The Billionaire & I

26.

***

"Hey—"

"I just punched your landlord."

"What? Why?" I opened the door wider, letting an annoyed looking William into my apartment. It was still a few minutes to noon and I was in the middle of deciding whether to tie my hair up or leave it down when he knocked mere seconds ago.

"He saw me and started talking shit about how my blondie girlfriend would be next to be killed." He flexed his fingers.

"He's been saying stupid stuff like that all week." I left my hair down. Jiggy's crude words still made my skin crawl and I steadfastly tried to evade him but the man was a boisterous pestilence.

"And that doesn't seem suspicious to you?"

"It does, it's extremely creepy too but you saw the man, he's barely ever sober. Could someone like that really commit a crime and not get caught immediately? He has like zero coordination."

"Don't completely overrule it and remember that night," he looked around my apartment. "I'm glad you're moving out of here soon. Are you ready?" With his question, his dark eyes landed squarely on me and I consciously smoothed the front of my skirt down.

"Um yeah. Let me go grab my purse."

Red bricked and many storeys high, the Illston tech apartments building stood located in a somewhat busy area of Brooklyn. The neighbourhood was a far cry from my potholed and grime filled one. I mentally laughed at the irony I was now faced with. The apartment I'd fervently declined when William first proposed it was now looking like some sort of saving grace.

"How'd you come up with staff apartments anyway? Seems more common with academic staff."

"It was actually Mark's idea to start investing in real estate. And when we bought the building, it was only meant to be leased out to whoever but I noticed a few staff struggling and decided to ease things a little and turn it into staff living for those who really needed it."

"How noble of you."

"Here I thought you'd be a tiny bit awed." He grinned.

"As if." I rolled my eyes but smiled. As if I'd let you know.

We entered the building through the double doors and the interior was even nicer than the exterior. The lobby was wide with various sitting and waiting spaces. William walked straight to the dark wood front desk that matched the brown and cream tones of the rest of the lobby.

"Afternoon Cheryl," I heard him say before I delved further into the lobby, viewing it with keen interest. My current apartment's lobby was quarter this size and the reception desk had been vacant since I moved in and probably since the day it was first brought in. This place certainly wouldn't be a bad place to live in.

Other apartment options were available. But, I was only slightly shameless and the idea of not paying rent for the first three months was amazing. Also, I had a plan. In a year, I'd be out of here. Out of this apartment and out of this job. I glanced at William who was still talking to the receptionist. I'd be faraway from the debacle I somehow found myself in since seeing him in that boardroom months ago. I had to be out of here.