Chapter 1 #2
“Where is it located?”
“Oh,” I say, laughing at myself. “That would be good to know, huh?”
I walk to the back wall in the kitchen and open the wooden, Venetian door. “Ta-da! This is where the stackable unit is kept. Isn’t it neat?”
“Very much so. I like that.”
“Yeah, people usually like it. It’s tucked out of the way and it saves space to have a stackable.”
“Is there a balcony to this place?”
“Yes, it is. It’s off the main bedroom. FYI, all units have balconies. I guess the ones on the first floor would be considered a patio, though.”
“Yep.”
“Alright,” I say, bringing my hands to a clap. “Come this way and I’ll show you the rest.”
I follow him down the hallway because I never let anyone trail me when I’m on a tour for safety reasons. I’m alone with a stranger. Anything could happen. I didn’t think about that when I took this job. I was more focused on running the leasing office, but tours also fall under my job responsibilities. I never told my brothers about this part of the job because I didn’t want them freaking out. I’m a big girl. I can handle myself, and what I can’t handle, this mace and knife on my keychain can, right?
Axel stops in front of the bathroom and peers inside. He says, “I’m sure there’s a bathroom in the primary bedroom, correct?”
“There is, but keep in mind, if you’re looking for a studio—”
“Yep, I understand,” he interrupts before I can finish my thought.
Axel continues to the first bedroom and steps inside. “It’s pretty small,” he comments. “I could see this as a kid’s room or an office space.”
“Yes, exactly. It would be perfect for those people who work from home. That’s a big thing these days. And you’re also right about a kid’s room. It can work for that as well.”
He ducks when he exits as if his head is going to hit the top of the doorframe. I wasn’t paying enough attention to notice if he did that on the way in, but it’s not necessary. He has clearance. I guess it’s just a force of habit. He’s a tall man – well over six feet like my brothers.
“Very nice,” he says as he enters the primary bedroom. “I didn’t expect it to be this spacious.”
“Yes, and if you think that’s something, check out the bathroom. There’s a soaker tub and a double sink vanity.”
He grins, then takes a drink of coffee.
This guy is on a roll.
“What are you laughing at now?” I ask because I just have to. He doesn’t strike me as a man who’d have a vibrant sense of humor. In fact, he looks like a businessman – a guy who may work in tech or a similar field where attention to detail is paramount. Accounting, perhaps? He doesn’t miss a thing.
“I just think it’s a little presumptuous to have two sinks.”
“It’s not.”
“In my opinion, it is,” he asserts.
“Why?”
“What if I want to lease a two-bedroom as a single man? Then I’m stuck with two sinks in my bathroom.”
“Yeah, for the short term, but surely you won’t be single for long, especially if you’re talking about yourself and not speaking in general.”
He gives me an incredulous look and squints his eyes slightly as if what I’m saying is not feasible. As if these women in Columbia are going to let him pass without throwing themselves at him. How could he not think he won’t be single for long – unless there’s something about him that doesn’t meet the eye?
Maybe there is.
People have all kinds of issues hidden behind charming good looks and personalities. This could be the case with him.
Could be…
“Why do you think that?” he inquires.
“That you won’t be single for long? Oh, come on. You know why. Anyway, we’re getting off the matter at hand, and that’s this gorgeous apartment.”
“Right.”
I walk toward the door so he’ll take my lead. There’s nothing else to show. Now’s the time that we talk about the tour – what he liked and what he didn’t like. I never try to convince or sell anyone who comes through here on why they should get a unit with Atlantic. My job is to present the unit, tell them about the amenities, and let them make their own decision. There’s absolutely no pressure. I wouldn’t want to be pressured into anything, so I treat them the way I would want to be treated.
As I’m following him down the hallway, I ask, “What do you think about the place overall?”
“I think the apartment is on the nicer end of the places I’ve seen so far.”
“Good,” I say as we step out of the unit. I lock the door and we head back to the elevators. When the doors open on the ground floor, we walk back to the leasing office. I look in the future tenant parking and notice that he’s driving a black Genesis GV80, and it’s fire, especially with the custom wheels. I’ve always liked those cars, but with my salary, I can’t afford one. Axel must have a good job. Maybe that’s why he relocated here. For work, perhaps. I’m not trying to be all in his business, though, so I don’t bother asking.
I unlock the door to the leasing office and we step inside. I immediately return to my desk where I unlock the top drawer to retrieve his ID.
“I don’t know if I mentioned it, but we also have an exercise room in here. I can show you if you have time.”
“Sure.”
“Okay. This way.”
I walk past my desk and unlock the gym door. “It has all the basics – weightlifting, two treadmills, exercise bikes and you can watch TV while you do your workouts if you choose.”
“That’s cool.”
When we leave the gym, I take him to another room and say, “And this is the clubhouse. If you wanted to have a party or a book club meeting—”
“Book club meeting?” he questioned with a raised brow.
She grins. “Men read, don’t they?”
“I don’t know of any that do.”
“Well, whatever activity you’re into, you can reserve this room. One tenant reserved it for his fantasy football draft. I had one woman reserve it for an anniversary party. I reserve it once a month for activities I plan for the tenants.”
“What activities?”
“General stuff. I just pick something. For example, I’ve done a create your own charcuterie board night, we’ve played bingo, we’ve painted, and—”
“And the residents sign up for this?”
“Oh, yeah. It’s a full house every time. They love it.”
Walking back toward my desk, I ask, “Do you have any questions about anything?”
“Nope. You’ve covered everything pretty well.”
Handing him his license, I say, “Thank you so much for stopping by. If you would like an application, you can take it with you, fill it out, and drop it off, but just so you know, there is a fifty-dollar application fee upon return.”
“Understood.”
“Would you like one?”
“You know what? I think I will fill out an application, but not for an apartment.”
“Huh?”
“I’m actually more interested in working on the maintenance side of things.”
I quirk up a brow. I know I didn’t hear him correctly. Couldn’t have. I say, “You’re joking.”
“I’m not.”
“Then why did you have me show you an apartment?”
“I wanted to see what they looked like so I could get an overall feel for what I’m working with.”
What I’m working with…
I narrow my eyes at the man. Yes, I’m skeptical about him now, and he needs to know that. Why come up here in the rain to tour an apartment that you’re not interested in leasing, only to wind up telling me you want to be a maintenance man? And how the heck did he know I needed a maintenance man? Now, my radar is up.
I ask, “Did my brother put you up to this?”
“I don’t know your brother, Zimyra St. Claire.”
My heart is beating swiftly in my chest after he calls out my whole government. I ask, “And how do you know my name? I never told you that.”
“It’s on your desk.”
“Oh. Right.”
I attempt to release the tightness that has converged with frustration to have a meeting in the dead center of my forehead and ask, “What makes you think I need a maintenance worker right now?”
He shrugs his muscular shoulders. “I don’t know if you need one or not. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask.”
I look him up and down again. I study his hands – not for a ring, even though I see he’s not wearing one. I’m looking for signs that he’s good at working with them, and I don’t find that. His hands are – dare I say – pretty ? I see no scars and I doubt if he has callouses even though I can’t see his palms. This man ain’t never worked maintenance or any other manual labor job a day in his life. I don’t know who he thinks he’s fooling, but I’m not the one to be played with. Mama didn’t raise no fools. She raised St. Claires.
I say, “Judging by your well-manicured hands, I call your bluff. You’re not a maintenance worker.”
“I am.”
“In the words of Judge Judy, I don’t believe you .”
He stifles a smile. “I wear gloves when I’m working.”
“I highly doubt it.”
“Whatever the case, you must need a maintenance worker since you’re giving me the third degree.”
“I do, but I find my own workers. They don’t come to me like this.”
“Isn’t this better? I’m showing initiative. Doesn’t that count for something?”
I cross my arms. Okay. If he wants to play this game, I’ll let him play it. I walk over to the file cabinet, pull an application, and say, “Here. Fill this out. I will also need a copy of your current resume and you better believe I will be checking every past job and doing a full background report.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he says, taking the application.
“If anything comes back dirty, it’s all going in the shredder. Now, was there anything else?”
“Not at the moment.”
“Good. You’ve wasted enough of my time. Have a good day.”
He turns to leave, but not before that smirk flashes across his flawless face, enhancing that hard jawline. While I can admit that he’s gorgeous, I don’t like being played for a fool. If he wanted a job application, he could’ve just said that upfront and saved me the trouble of doing a pointless tour.
Ugh…my brain hurts already this morning.
First the rain, then my wet feet, the leaking ceiling in the bathroom, and then this?
As soon as he exits, I return to my desk, take off my shoes, and call Zander back. After four rings, he finally answers. “Myra, you’re killing me.”
“Hush. You need to get out of bed, anyway. It’s after nine.”
“What part of ‘I’m off work today’ didn’t you understand? I’m sleeping in until noon, and then going to have lunch with Lizzie…only if that’s okay with you, your highness.”
“Whatever, Zan,” I say, rolling my eyes.
His yawn bleeds into my ear canal before he asks, “What’s so urgent that you had to disturb my rest?”
“Question—did you send someone over here this morning to apply for a maintenance position?”
“What?”
“Did you send someone—”
“I heard the question, Myra. I’m just appalled by it. The answer is, no. I’ve been sleeping—well, trying to sleep. Who supposedly did I send over there?”
“Some guy came here acting like he wanted an apartment. I gave him a tour and everything, Zan, only for him to tell me he was looking for a maintenance position.”
“Then give the man a maintenance position. Didn’t you just tell me the last crew dipped?”
“They did, but I can’t just give any ol’ Tom, Dick, and Harry a job. Processes are in place for a reason. Procedures have to be followed.”
“Following procedures gon’ have you getting rained on while you’re trying to pee.”
He cackles, riling me up even more than I’m already… riled .
“Ugh!”
He laughs more at my grunts. “That’s what you get for disturbing my rest. Why don’t you call Zavier with your early morning trials and tribulations?”
“Because he’s seeing patients right now.”
“Oh, so his job is more important than mine.”
“Did I say that?”
“It’s implied.”
“It’s not. You’re more accessible than he is. Plus, you’re off today, Bozo.”
“Right, I’m off. I need to be well-rested so I can fight fires and save lives tomorrow. Bye, Myra.”
“Zander, don’t you…”
He hung up before I could say hang up on me . I place my phone on my desk, thinking he does have a point – I do need a maintenance worker, but I don’t need one so bad that I’ll let some handsome loner, fresh off the city streets of Bridgeport coerce me into handing him a job like he doesn’t have to go through the normal process like everybody else.
And that’s if he really wanted the job in the first place. It could’ve been another waste of my time. Probably was.
At any rate, I get myself together and prepare for a long workday. I usually have two to three showings a day and on top of that, I have to send out emails, reminding people to pay their rent. Then there’s the landscaping. The outside of the buildings reflect what’s on the inside, so I’ll need to schedule maintenance of the grounds. An outside landscaping company takes care of that, for which I am grateful because if I had to rely on in-house maintenance, there would be weeds growing all around this place.