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The older woman held out her hand. “I’m Sarah Carter. You must be Jade.”
“Yes, I am. Great to meet you.”
“I only have a few minutes. I have a client processing. But the place is small.” She laughed. “It won’t take too long for me to show it to you. Come on back.”
The apartment was accessible from the back of the beauty shop as well as from the outside. Sarah led me up a flight of narrow stairs. She unlocked the door and opened it.
“It ain’t much, but it’s cheap. I’m your landlord. I own the building, and I live in the apartment next door. Just these two apartments. One of my girls was renting it, but she got married last week, so we’re vacant again.”
I looked around. I liked the hardwood floors, although they were in need of a good buffing.
“No bedroom, I’m afraid, but the living area is huge, so you can use a futon at night. I updated the appliances in the kitchen two years ago, so they’re nearly new. Updated the bathroom too. It’s small, but state of the art.”
“It’s actually pretty cute.” I was getting a good vibe from it, which surprised me. And heck, a manicure was only a couple steps away. I loved a good mani-pedi.
I looked through the kitchen and then the bathroom. “I assume it’s ready now to move in?”
“Yup. All you have to do is sign the lease.”
“Are you willing to go month-to-month?” As cute as the place was, I’d be moving into one of those better apartments on the outskirts of town when I got a car.
“Absolutely. Most of my tenants go month-to-month. Because the place is so small, it’s really just a starter pad. Usually people are here for six months to a year.”
“That sounds perfect to me. I work over the city attorney’s office, so it’s close enough to walk. I don’t have a car right now.”
“Sounds like you’re interested, then.”
I nodded. “I definitely am. I don’t have any furniture though. I’ll have to arrange for a mattress or futon before I could move in.”
Sarah nodded. “I can help you there. If you want the place furnished, it’s an extra fifty a month. I can move in a sofa, a coffee table, two chairs, and a pullout bed. Lisa had her own stuff, so the furnishings are in storage down in the shop. I can have my boyfriend move them up anytime.”
I let out a laugh. “By the end of the day?”
“You betcha.”
I held out my hand. “Then, Sarah, you’ve got a deal. I’ll write you a check right now for the first month.”
That transaction taken care of, I headed over to the hotel, grabbed my suitcase, let them know I wouldn’t be staying another night, and took my stuff over to my new apartment. By then my lunch hour was over, so I stopped by Rita’s to grab a sandwich to go and headed back to the office. These sandwiches were adding up and squashing my car fund. I’d need to get to the grocery store and lay in supplies.
No sooner had I logged back in, when my phone buzzed. Marj.
“Hey there,” I said.
“Jade, I’m so sorry I couldn’t find an apartment yesterday. Joe needed some help because his secretary was sick and he had some filings that couldn’t wait.”
“I know.” Shit! I cuffed my hand over my mouth.
“You know? How?”
I sucked air through my teeth. I had promised Marj no more secrets. “Talon told me.”
“Talon? When did you see Talon?”
I sighed into my phone. “He came to see me last night.”
Silence on the other end of the line. In my mind’s eye, I could see Marj’s mouth dropped into an oval.
“I promised I wouldn’t keep anything from you, remember?”
