The Art of the Hustle (Complete)

Chapter Nineteen

The next morning we woke up and took a cab back to Ashley's place. "I'll call you later; I just need to take care of this."  

As I was walking home from Ashley's place, I came across a restaurant. I looked up and it said, 'Andre's Seafood Restaurant'. I took my phone out of my pocket ; it was 10:01 a.m. Wednesday morning, July 15th. 

"The fifteenth!" I exclaimed.  

I went into Andre's and the hostess greeted me. 

"Good morning, for how many?" 

"Oh, uh, no, I'm not here to eat. Do you know if Chris is working?" I asked. "I don't know his last name, but he's a server here."  

"Yeah I know him, he will be in later," she said as she checked the schedule. "Yep, he'll be in at 5:00 p.m." 

"Okay, good, do you think I can leave a note for him?"  

The hostess handed me a scrap piece of paper and a pen. I wrote the following: 

'Hey Chris,  

My name is Trevor, I met with you about a month ago regarding your room for rent. I hope it is still available because I'm still interested. Please call me A.S.A.P.  

Thanks.' 

I wrote my name and number at the bottom, folded up the paper, and handed it back to the hostess. 

Later that evening my phone rang. 

"Hello?" 

"Hey, buddy, what's happening?" Chris said. 

"Nothing much, I see you got my note." 

"Yeah, I just got into work." 

"Are you still looking for a roommate?" I asked.  

"Yeah, it's tough to find a suitable match in the city. You seemed like a nice guy and my sister felt positive vibes from you. So yeah, if you want to move in, you can." 

"That would be great, thanks. Do you mind if I come by with my stuff tonight? I will have all of your money." 

"Sure, I get off at 10:00. Just give me a call." 

I didn't want to spend one more night in my place for fear that Ray would come back in the middle of the night with the cops, so I went home, packed up my clothes and abandoned everything else.  

I couldn't remember if Chris had told me to call him at 10:00 or to be there at 10:00 so I called a cab, loaded up the few things I had, and waited on the front steps until he came home. From where I was sitting, I could see Ashley's building. This was definitely an upgrade and I was happy to be downtown.  

The rent was only $600 plus $300 for damage deposit. When Chris came home, I gave him $300 for the remaining 15 days of the month and $300 for the damage deposit. I was now settled into my new apartment and I still had more than half of next month's rent. I had caught the break I desperately needed.