The Price of Desire

I stare at Suarez for a long time. My urge was to tell him to fire me and that he could stick the house and the two million in that place. However, I held back because it was the only place where I could still get two million with just one call. Well, several calls, as it was very difficult to find someone willing to pay for a million-dollar house, but not impossible. I take a deep breath and then leave Suarez's office straight for my desk. The girls look at me, concerned. Alba approaches my desk and asks:

"Dália, are you okay? Do you need anything?"
"I need to sell a twenty-million house by three o'clock, or I'll lose my apartment," I reply without hesitation. This was no longer the time to hide anything.
"You just sold a house at that price, crazy," Rúbia comments, pointing to Suarez's office.
"Suarez sold the house. He told me I won't receive the commission."
"What a jerk," Rúbia exclaims, outraged. She looks at the other girls and then says, "Well, let's get to work. Dália, send your portfolio with all the properties in that price range. Operation Dália starts now."

***
The phones never stopped ringing at the base, and the girls were focused on selling my properties as much as I was. However, as I said before, it was very difficult to sell during those times, especially luxury properties.

"Mr. Martinez, it's a great opportunity, but I need you to see it today and make your offer," Rúbia argues with her last client.

She takes a deep breath and then places her phone on the base. I look at the merciless clock that already shows noon.

"One in a million," Raquel comments from her seat.
"What?" I ask, not understanding.
"That client of yours. He's one in a million, willing to buy a house at the price we're selling." Raquel repeats.

I stare at Raquel for a moment, then pick up my phone from the base and dial without thinking twice:

"Hello?" X answers on the other end of the line.
"I need you to meet me at your new house in an hour," I say, seriously. I look at the girls and then remember that I'm in the office. "To discuss the decoration."
"Okay," X agrees. "See you there, Sweetheart."
"What are you doing?" Rúbia asks, not understanding.
"One in a million. If he bought a twenty-million house, he undoubtedly has more to offer me."

I grab my Post-it, write on two of them, and then detach them, putting them in my bag. I get up from my desk and walk towards Suarez's office, who doesn't seem very happy to see me for the second time in the room. He puts the papers he was analyzing aside and then looks at me with a furrowed brow:

"What now, Dália?"
"Just stopping by to let you know that I'm meeting our special client to talk about the decoration with him. After all, you negotiated that..."
"Yes, but for tomorrow," Suarez recalls.
"Why wait so long?" I ask, returning what he told me.
"I'm glad you're learning something from me. Go and get everything you need from this lottery ticket of ours."
"Count on it," I conclude, leaving his office.

***

I park my car and once again face that French-style garden of X's new house. I walk through the green labyrinth until I reach the marble steps leading to the wooden door. I'm glad that at least this time I'm wearing wide-leg pants and a white dress shirt, with my hair tied in a low ponytail. I know I look as professional as possible and unattractive by X's standards, which favors that our conversation doesn't take another turn. I tighten the strap of my black bag in my fingers and then climb the few steps to the door, which is already open. I enter and find X coming down the white marble stairs. He stops on the last step, putting his hands in the pocket of his gray pants, the same color as his suit. X smiles in my direction and then says:

"Hello, Sweetheart."
"Hello..." I mutter more like a whisper than anything else. I clear my throat lightly and then adjust my posture. "I'm here to discuss business with you."
"Alright," X says, coming down the last step. He approaches me and then continues. "By the way, congratulations."
"For what?" I ask, not understanding what he meant and even less his habit of getting so close to me as to force me to raise my head to look at him.
"For the sale. Now you can take care of your financial problems," X replies, lightly touching my chin. "I'm proud of you."
"Proud?" I repeat with a hint of sarcasm as I turn away and head towards the majestic Greek-style white room with its huge black-framed glass windows. "You must be really proud of pulling a fast one on me."
"What?"
"I didn't expect this from a man who claimed to be sincere, honest..." I continue ignoring X's question. I open a pair of windows, letting the fresh air in.
"Dália, what are you talking about?" X asks, entering the room.
"What am I talking about?" I point to myself. I go to the other pair of windows and open them too. "Thanks to what you did, I'm about to lose my properties. I'm losing my home."
"What did I do? I helped you by buying this house," X says, not understanding.
"You bought the house with Suarez."
"Yes, but for you to receive the commission soon," X states.
"When you close with the real estate owner, the brokerage doesn't get a penny," I reveal, touching the ivory curtains. "But you, with years of experience, should already

know that."
"I'm sorry, I didn't think he would do that," X claims, approaching. "I swear."
"Swear?" I repeat with a hint of mockery as I turn to face him. "Funny, because everything leads me to believe otherwise. In my view, you did all this on purpose to corner me in your dirty scheme and force me to accept your proposal... to sleep with you."
"Dália, I didn't..."
"That's fine, X," I say, putting my finger on his lips. I remove it when he pulls away. "I'm not here to argue with you about your low blow."
"Then what are you doing here?" X asks, moving his lips against mine, slowly, making me remove it.
"Negotiating," I whisper, standing close to his face. I move back a little and then open my bag, taking out two Post-it notes from inside. I hand one to him and continue, "A million in this account... for the decoration."
"Okay," X agrees, holding the note and analyzing it. "And the other?"
"That's what we're going to negotiate," I tell him. "You offered me a million euros to sleep with you, why?"
"Because you deserve it," X replies, trying to hold the Post-it, but I pull it back.
"Then my price is three million euros..." I say, thoughtful, moving away from X and walking towards the door. I turn towards him and continue, "Funny, because you already had me for free... Why pay for something you've already had, X? It doesn't make any sense."
"Dália, I'm willing to pay anything to have you in my arms once more," X responds, approaching. He stops in front of me again and touches my hand. "I'd give anything to feel the warmth of your skin just one more time... your touch..." X approaches my neck, taking a deep breath. "Your scent... your lips." He finishes by touching my lips with his fingers. "Hearing your moan in my ear, asking for more... You drive me crazy just by talking..." He takes my hand towards his pants, where I feel his latent excitement. "I know you want it too..." X finishes with his lips so close to mine that they would touch at any moment.
"Three... million... euros..." I whisper before raising the second Post-it in front of our lips, like a barrier. "I want three million euros in my account now, if what you just said is true. Take it or leave it."

X holds the Post-it between his fingers and then moves away from me. He puts his hand inside his suit, looking at me very seriously. I adjust my hair and my clothes as I watch X take his phone and continue messing with it, not intending to say anything to me. I take a deep breath; three million might be too high a value for him, indicating that X might not be willing to pay anything to sleep with me. Maybe he's just good at sweet talk. He takes the first Post-it, analyzes it, then takes the second one, types something, and finally turns the screen of his cell phone towards me:

"Deal."