The Next Mrs Cullen
Chapter 4
BPOV
No copyright infringement intended.
This open house is really beginning to grate on my nerves. Not only have the prospective clients managed to polish off my expensive chocolates, they have also manged to work their way through most of the cheese, crackers and truffles. I mean, come on, who comes to look at a property and then proceeds to eat their way through the tiny selection that is really only there for display purposes? I should have left the best before dates on display. They were in date, just, and by just I mean today. I sighed and pasted a smile on my face as a portly middle aged man stuffed another one of the expensive chocolates into his mouth. They have been sitting in the hamper for nearly two years so I suppose I'd had a good run out of them. The champagne was long gone so I was handing out cheap plonk now that I'd fetched from the grocery store on the corner. I 'd talked him into a bit of a discount when I'd offered to promote his shop to the prospective new owners coming to look at the property I was showing.
It was a decent little house. The area was up and coming and the block was quite nice, not quite suburbia but far enough out of the centre to be away from any trouble spots. It had a small front garden and a decent yard at the back so once it was given a little TLC it would make a good first home for a couple starting out or a small family needing some space.
As I looked around at the three couples trying to decide if this was their dream home I couldn't help but think about the penthouse I'd been at last week, the beautiful view, the lush white carpets, the amazing kitchen, all that space and green eyes pressing me up against the window as he ravished me.
I shook my head. Where did that come from? I hadn't thought about Green eyes or the man mountain since I'd finally fought my way out of that closet. Even the thought of him made by blood boil. I owed him a slap for leaving me locked in that closet.
My dreary day carried on and I finally managed to close the doors at 3pm. Seven couples had dropped by, two small families and one single woman. It was a good turnout and I felt a little smug that I'd been right about the neighbourhood. It was definitely getting a better reputation. If I could secure this first sale it would stand me in good stead to take on any more properties coming onto the market before the bigger agencies twigged and started to move onto the patch.
As I locked up one of the families came back and I spent half an hour pushing them to get to the final offer they wanted to put in. Thankfully it was accepted by the family that owned it as they wanted a quick sale. I was able to put up the sold board before I finally left for the day. As I loaded my now empty hamper and my vase into my truck I looked at the black Range Rover parked across the road. It had a distinctive silver stripe running down the side and I was sure I'd seen it before. I'm a cop's daughter and I know to trust my gut instinct, so I grabbed my phone out of my bag and quickly snapped a photo of it side on before angling myself so I could get a shot of the licence plate. The driver must have realised what I was doing because they pulled away sharply leaving rubber all over the road. I went back to packing my stuff away only to see another black range rover pull into the same spot. What were the odds of that?
I needed to swing by my favourite penthouse and make sure everything was okay. I looked at the empty hamper and realised that I would have to replenish it ready for tomorrow. I also needed groceries. The last time I looked in my refrigerator the only thing in there was frost and some of my cosmetics that were organic, chemical and preservative free. I made my way to my local market and parked up, grabbed a trolley and wandered around throwing in all the usual stuff. I really did need everything so after stocking up on the essentials I threw in ice cream and cookies and a frozen pizza. I paid and as the cashier handed my card back I could have sworn the man mountain I'd been thinking about earlier shot across my eye line and out of the store. I shook my head. Why would he be here? However, as I unlocked my truck a big black range rover shot out of the parking lot.
As I drove home I kept one eye on the rear view mirror. Call me paranoid, but I had a feeling about this and it wasn't good. I needed to talk to my dad, he could run the licence plates and let me know who owned them.
"Hey Daddy," I said brightly, in response the grunt that had just come down the phone line. "How is my favourite super cop?" He had taken his time answering the phone so I tried to work out the time difference. You'd think after all this time I'd be able to do it automatically, but I was crap at it. I had done my usual thing and just picked up the phone and called him without thinking.
"I'm asleep Bella," was the answer he mumbled before his breath slowed again back into sleep. "Okay," I said quickly. "I'm sending you two licence plates Can you run them for me please and let me know who owns them? I've seen them once too often today." "Sure," he said before hanging up.
He might have been sleeping but I knew that within the next 30 minutes I'd have an answer.
I pulled up outside the penthouse and looked carefully around the parking lot. There wasn't a Range Rover in sight, so I made my way to the elevator and into what was quickly becoming my favourite place to be. Everything was fine, as I knew it would be. I mean, they had a doorman around the clock so nobody else was going to be coming in. Being brutally honest I just loved being in this space. I wandered round again, touching worktops and looking out of the windows. Part of the reason that I wish that the owners had plumped for a furniture package was so that I would have somewhere to sit when fantasising that it was mine.
I popped open the panel by the door and switched on the entry panel. There was a figure in the middle of the foyer. I squinted at the image on the screen, waiting for the figure to move so that I could see his face. Finally, he moved and it was none other than the Man Mountain himself. I watched as he spoke to the doorman, looked around the foyer, checked the elevators and then strode back outside. I wasn't sure if I should be scared or not. What could they possibly want with me? My stomach tightened. Perhaps I was a witness if they had done something to Mr Jones or whatever his name really was?
My phone rang and I jumped.
"Hello?"
"Bella, it's your father." Before I could respond he continued. "What the fuck have you got yourself into this time?"
"I've done nothing," I told him, a little defensively. "All I said was that I had seen the cars once too often today" He could never stay mad at me, in fact he was the reason I could wrap most men around my little finger, I'd had years of practice on him and his deputies of getting exactly what I wanted.
"I checked the plates," he said, moving on but not apologising for the accusation. "They both belong to the same company, Cullen Industries. As soon as I checked them I had a call from your local area, the feds wanted to know why I was checking out the plates."
"Why?" I really didn't need the feds coming to see me at home, not in the neighbourhood I lived in at present. "What did you tell them?"
"I told them the truth," he said, in a tone which suggested that he would never tell me anything other than the complete truth, "that you are my daughter, that you live on your own and you think you are being followed. They want to know why anyone from Cullen Industries would be following you?"
"I'm not saying they were," I said. Doubt started to creep into my mind. Was it the same car? Had I been imagining things? "It could be a total coincidence, What's the big deal, who are Cullen Industries?"
"They wouldn't tell me sweetheart," he sighed. "It could be a front for undercover cops or maybe the local crime family." I looked at the monitor and I could Man mountain was still hanging out in the foyer. Time to find out what was going on.
"Daddy go back to sleep," I told him. I could hear how tired he was and I didn't want to worry him. "I'm fine. I promise if I have any more problems I'll call okay. Love you super cop, see you soon."
I watched the numbers on the elevator get closer to the zero. One hand was buried deep within my handbag on Charlie's last Christmas present, a taser, and my pepper spray was tucked into the back of my pants. The doors opened but there was nobody there. After a moment the lift doors started to close. I put my hand out to stop them closing completely then walked into the foyer. Alfie, the elderly doorman, was my source of information about the apartment and the block.
"Hi Alfie," I said and he looked up and greeted me with a smile. "It's all okay up there. I've locked up and you have my number if you need to contact me." This was my usual routine but I'd positioned myself so I could see the front doors, just in case anyone was waiting outside.
"Okay," he replied, pleased to see me. "What a coincidence. I just had a guy in enquiring about how he could see the penthouse I told him you were up there at the moment and that I could contact you, but he said he didn't have time. I gave him your business number; I hope that was okay?" His eyes crinkled with concern.
"That's perfect Alfie." I leaned in closer. "Of course, you know that if I sell the penthouse that we won't be able to meet like this anymore." He flushed and chuckled.
"I should have given him the wrong number then."
I laughed in response, said goodbye and made my way home without seeing a single Range Rover.
Over the next couple of days, I went about my business. I leased another house in my neighbourhood and took on two more, word of mouth referrals from the owners. I showed two more clients my beloved penthouse but I didn't think either of them could actually afford it. I went out for coffee with Angela and Jess, had lunch with Bree and went drinking with Kate and didn't see a single suspicious car, I had almost managed to convince myself that I was paranoid when I noticed a Range Rover right behind me on the way back from Wholefoods. The windows were tinted but the size of the silhouette made me think it was man mountain so I slammed on my brakes, trying to get a better look but he peeled off quickly, as soon as he realised I'd seen him.
That was enough, I was on my way home so as soon as I unloaded my purchases, I turned on my laptop and googled Cullen Industries. There wasn't a lot of information, the group consisted mainly of clubs, restaurants and bars. The offices were contained on the upper floors of one of the clubs and the owners were listed as several different trusts and a couple of foreign enterprises, layers of intrigue so no one could actually pinpoint who the owner really was. I knew then that my father was right. They probably were the local crime family and they were keeping an eye on me.
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