“Crooks?” she said out loud. “Vanessa Chilton? Wasn’t that the woman Logan was seeing?”
She continued reading the story, feeling sick to her stomach. She found the accusations hard to believe. Logan had never shown any signs of being aggressive or abusive − but then again, she hadn’t really known him for very long.
Going into the kitchen, she poured herself a coffee and sat down at the table, spreading the newspaper out so she could read the article again. She was still struggling to believe Logan could act this way. But if Darlington Realty was as crooked as the article said they were, she couldn’t afford to lose any money on the sale of her house.
Her phone buzzed on the counter, but she let it ring. She knew who it was, and after reading the article, she didn't know if she wanted to talk to him just yet. She had always been a believer in innocent until proven guilty, but this time she just didn’t know. She had had only one other serious relationship in her life, and that was when she was seventeen, he had broken her heart. She didn’t want to go through that again.
Folding up the paper, she sighed. “Logan Darlington, I think for now you had best just stay away,” she said out loud before going up to shower. She’d call Darlington Realty to cancel their services and find someone else to sell her home, just to be on the safe side.
✽✽✽
Logan ran back to his office, seething. “That fucking bitch,” he said under his breath as he dialed Vanessa’s number.
“Well, well, well,” Vanessa drawled when she answered the phone.
“What the fuck are you trying to do?” he growled into the phone.
“A little upset, are we? Well, nobody plays me, Logan, or kicks me to the curb,” Vanessa hissed. “I want payback for what you did.”
“You won’t get away with this. The truth will come out sooner or later, so I suggest you rescind your statement now, so you don't come out looking like a fool," Logan said through clenched teeth.
“Gee, sorry, no thanks,” Vanessa said cheerfully.
“We will fight you.”
“Go ahead. Daddy has some great lawyers, and he's already upset by all of this,” Vanessa chirped. “So, I have to run. Enjoy your miserable life, Logan.”
Logan slammed the phone down and buried his face in his hands. He needed to think. He needed to figure out how to fight her.
“Um, Logan?” Geordie said nervously from the doorway. "I just got a call form, Chelsea MacDuff. She’s let us go and is going with another realtor. Are you okay? If it's any consolation, I don't believe any of those accusations."
Logan gave Geordie a small, sad smile. When he had got up this morning, he had felt like he was on top of the world. How had he ended up in this black pit of hell just in a few hours? He needed a plan, but first, he needed to try to talk to Chelsea.
✽✽✽
Vanessa hung up the phone and laughed gleefully. “Oh, how you grovel, Logan Darlington.”
Looking around her hotel room, she sighed. She needed to find an apartment. After Logan had kicked her out, she had gone to Tim’s thinking that she could live there. Some days later, she knew she needed to leave. His one-bedroom apartment was way too small for the two of them, and he was already bitching about her cleanliness and the way her clothes and boxes were strewn all over the place. She had rented the penthouse of the Cradbury Hotel for now and would start to look around for a condo or something else that suited her.
“Oh no!” she cried, noticing a chip in her nail polish. “I guess I know what I’ll be doing today,” she moaned as she picked up her phone and dialed the salon number.
✽✽✽
The next morning, Chelsea waited in the Great Room as the new real estate agent she had hired took a look around. Unlike the time Logan had visited, he had requested that he do the inspection alone, so Chelsea was waiting for him on the couch.
Finally, an hour later, he came into the room looking rather serious. "I've taken notes, and I'll have my report typed up for you. You have some very serious issues that require immediate attention,” he said curtly, closing his clipboard.
“What type of issues?” Chelsea asked, wondering why Logan hadn’t noticed them.
“It will all be in my report. They’ll have to be fixed before you can even consider selling this property.”
“How much will it cost? I don’t have a lot of expendable money.”
“Well, it will be expensive, but I can give you the names of some contractors we use on a regular basis. They always offer our clients discounts. There are electrical issues, plumbing issues, and the wood around your windows is rotting. I’ll put it all in my report. Don’t panic just yet.”
“When will I get the report?”
“I’ll email it to you this afternoon,” the agent said as he walked out and got into his car, leaving Chelsea standing at the door. “Why didn’t Logan notice all of this?” she said to herself out loud. “I’m glad I changed realtors.”
Three hours later, she was in tears as she sat at the kitchen table and read the report from the inspection. It was going to cost $40,000 to do the repair work. The agent had listed cracks in the foundation, windows rotting, leaking plumbing, and all of the electrical wiring needed to be replaced, not to mention he had found evidence of mice in the basement.
“I’m ruined,” she cried. The agent had finished the report saying that if she didn’t get the repairs done, she would never sell the house, and if that happened, his agency could discuss buying the property at a very discounted price.
She was glad she had taken some time off of work because she needed to think, right now her head was so jumbled, she couldn’t think straight.
“Okay, Chelsea. Focus. You don’t let things get you down. Let’s look at our options,” she told herself sternly. Hopefully, she could find a way to makes things better, but right now, she just didn't know how.
✽✽✽
The following Monday, Chelsea was more upset than ever. After visits from the electrician and plumber that the new realtor had recommended, it looked like the whole castle had to be gutted.
Not knowing who to turn to, she decided to call Logan to ask his opinion. She also needed to find out why he hadn’t found these problems when he inspected the castle. She had ignored his calls until he finally stopped calling, but now she swallowed her pride and dialed his number.
“Chelsea?” Logan answered almost immediately.
“Logan. This is strictly a business call. Nothing else,” Chelsea said, trying to sound strong. "I hired another realtor, and when he did the inspection on the castle, he found all kinds of things that need to be fixed. It’s going to cost me a lot of money. Why didn’t you find anything?”
Logan thought for a moment. “Probably because there wasn’t anything to find. What did he say?”
Chelsea read part of the report to him and concluded, “So, as you can see, I'm screwed. I can't afford any of these repairs, and I'll lose money if I sell."
“Chelsea, wait a minute. Can I come and see that report and take another look around? None of that makes any sense,” Logan asked, sounding worried. “I promise it will be professional if that is what you want. I respect your feelings.”