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“You’re giving us the place below market rent and offering work to my fiancé while we arrange for his visa. I think we’re beyond boundaries,” Neri said with a respectful smile. “We’re super grateful for the apartment. And for everything else you’re doing for us. I can’t believe the space for the price and how close it is to James Cook.”
Griffen smiled. “Your dad and I bonded over a matriarch orca who practically made us part of her pod. I feel like he’s been a mate for life, so it’s no trouble to help out his daughter.”
He glanced around the bedroom, his forehead furrowing a little at the state of it. “I bought this block about ten years ago when the market retracted. Best thing I ever did with my money. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that we spend our lives learning about sea beasts and discovering the secrets of the deep, not for the money, but for passion. My advice?” He held up his finger like a sage. “Take the pittance amount you earn from your career as a marine biologist, and put it into something that will turn a profit. That way, you can keep doing what you love but also have money to retire with.”
“Wise words.” Neri grinned. “I’ll remember that.”
“Now.” Griffen cracked his fingers, making me flinch as his knuckles popped. “I’m guessing you figured out the keycode system outside, found your carport, spied your letterbox, and worked through the jumble of keys to find the one linked to this place.”
“We did.” Neri grinned. “When Dad said you were sending the keys, I assumed it would just be one. Not an entire envelope full.”
“Yes, in hindsight, I should’ve waited to see you before handing over every key in the building. My mother always did say that when I got an idea, I went all guns blazing...sometimes with good consequences and sometimes with bad. But...” He laughed, his eyes crinkling. “I believe when fate drops a solution into your lap to a problem that’s been irking you for ages, you don’t procrastinate. This happened quick, but...” His eyes landed on mine. “If you’re as good as Jack says you are, Aslan, then I’m very excited to let you loose on my building.”
I shot Neri a glance and did my best to seem knowledgeable about all things renovation. “I-I’ll do my best not to let you down. I can start tomorrow—”
“No, no. Take a week to settle in. This place needs a good scrub down—my apologies for the state of it. In fact, I won’t charge you the first week’s rent—put that money toward cleaning supplies. I’m embarrassed by the state of it, to be honest. I had bad tenants who did a number on the place. Still chasing them up on unpaid rent. I’ve been busy with research and overseas commitments and haven’t had a chance to do the hard yards myself.”
“You oversee the building yourself?” Neri asked. “You don’t use a company?”
“Not anymore.” Griffen shook his head with an exaggerated cringe. “I fired my last rental agency for negligence. They’re the reason I’m seventeen grand out of pocket for unpaid rent. They weren’t keeping track of payments and failed to do police checks. I lost all faith in them, hence why I’m in this mess.”
He rocked back on his heels, his tan shorts, cream shirt, and camo-coloured Birkenstocks looking as if he’d come off a cruise ship, not from lecturing at the local university. “In fact, the whole palaver with the rental agency is why I got so excited when Jack told me about you, Aslan.”
“Oh?” I frowned, keeping one eye on Neri out of habit. “How come?”
“He said you’re a math nerd. That you have a real gift with numbers.”
“He’s the best.” Neri placed her hand on my forearm proudly. “He tries to pretend he’s not, but I swear he’s a genius. He said numbers feel good in his brain. That he—”
“I like math, but I’m definitely not a genius.” I shot her a look, scowling. No one liked a bragger. My gift with numbers filled me with pride to stay linked with my father, the math professor, but also scared me shitless that the synesthesia I suffered was yet another tie to my biological father, who I wanted nothing to do with.
“Well, I’m hoping...if you were interested, of course...that you could help me with rent collection, depreciating new appliances and upgrades, and work out how to reduce my tax bill. I’ve been meaning to do it for so long, but...” Griffen shrugged. “There aren’t enough hours in the day.”
My ears perked up. Playing with numbers appealed to me a lot more than pretending to be a proficient handyman. “I’d be happy to. To be honest, it would probably be safer to let me sort your books than your properties.” I smiled, even as the strangest sensation of hope siphoned through my veins. Hope that was usually buried beneath cloying concern.
This guy, this job, this home...they all seemed too good to be true.
But I trusted Jack...
Which meant I had to learn to trust this guy too.
Perhaps the next stage of our lives wouldn’t be so bad, after all.
Neri gave me a dreamy look, probably feeling the same hope I did.
Just because we’d left Jack and Anna. Just because we’d driven to Townsville in Neri’s brand-new, second-hand Cherokee, and we were all alone in a city that could potentially destroy us as easily as reward us, didn’t mean we had to fear everything about the future.
With a bit of luck and a lot of love, we might be able to thrive here...as a couple. As independent adults who’d committed, promised, and were ready to face our entwined lives head-on.
“I’d still appreciate if you did the renos too,” Griffen said. “That would be a huge help.”
I nodded, unable to let him down. “Sure. I’ll do my best.”
“Great!” Griffen clapped his hands. “How about you focus on getting this apartment into better shape? Then, over the next few weeks, I’ll bring over the books and go over the rent for each place, the dates of payments, and lists of expenditures, and we’ll see if you can do both. Handyman and accountant? I’ll pay, of course. The rental agency was charging twelve percent of rent plus incidentals. I’m happy to pay you eight...cash in hand. And then an hourly rate for your labour.”
My eyes bugged. “But you don’t even know me.”
“I know, but I have a good feeling. And what’s the worst that can happen?” He shrugged as if he honestly went through life trusting every stranger he ever met. “You suck at bookkeeping and can’t use a hammer to save your life? Oh well, I rented out an apartment that was just sitting empty and helped look after the daughter of a new friend.” He winked. “Still a good deal. But...if you do prove to be a savant with sums and can figure out how to tackle a building as well as you tackled Jack’s boat, then I have no doubt I’m gonna be the lucky one in this scenario.”
