SURVIVAL INSTINCT

CHAPTER: 9

"Sarah..." James Parker turned towards her, with a tone that brooked no argument, "If he calls back, he is yours."

Sarah nodded, although she wasn't by any means sure she wanted Ryan Johnson.

Parker added, over the outraged mutterings, "Clara, I need you to go over Diana's workload and divide it between Tim and Helen. Fairly if you please."

Tim smirked. Clara glowered, and Sarah got the impression that she would have favored Helen outrageously if Parker had not said anything.

"For now, at least, I will handle the listing for 102 South Massachusetts Avenue personally. Not to depreciate anyone." Parker's gaze flickered to Tim, who closed his mouth again and pouted prettily, "but under the circumstances, I am sure the owner would feel better if Diana's superior handled the sale rather than assigning it to a less experienced agent."

Sarah nodded. It made perfect sense to her. She knew that Parker did not usually take part in the buying and selling anymore; he contented himself with supervising the rest of us, but right now the situation being what it was, Sarah thought he had done the best he could under the circumstances. Tim looked put out. Probably he had hoped the listing would come to him now that Diana was gone.

"The memorial service is Wednesday at 2 PM," Parker said. "I trust that all of you will attend." It was not a question, nor a request; it was an order. Clara nodded vehemently. Tim raised his hand, like an elementary school pupil, and Parker said tiredly, "Yes, Tim, I know you have a closing. But it won't take all day, and I will expect to see you after you are done. Wear something suitable, please."

Tim, who liked to dress as if he was still 19 and attending drama classes in New York, glanced down at his shiny satin shirt, in a shade of dark blue, and widened his eyes innocently. "Don't I do that always."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   **************

After the meeting was over, Sarah stepped into Parker's office, to tell him she would be going out of town for a couple of days. As she had expected, it was no problem at all. "You are your own boss, Sarah, I hope you know that? You can go away whenever you want." 

Sarah nodded. "Especially since I have no listings to service and presently no buyer clients to show around."

Real estate had turned out to be quite harder to break into than Sarah had realized, back when she had been on the other side of the fence and had thought it looked like real fun.

"It is a competitive business," Parker said sympathetically. "And times are really very tough right now. But if you stick with it, you will do all right. It takes a little time. Maybe you will meet someone in St-Louis who would want to buy or sell a house. It is always easier to start with your own sphere of connections at first."

Like Ryan Johnson, Sarah thought. She grimaced. "I am concerned that, with what has been going on this weekend, and with Tim and Helen fighting for clients..." 

Parker smiled thinly. "Don't worry about them. If Mr. Johnson calls while you are gone, I will personally ensure that the call goes directly to your voice mail."

Sarah smiled back, "You're all right, Parker. Thanks a lot."

"No thanks necessary. I hired you, Sarah. I am not going to have Clara and Tim telling me what you can and cannot do. Diana was a valued member of the company, but she wasn't the managing broker here. This is my company, and I am in charge here."

He nodded decisively. "Have a good time at your mother's. And don't forget Diana's memorial service."

Sarah promised she would not, and left the place wishing she could forget, even for a few minutes. But she knew it was going to be a long time before she would be able to close her eyes again without seeing her lying there in front of that damned fireplace.                                                                                                                        *********

Sarah got underway a little after three, just in time to catch the beginning of rush hour as the people left work and headed to their homes in far-flung suburbs. It would take about 3 hours, 45 minutes to drive from Kansas City Missouri to St. Louis Missouri. She had to travel a total of 248 miles. She met with a very heavy rush for about forty miles, and after that, it was pretty smooth sailing. Just before she reached the St. Louis city limits, she pulled over to the side of the road and stopped. 

Whatever was left of the Miller Rubber plantation sat on a few acres just outside the St. Louis proper. It was an authentic plantation with a house, completed in 1840, existing before the US Civil War. Now that Sarah was looking at it with the eye of someone who no longer lived there, she could see its resemblance to a magnificent tomb.

It is a good-sized building, about 5,000 square feet, built of bricks, and had tall white pillars in front. It had a balcony on the third floor that ran the entire width of the house. There were eight rooms on each floor, and the bedrooms were all upstairs, while the common rooms were downstairs. And yes, it still had some of the old outbuildings. There was an old dairy, and one of the many slave cabins that Ryan Johnson had mentioned.

 Sarah's mother, with her customary elegance, had turned the whole thing into an upscale, exclusive event venue now. Rather than ignoring Miller's history as plantation and slave owners, and feeling embarrassed about it, Sarah's mother was capitalizing on it. People came from near and far to get married on the grounds or the balcony, and occasionally a film company or magazines would pay an outrageous sum of money to snap pictures or shoot historical films in and around the mansion.

The atmosphere of the place looked probably very much like it must have been one hundred and eighty years ago. Sarah's great-great-great grandma Elizabeth's dressing table was still sitting in what used to be Sarah's sister Courtney's bedroom upstairs, while her great-great-great-great-aunt Maria's favorite rocking chair was in one of the room downstairs.

Sarah's mother Adriana Miller was born Adriana Stevenson, while her dad was Alexander Miller, who met her mother while they were at the same University. He was studying Law while she was studying Architecture. Love blossomed between them, and they finally tied the knot and produced Sarah and her two siblings. Courtney is the eldest 29 yrs, followed by Sarah 27 yrs and then Daniel 25 yrs. Sarah's father died a few years back from a massive heart attack. It was only after that her mother started marketing the house. It was not because of lack of money or something, her mother Adriana had plenty, both her own, as well as from dad. But Sarah guessed it was because she had something to do and keep herself occupied.

Sarah's mother had up until her Dad's death stayed busy hosting parties and organizing fundraisers and being the perfect lawyer's wife, but things were now a lot slower and lonelier than they used to be. 

Sarah was therefore not surprised to see her mother standing in the open door when she drove up to the front of the house.