Evie set her thoughts aside and focused on the notebook on her desk. It was now filled with a long list of things on several pages.
'Now list them in terms of urgency or necessity.'
As she prided herself in being organized, it was only right to categorize things well.
She flipped to the next page and scribbled a rough summary.
Residence or safehouse
Food and water
Emergency kit
Clothing and bedding…etc
Phew~
Staring at the list for a while, Evie had an idea of where to start. With that in mind, she called the secretary back to arrange an urgent meeting with the Estate agency.
After a few hours, the agency broker came into her office.
"Hello, Ma'am I am Marwan Tumah. A broker from the Homely Cove real estate agency." The man bowed deeply as he introduced himself.
Homely Cove agency was a subsidiary company of the biggest real estate business in District F. A business run by the Specter family, The Cove Real Estates.
Marwan Tumah was a middle-aged man with a receding hairline and some gray hairs, typical for an overworked office worker. Marwan had soft features which made him look less intimidating contrary to his huge build. In truth, he was nothing but an amiable character.
He glanced around trying to gauge some information from this new customer. He had to get the deal done to get a chance at a promotion. It was a spacious office with ample lighting and elegant dark-themed decor.
Evie glanced at him and motioned him to sit.
When the potential customer and promotion-seeking broker faced each other, the atmosphere became serious.
"What would you like? Do you already have an idea?"
Marwan tentatively asked as he took out his iPad directly opening the company site. The site was a direct link to properties registered for sale under the company. This was available to staff or brokers. The general public didn't have to get access to such in-depth analysis of properties.
"Find me a property that fills this criteria. It should be outside the city in a somewhat secluded area. A place with fertile land. I would like it to be a huge piece of land with a spacious ready-built living building. I would go for a high-defense place if possible."
Marwan wrote down the requirements. Once he was done, he realized how peculiar the request was.
'Maybe it is because of how she said it.'
He inwardly shook his head and browsed through the company site.
There was a moment of silence as Evie let Marwan work. She knew how unrealistic her requirements were but she wanted to try regardless.
Money wasn't the issue here, it was time.
'So little time…' she grumbled inwardly.
"Um.. Ma'am. Several places meet most of your criteria but none meets all. Would you like to view them?"
"Yes."
Marwan gave Evie a screen device and controlled the cursor on his iPad. A device pairing for the convenience of both customer and agent.
Evie stared at the first of the three options.
A mountain villa that filled most of the conditions except that it didn't have any fence surrounding it. It was at the foot of the Everette mountain outside of District S. A fairly secluded area.
Another was a lakeside villa in the West, District C. While the view was breathtaking, the soil wasn't so fertile, and there were several other villas beside it. Evie wasn't planning on making her safehouse beside other humans.
She had her reasons.
The last was the forest villa. It was in the heart of District A. A low population district on the North side compass direction. It stood alone within a forest within a several-kilometer radius without human activity. The issue with this was that it didn't have such high-walled fences. The villa itself was sturdy and could withstand attacks from wildlife. Besides the Lakeside Villa, the other two had adequate space.
'Lakeside Villa out. Now the hard choice is this…Mountain villa or Forest Villa? Should I buy both or just one?'
Evie looked at the price range and was slightly taken aback.
Both places wouldn't even cost half her recent net worth.
Hmm!
The choice was obvious.
She could buy both… but she didn't do that.
She wasn't stupid.
With so little time, she couldn't do much with both places. She opted to invest in one place. Location was also an important factor. Collectively with many other reasons the mountain villa in S District was most convenient for her next plans.
"Mr, Marwan. I would like a full property report on The Mountain Villa in District S. Not just the blueprint but every little detail on it. I will sign the ownership deed as soon as you can prepare them."
Evie crossed her arms as she sat straight. Her voice was dominating without a hint of wavering.
Marwan was flustered since he thought he heard wrong. Mostly because this customer was his one-way ticket to a quick promotion and heavy bonus commission.
"Y-you mean you will buy the property, Ma'am?" He couldn't help but stumble on his words. He was suddenly nervous in front of this generous heavy-pocket customer.
"Yes. How long will this take when put on priority?" she asked.
"Just a day, Ma'am. We have all this information in our database. To transfer the rights to you as quickly as possible, I will have to talk to my boss who has the most authority. Completing the process will be much faster."
Marwan talked as quickly as possible while setting the property on the reservation list. It would be removed from the list of available places on the website.
Evie glanced out the window and was met with the orange twilight dusk. The sun was already setting.
"Let's finish this up tomorrow. That will be all Mr. Marwan," her tone gave no room for further negotiation.
Marwan felt an awe-inspiring aura from Evie, the aura unique to tycoons. He quickly packed everything and bowed deeply before rushing out. It was bound to be a long night of work for him. However, the smile on his face didn't diminish in the slightest, it only got bigger with every step.
Evie was left on her office desk staring at the sunset, lost in thought.
***
Ring! Ring!
A man seated in an office was playing on his phone when a call broke his concentration. His unique scarlet irises came into view similar to his wavy crimson-red hair.
Tks!
He clicked his tongue since he lost the level he was playing. His frown and furrowed brows reflected his agitation.
"What is it?" He took the office telephone.
"Mr. Leonard, we have received a notification from our subsidiary company, Homely Cove in District S. They have closed a deal on a villa. The recipient wishes the deal to be closed as soon as possible." The sweet voice on the other end spoke carefully trying their best not to stutter.
"Let the company know they can go through with it. I will approve the contract as soon as possible on my end."
"Yes, Sir. I am on it."
The call ended there and Leonard stared at his phone with unmasked agitation. His sharp features didn't ease the dangerous aura he was emitting.
"Just when Uncle isn't here."
Tks!
The Cove Estate was overseen and led by his Uncle, the Specter family head. Right now, he was on vacation somewhere with his wife and Leonard had to replace him on his leave.
'There shouldn't be any issue. Uncle is coming back in three days anyway. He will take care of the aftermath. I just have to sign some documents.'
With that thought, he resumed playing the new race game without a worry.
***
10:00 PM
Evie was sprawled on her king-size bed in light pajamas with her phone in hand. She was scrolling through online goods instead of sleeping. She would have them shipped as soon as she secured an address. After all, she couldn't have her things brought over to the company, right?
This was one of the reasons she purchased a villa. In a true sense, she didn't plan on living such a secluded life, however, her next plans required privacy. During the next few months, the villa would be her privacy.
She also did it this way mainly because she couldn't be bothered to visit department stores.
Plus, no shop sold everything she needed collectively. There was also an issue with transport and packaging, so she couldn't bother arranging that separately. These trivialities weren't things Evie had the luxury of spending time on. She directly picked the option of online shopping. Fast, convenient, and easy.
She went through the whole itinerary of what they had in the biggest business chain. From simple toiletries and skincare and hair products to tools, cooking supplies, and camping gear.
She also scrolled the clothes sector but she couldn't make up her mind what she wanted. She loved getting her clothes personally and matching them accordingly personally. She never felt like leaving this to the internet so that particular task was set aside, including shoes and accessories. Evie believed that she needed to be her best even if the apocalypse struck the next day.
When she was done with putting whatever she could in her cart, she felt her eyes getting heavier. Slowly, she drifted off to sleep.