do anything about it though, but it didn’t mean that I should be subjected to her annoying behavior.Evie had never addressed me directly because she and my other coworkers hardly noticed that I was there. I kept to myself and spoke to others only when my job required it because I was someone who process my thoughts and had conversations in my head. I was not an introvert, but I did not have a lot to say. I could hear Evie’s mouth yapping in the vice president’s office and I was sure he wanted her to get the hell out and go sell something. I wished that I was into gossip because I would know for sure if I was the only one having a problem with her and the way she never ran out of words. It was impossible that it was just me.“Rolan, come here a second,” the deputy CEO called, and there was nothing I could have hated more than being summoned to a meeting with Evie being a part of it.I was hoping she would leave before I got to the office, but she was still there, which meant that the meeting had something to do with her. She was pretending to be sweet by sitting there with a smile on her face, but she could not hide who she really was. Not from me.“Yes, Mr. Granger,” I said.“Have a seat,” he said and I sat and looked at him while keeping Evie in my peripheral vision. “How is the Pembroke house going?”“Mrs. Lauder is definitely interested in purchasing it because of its ideal proximity to both school and work. She said her husband would be a little hesitant because he would think that it’s much too big for their family of four, but she could convince him to get it.”“But I do not want to overlook other prospective buyers while she sweetly tries to convince her husband only for him to not proceed with the purchase,” he said to me but was glancing at Evie.“Sir, there is Mr. Plummer. He’s also interested, but I feel as if Mrs. Lauder has more reasons to acquire that house than Mr. Plummer who is just looking for a change of scenery,” I explained.“We are not interested in the reason. We’re interested in the sale,” Mr. Granger said. “And that’s why Evie is here. I would like to give this project to her and I’ll give you the Sliver Avenue townhouse…”“Doesn’t Evie have her own set of real estate that she’s working on?” I asked.“She does, and she can handle the one you have,” he said and turned to Evie. “Can you handle it?”“When have I ever backed down?” she asked with a smile. “I say we go directly to Mr. Lauder…”“Mrs. Lauder does not even want her husband to know that she was house-hunting. You have to give her time to break the news to him,” I said.“No. We need to convince her to let us go to him and present this beautiful home which would be perfect for the family. He will complain about the extra space, but we need to remind him that his children are small and they will grow up and have sleepovers, in addition to the extended families who would rather stay with them than be thrown into a hotel. Mr. Lauder has the money, so that is not the issue. We just need to convince him that he needs the house, or he will need it in the near future,” she said and finally caught a breath.“The house is yours,” he said to Evie and she looked at me with that silly smile that I just wanted to slap right off her face.“I’ll have that house sold for you in no time, sir,” she replied to him then turned to me. “I could help you with the Sliver Avenue townhouse?”“This woman is dynamite!” Mr. Granger said as he laughed.“No, thank you. I can…”“Nonsense,” Mr. Granger said. “Why would you refuse a little help? Evie is being very kind to make such an offer knowing that she would not be getting a cut of your commission. Don’t be stupid. Show your gratitude.”This was the fifth time in five days that I wanted to quit on the spot, but I would not let her win. I was so good at keeping my thoughts buried that I could smile with her as I plan my revenge.“Thanks, Evie,” I said with a smile.“You’re welcome. I’ll go over my calendar and let you know when I’m free to look over the profile with you.”“See that, Rolan? This is what Evie does and what makes her invaluable