January Beginnings: Calendar Romance, #1

By Eden Larsen

Rachel Turner is a real estate agent in Manhattan. Her goal for the year? Be a better version of herself than the year before. What's standing in the way? Her boss, Maria, wanting her to lie, cheat, and steal money from hard-working clients in the name of making a sale. As Rachel closes another sale, she contemplates her New Year's Resolution and vows to be better and do better with the next client.

Chad O'Conner and his daughter, Mia, have recently relocated to Manhattan and need a place to live. While staying with a buddy, Chad enlists the help of the real estate agency where Rachel works. It's been three years since his wife's death, but he can't help but be intrigued by his agent as she shows him around to different homes.

Will Rachel use the same conniving tricks on Chad to make the sale or help him thwart the evil Maria?

This is the first short-story in the Calendar Romance series. It contains a HEA with no cliffhangers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dream Write Literary Publishing
• Release date: Mar 23, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393259749

Book preview

January Beginnings

Calendar Romance #1

Eden Larsen

Copyright © 2020 Eden Larsen

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form whatsoever, whether by graphic, visual, electronic, film, microfilm, tape recording, or any other means, without prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief passages embodied in critical reviews and articles.

Published by:

Dream Write Literary Publishing Cedar City, UT 84721

[e-mail]

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

About the Author

Chapter 1

A ll you have left to do is sign here, Rachel explained. She pointed a finger to the signature line at the bottom of the page, noticing a chip in the red nail polish on her index finger. She’d have to paint them again later.

It’s that easy? her client, Ms. Harper, asked.

It’s that easy, Rachel said. You’ve already dealt with the difficult parts. All that’s left is to sign the closing documents.

Ms. Harper smiled, but hesitated. Rachel had been working with her for months now, getting her into this house. It was a beautiful place with brand new carpets, fresh paint, and a new roof to boot. But she couldn’t pretend not to understand Ms. Harper’s hesitation. She came in with a budget and a plea for help. Recently divorced, she was looking for a home she could buy on her own for the first time in her life. Her ex-husband had dealt with all of the cumbersome work of buying their first and only home after they married.

Rachel recalled wanting to help this woman move on to the next phase of her life. A piece of her mind told her she was doing just that, but the other piece? Not so much. The truth she could never admit to this poor divorcee was that Rachel hadn’t been as honest as she wanted to be. Her stomach twisted thinking about it.

She rested a hand on Ms. Harper’s small, frail hand. Trust me, she said. You deserve this.

Ms. Harper smiled and, appearing more resolute, signed her name on the dotted line.

There, Ms. Harper said, I did it! A beaming smile swept across her face.

You did it, Rachel clapped her hands enthusiastically for the old woman. She ignored the ache in her gut that told her she was being dishonest.

Rachel stood and straightened her black skirt before walking around the desk and giving the woman a hug. Ms. Harper thanked her and Rachel picked up a pair of keys on a ring from her desk. Her client took the keys, almost reverently, and squeezed them in her hand. She thanked her more times than Rachel felt she deserved. Before her client left, Rachel grabbed one of her business cards from her desk and passed it to Ms. Harper.

In case you need anything. Don’t hesitate to call, Rachel said.

Thank you, dear, Ms. Harper said and grabbed the card, pinching it between her thumb and index finger.

Rachel saw her picture on the business card, just below her name, Rachel Turner. A young, beautiful, confident