Crushed: Happily-Ever-After 2.0 by Layne Gray

Author:Layne Gray [Gray, Layne]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2015-10-19T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 25

“I just love that you can get us into any restaurant we want,” Grace said to Brett as they exited the Michelin one-star State Bird Provisions. This was one of the main reasons Brett had kept her ex-husband’s surname after their public and demeaning divorce. Magnin was still a name that garnered respect in San Francisco, like the Rottenbergs’ name. It made the task of lining up like every other food junkie seem pedestrian. “I also think it quite civil that you have a Porsche SUV for the children and this for yourself,” added Grace as they sped off in her Mercedes E550 Cabriolet with the convertible roof down.

“I have to show my best clients real estate in style. You would expect no less of me,” Brett said with a faux aloofness. “But don’t forget, I also have the van for Oliver.”

“Sometimes I don’t know how you do it, Brett. I’m so impressed by how you hold it all together. So what properties are we looking at this afternoon?”

Brett handed Grace a sheet of paper listing three addresses and a thumbnail photo of the front exterior of each. The first stop was a loft-like space that was in the South of Market (or SOMA) district. It was too large for Grace’s needs. The second prospect was an art gallery housed in the back of a large Edwardian in the Pacific Heights neighborhood. But it wouldn’t be available for another three months, and Grace wanted to get started immediately.

A few blocks away, they turned the corner onto a lovely one-way lane with a sprinkling of cute little shops. On one side was a ribbon boutique, a bead store, and an antiques gallery. On the other, a pet clothing reseller and designer consignment shop. Nestled between the ribbons and beads was a vacant storefront with a For Lease sign posted in the left window. There was an alcove between it and the right window. Small mosaic tiles set into the cement spelled the address of the shop, 1310 Geronimo Lane, in front of the entry door. Grace liked the idea of the alcove, so that customers could open their umbrellas before stepping out onto the sidewalk when it rained. The door itself was made of carved wood with beveled glass in the center.

The musty aroma of old books filled Grace’s senses once Brett opened the creaking front door. They entered into a large room flanked by floor-to-ceiling walnut bookshelves on the side walls. A bowl-shaped art deco chandelier made of thousands of small, multicolored glass beads sparkled like a rainbow from the center of the ceiling twenty feet above.

“It was a book antiquary,” mentioned Brett, guiding Grace around the empty store.

After Grace had graduated from college, her parents gave her as a graduation present a trip to Europe. Nicole was already at Stanford Law School, and their parents thought Nicky could use a break, so they sent her to chaperone her younger sister, although at age twenty-two, Grace would have been perfectly able to get around all by herself.

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