Dealing With Clair

Act One

25-year-old real estate agent Clair is talking to her mother on the phone. She lives in a small flat next to train tracks, and the high-speed trains frequently pass by and drown out her conversation. Clair is reassuring her mother that while her job is stressful and clients can become agitated and aggressive, she never feels truly threatened. Clair enjoys being single (and has no desire to pursue a relationship with her colleague Toby), and sees a promising future for herself in real estate. She jokes with her mother that she could potentially make a lot of money and then just disappear.

In the morning, Clair is at her clients’ house, and consulting with Mike about how much they could reasonably earn from the sale of their house. Mike and his wife Liz have an infant daughter and live-in teenage nanny from Italy (Anna). Mike emphasizes that he and Liz want to behave honorably in any transactions, especially in regards to fulfilling sales contracts. Clair seems skeptical about