Chapter 4 #2
Just as she returned to her desk, her phone vibrated in her pocket. She found another Facebook message on her screen with another interested renter. A man.
She opened the message:
Hey. Looking for a nice space ASAP. Willing to pay above the asking price and can move in quickly. I’m 30 years old, work in finance here in Chicago, and spend most days and evenings out, so I don't plan to be around much. Lmk. - Carter
Well, hi, Carter, Paige thought as she spied his profile picture—a close-up shot of a gorgeous, tan, and smiling man with dark-brown hair. Even from the small circle she could tell he was handsome. What are these apps and dating shows doing to me? Paige hadn't been this thirsty in a while.
Focus, Paige.
She hadn’t really pictured her new roommate being male, but this guy seemed almost perfect. He hadn’t scoffed at the rental price, he wouldn’t be around much to complain about her TV watching habits, and he was definitely easy on the eyes.
She typed back:
Hey, Carter! Thanks for reaching out! Are you able to meet at five today around LaSalle and Erie? I can send you the address for a Starbucks there. We can chat through some details.
Within minutes, he replied with, "Sure,” and Paige couldn’t help but smile at her phone screen.
Once she snapped back to reality, she wished she had suggested meeting up the following day so she could have planned a cuter outfit.
She was wearing an oversized tan blazer over a fitted black tee with black pants and chunky black loafers.
It wasn’t her most exciting or flattering outfit, but it was going to have to do.
He’s a potential roommate, Paige. Not a date.
Unable to focus on her work, she clicked on Carter’s profile image to do some light stalking.
Private, of course. She rolled her eyes.
But there were three photos set to public that she could see.
One was a photo he had been tagged in, clearly from the late ’90s.
She guessed he must be around nine or ten years old in this photo.
He was in a loose baseball jersey with a gap between his front teeth, posing next to a guy that could be his dad.
A cute picture, but not what she was hoping to find.
The second photo was a professional shot of a men’s high school lacrosse team. She scanned the image and found a guy who could be a sixteen-year-old Carter standing in the back row. So, he’s tall then, she made a mental note.
The third photo wiped the smile off of Paige’s face. It was Carter and a brown-haired woman on a boat at sunset. The woman was giving him a kiss on the cheek, and while the backlighting kept Paige from seeing her face clearly, she could tell this woman could be a model.
Well, not surprised a man this hot might have a girlfriend. But then why is he looking for a roommate? And why is he considering a female roommate? Either this man is fresh out of a breakup or he is extremely bad at updating his Facebook page. Both are equally possible.
If Carter was post-breakup, Paige had no interest in being a rebound. And if he did have a girlfriend, then he was completely off-limits. Only a year ago she was the woman who was cheated on—she could never be the other woman.
But there wasn’t enough information on Carter’s barren Facebook profile to be sure. For all she knew, this photo could be from 2018 and he’s been single for six years.
Paige pretended to work, and as hard as she tried not to let her mind wander, she came up with different scenarios of how she and Carter might fall in love—or at the very least fall into bed.
The end of the day couldn’t come fast enough.
***
Five o’clock rolled around and Carter was nowhere in sight.
Paige checked her watch every five minutes, becoming increasingly annoyed at his tardiness and lack of response to her "Hey, I’m here" message.
Luckily, she had a book stashed in her work bag to occupy the time while she waited for him at Starbucks.
Forty minutes passed and still nothing. Paige had tried making up excuses for him for the first twenty minutes, but by the time thirty minutes, then forty came around she was starting to feel steam come out of her ears.
Sure, his profile picture was hot, but standing up a potential landlord for a roommate interview with no communication was downright rude.
Just as she was packing up to leave, Carter finally waltzed in the front door with a stony look on his face.
He was wearing an expensive-looking gray overcoat with a white Oxford shirt and tailored navy-blue pants.
His dark-brown hair was longer on the top but held in place perfectly by product.
He looked like he had walked out of a J.Crew catalog, but that didn’t erase the annoyance Paige felt.
“Hey! I’ve been waiting for you,” Paige said with a sour tone.
“Yeah, my bad,” he replied without an ounce of regret or apology. He even had the gall to look down at his watch as if he had somewhere else to be.
Carter looked like a Greek god, chiseled by Michelangelo himself, but all Paige was feeling in that moment was rage.
How could he be so inconsiderate? Doesn’t he need something from me?
“I already have a drink, are you going to grab something?” Paige gestured to her now lukewarm hot chocolate.
“Nah, I’m good,” he said coolly with a look on his face that said he’d rather be anywhere else.
“So, let me get down to it,” Carter started.
“I’m in a situation where I need to move out quickly, and I just need somewhere on a month-to-month basis while I find new arrangements.
Ideally, l’m looking for somewhere in the Lincoln Park neighborhood that looks nice, and where I feel comfortable crashing at night.
I don’t plan on spending much free time at the apartment with work and social events.
And oh,” he added, “if there are other offers, I’m willing to pay more. ”
This got Paige’s attention. And given the fact that Carter was already on her nerves, she decided to take advantage of his last statement. Let’s squeeze this guy for all he’s worth.
“Actually, I did meet with a few people yesterday and today, and two of them are serious about the room and ready to sign a lease. But if you’re willing to pay five hundred more each month I’ll send you a lease tonight, and you can start moving things in as soon as tomorrow.”
She stared him down, using all of her power to look confident and unwavering in her negotiation.
“That’s fine,” said Carter. His tone was the same as when he first walked in, like the thought of being in this Starbucks meeting was a waste of his time.
“Great, then it’s a deal.” Paige stretched out her hand to him to shake on it, but Carter reached for his phone and started texting someone instead of acknowledging her.
The nerve of this guy! I should have asked for more than five hundred extra.
“I’ll send over my phone number, email, and other details in a message. I gotta go.”
And with that, Carter got up and left the café.
Paige was stunned. A few hours ago she was dreaming up fantasies about falling in love with her handsome roommate.
Now she could barely stand knowing they’d be sleeping under the same roof.
But at least she’d be raking in more money at his expense.
Plus, he was good with a month-to-month lease, which gave her more flexibility to kick him out once she saved up enough.
On her way home she called Nadia to debrief on the second day of interviews.
“Wait, wait, wait, she is moving out because her roommates talk about reality dating shows in the morning before work?”
It sounded even crazier when Nadia repeated it back to Paige.
“I know, Nads, it took everything in my power to keep my jaw off the floor.”
“I mean, I don’t even think we could count how many mornings we’ve had that exact conversation.” Nadia could barely get the sentence out without laughing. She added, “It’s definitely in your best interest to tell her no! That is borderline psychotic to be that irritated by something so normal.”
Then Paige started on Carter, sparing no details about his rude behavior.
“Nooooooo,” said Nadia. “Paige, you are not telling me that the hottest man in Chicago wants to live in your place for more money than you listed it for.” Paige had texted Nadia a screenshot of Carter’s profile photo, which Paige had to admit didn’t do him justice.
“He is such a prick, Nadia! He was rude and not even sorry for being forty minutes late without a single message. And then he dissed my handshake!”
“Not the handshake!” Nadia repeated.
“I tried to do some sleuthing and I guess there is a chance he is fresh out of a breakup, which could explain his moodiness, but I’m not sure I can let that slide as an excuse.”
“I mean, newly single or not, the guy is clearly not boyfriend material, and it sounds like he will just keep to himself and not engage with you. So, it will essentially be like living alone . . . just with some nice eye candy every now and then.”
“I can’t argue with the logic, but he was a total jerk!” Paige griped.
“I say you suck it up and then eventually hate-bang him.”
Paige had to push the image out of her mind before it distracted her.
“Nadia! I’m hanging up the phone immediately.”
“No, don't!” Nadia begged. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. He’s just so hot. And you could really use a good roll around in the bedroom after your nearly year-long dry spell.”
“Oh my god, now I’m really hanging up,” Paige said as she hit the red button to end the call.
Nadia wasn’t wrong. Paige had avoided dating and hookups ever since the breakup. As much as she wanted to get revenge on Chance after he cheated, she was too sad after it all happened. And by the time the sadness faded away, she was scared any rejection would reopen the wound.
She immediately had a text from Nadia:
I’m sorry! I support you with whoever you choose ;)
Paige sighed and wrote back:
Well, you’ll be happy to know I’m sending him the lease as soon as I get home.
She looked down at Nadia’s filthy emoji-filled reply and couldn’t help but blush.
Carter was hot, yes. But there was no redeeming his personality. They would just be roommates, nothing more.
It took the rest of her walk home to finally stop blushing.
An hour later, after careful deliberation, she caved and sent a message to Carter confirming the room was his and that he could move in over the weekend.
She attached a lease she had made using an online template that included general rules for the apartment, their agreed-upon price, and her Venmo information.
After just a few minutes, a notification popped up on her phone. It was a single thumbs-up emoji from Carter.
Really? She thought. How cocky and arrogant do you need to be to include zero words of thanks or excitement to your new roommate?
But Paige barely had time to scoff at his response, because shortly after the thumbs-up message, she had another notification from Venmo with Carter’s first month of rent.
She transferred the money to her bank account and couldn’t stop smiling as she cracked open her laptop and started working on her business plan.