by Martha Carr
Caroline started like she’d just been screamed at instead and turned toward Ember. “Can I answer any questions for you, Ms. Gaderow?”
Ember gazed through the wall of windows and took a deep breath. “Do the bedrooms have carpet?”
“Absolutely not. Hardwood flooring everywhere, though there’s plenty of room for an area rug in the master. Would you like to see?”
Slowly, Ember spun the chair around on her own and pointed past the kitchen. “Right down there?”
“Yes.”
With a nod, the fae wheeled herself toward the master bedroom, a little slowly at first, but she picked up speed soon enough and disappeared through the open doorway.
Cheyenne’s black Vans clomped down the iron staircase, and she swung around the bottom stair, her hand squeaking on the end of the banister. “Definitely a nice setup.”
“Yes. It is.” Caroline’s lips pressed tightly together.
Looks like she just bit into a lemon.
“It’s good to hear there’s no carpet in here.” The halfling stopped beside their guide and folded her arms. “It’s so outdated, don’t you think?”
Caroline took a subtle step to the side to put more space between them, gazing out the windows. “We installed hardwood and tile flooring in all of our units in 2015. Everything’s updated regularly. State of the art.”
“Ms. Gaderow really hates carpet.”
“I’m sure she’ll be more than happy with one of these units. Your…employer seems like the kind of woman who knows what she wants.”
There it is.
Blinking slowly, Cheyenne stared out at the incredible view. A slow, amused smile bloomed on her lips. “She certainly does.”
I should tell her, but it’s too much fun not to.
A little bump came from the master bedroom, followed by a light grunt of exasperation.
“Sorry.” Ember wheeled back and forth a few times and managed to line the chair up again with the doorway. “Some doors are wider than others, huh?” She chuckled and glanced over her shoulder, then wheeled back out past the kitchen and into the main room. “Didn’t leave a dent.”
“I’m sure it’s fine.” Caroline grinned at her, relieved to not be left alone with the Goth girl in her fancy showroom. “What did you think of the master?”
“It’s nice.” Ember glanced up at Cheyenne and shrugged. “Jacuzzi bath.”
“Oh.” The halfling widened her eyes and dipped her head. “Lovely.”
Ember’s eyebrows met as she frowned, then she glanced around the apartment one more time. “Definitely has a nice open feel to it.”
“Almost like a garage, right?” Cheyenne pointed at the wall of windows. “If that whole thing could lift up and slide back across the ceiling.”
With a muffled snort, Ember lowered her chin to her chest and said nothing.
“If you’ll excuse me, Ms. Gaderow.” Caroline pulled a cell phone out of the front pocket of her designer blazer and nodded. “I have to make a quick phone call, so I’ll step outside and let you get a feel for the place on your own.”
“Sure. Thank you.”
The woman’s heels clicked across the floor again, and she stepped out into the hallway, pulling the door closed behind her but leaving it cracked just a little. Her voice drifted into the loft as she made her call.
“Okay, Em. Thoughts on this one?” Cheyenne spread her arms and grinned.
“I really like it.” Nodding, the fae glanced around the huge living room and wiggled her eyebrows. “Did you check out the other bedroom?”
“Pshh. A bedroom’s a bedroom. They’re all the same.”
“Because what you’re really into is that little private loft up there that I can’t get to, huh?”
They shared a laugh, and Cheyenne smirked up at the private loft. “It’d be like giving Glen her own bedroom. I’m pretty sure my desk would fit up there too. Doesn’t matter that it’s up so high. The AC in this place would take care of the extra heat, no problem.”
“If they had any more apartments left like this one.”
“I’m not worried about it.” Cheyenne stepped closer to her friend and leaned sideways to mutter, “She thinks I work for you.”
“Are you serious?” Ember’s mouth dropped open through her smile.
“She called you my employer.”
“Oh, my God. And you didn’t tell her that’s not what’s going on?”
The halfling pursed her lips, trying to keep another grin at bay. “Not yet.”
“Jesus, Cheyenne. If anything, you’re the one paying me.”
“Ha. No. I’m renting us a new apartment. Don’t expect an allowance or anything.”
Ember threw her head back and cackled. The sound echoed jarringly through the apartment, and she covered her mouth with her hand. “This is crazy. You think we found the right one?”
“If you do.”
“And you’re sure that’s… I mean, the rent on this place has to be six months of what I’m paying right now. That’s cool?”
The halfling took a step back, folded her arms, and mocked the pinched, sour expression Caroline had given her. “I wasn’t just throwing around the phrase ‘inheritance’ for no reason, Ms. Gaderow.”
“You’re right. I can’t tell you what to do with it.”
“Can’t tell me what not to do with it, either.” Cheyenne laughed. “This is the place we need. And no carpet. You rolled down to that master bedroom pretty damn fast, by the way. Spend a week in here, and you’ll be faster than me.”
Ember held up three fingers. “Three days, halfling. That’s all I need to kick your ass into the—”
“Thank you for your patience, Ms. Gaderow.” Caroline stepped through the open door, slipping her phone back into the pocket of her blazer. Her eyes were narrowed behind the green cat-eye frames. “Did you have a chance to think about the unit?”
“Yes, thank you.” Ember grinned at the woman. “I really like it.”
“Wonderful. Should we go take a look at the available units and schedule a convenient move-in date for you?”
“Absolutely.” Ember lifted a finger into the air and wiggled it. “Come along, Cheyenne.”
The halfling almost lost it right there, but she swallowed another laugh and grabbed the wheelchair’s handles to push her friend toward the front door. Okay, she caught on fast.
Caroline waited for them to exit the apartment, then she closed the door behind her and locked it again. “I have no doubt we’ll find the perfect unit for you, Ms. Gaderow.”
“Oh, no doubt,” Cheyenne replied in a lilting tone.
The woman ignored her and led them back down the hall toward the elevator. “As soon as we get back to the Guest Center, I’ll pull up the available units so you can look at your options. The process is very quick and simple. You’ll be moving into your new home in no time at all.”
This time, when the elevator doors opened, Cheyenne turned the wheelchair around and pulled Ember backward. Ember clasped her hands in her lap and smiled sweetly up at their guide. “You had me sold at hardwood floors, Caroline.”
Chapter Fifty-Two
Caroline left them in a private conference room in the Guest Center while she went to gather the paperwork for a new lease. Ember wheeled herself back from the table and scowled at it. “Didn’t realize how high they made these things.”
“We’ll get you a lower table. Lower everything, if you want.”
“That’s a lot of work.”
Cheyenne folded her arms, spinning back and forth in one of the black leather executive desk chairs around the table. “Not really. You just kind of point and click, and then someone else does the rest.”
“Oh, yeah? You do a lot of online shopping?”
“Nope. But I’m sure I know someone who could take the lead on that one.”
“Ha, ha.” Ember shook her head, then froze. “Actually, we would still need somebody to handle all the moving and packing, right? And I’m not sticki
ng a couch with a magically charred hole in it inside an apartment like that. Someone’s gotta take care of making that place feel like we wanna live there, right?”
“Like you said, Em. I don’t even have any furniture at my place. All this stuff is way over my head.”
“Okay, I know what you’re doing, and I appreciate it, but you can stop the whole clueless act.” Ember laughed. “If you want me to do all that while you run around Richmond blowing up ogres and rescuing kidnapped kids, just say it.”
Cheyenne spread her arms. “Doesn’t matter what I want. If you’re into it, I’m not gonna stop you.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“Thank you.”
The conference room door opened swiftly, and in came Caroline with a thin stack of papers and two shiny, expensive-looking pens.
“Here we are, Ms. Gaderow. I’ll need you to fill out all the information here. Your name, of course. Personal contact information, et cetera. Then you’ll sign here and here, and this is where you provide your banking information. Account number and routing number. We use automatic withdrawal on the first of every month.” After flipping through the paperwork, the woman sat on the other side of Ember and nodded. “We’ll need the amount of two months’ rent paid in full before you move in, plus an additional security deposit equal to half the monthly rental fee. Does that work for you?”
Ember placed her hand on the thin stack of papers and raised her eyebrows. “I guess so.”
“Very good. Will you be paying by personal check, today, or… Oh! No, no. I’m sorry.” Caroline’s congenial cheeriness vanished when Ember slid the papers across the table toward Cheyenne. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t think to ask if you needed assistance filling out the forms. I’ll have to get us a new one, then, with room for an extra signature if you’re not completing this paperwork yourself.”
“No, this is fine.” Cheyenne picked up one of the pens and started filling out the personal information on the front page.
“Excuse me, ma’am. I don’t mean to be rude, but we do have a strict policy with our lease agreements. I’ll just go get a different form, and we can start again. I’m sorry, Ms. Gaderow. I didn’t even think—”
“Caroline?” Cheyenne looked slowly up from the papers and shot the woman an understanding smile. “We don’t need a different form. Does your system process debit cards?”
“Uh, yes, we do.” The woman nervously licked her lips.
“Great. Then we’ll go with that, and I’ll be paying in cash today.” The halfling turned her attention back to the paperwork and skimmed quickly over the contents.
Caroline slowly sank back down into the leather chair, her hands clasped in her lap as she stared at the Goth chick filling out the forms to become Pellerville Gables Apartments’ newest resident. She glanced quickly from Cheyenne to Ember and back again, her lips moving without any sound.
Cheyenne filled out everything but left the signature lines blank. She tapped the pen on the conference table. “There’s just one more detail, though, before we’re finished.” Here we go. Now I’m channeling Bianca Summerlin.
“I…we…yes?” Caroline stared at her like someone had pressed a gun against her back.
“I’d like to rent the unit you showed us today.”
“Oh, I…we don’t rent those, ma’am.” The woman looked at Ember, but the fae girl just rolled her chair away from the table and smiled.
“Well, I’m sure we can make an exception, can’t we?”
Caroline swallowed. “Not as far as I’m concerned.”
“Okay.” Cheyenne gave the woman a sharp, dismissive smile, her nose wrinkling, and set the pen down. “We’ll try this another way, then.”
When the halfling slid the completed paperwork back across the table toward Caroline, the woman pressed herself back in the executive chair, her eyes nearly popping out of her head.
Then Cheyenne stood and stepped toward the woman, tapping her pen on the top sheet of paper. “I know this is the apartment you’ve typed up, but I would really like to get into the one you showed us today. I have grown attached to that particular view.”
Caroline cleared her throat, tried to speak, then cleared it again. “I’m sorry, Ms….” The woman leaned stiffly forward over the papers to read Cheyenne’s full name and almost choked. “Summerlin?”
“Cheyenne is fine.”
The woman jumped up out of the chair and pressed a hand on the contract, her face flushing bright red as she blinked furiously. “Let me make some calls and see what I can do for you. If you don’t mind waiting.”
“I don’t mind at all.” Cheyenne grinned, and with another clearing of her throat, Caroline tried to nod before turning swiftly away and slipping right back out of the conference room again.
Ember slapped her hands down on the wheelchair’s armrests. “What the hell was that?”
“That was me being a Summerlin.”
The fae laughed and shook her head. “Lit a fire under her ass. Does that happen all the time?”
Cheyenne shrugged and dropped into the closest chair again. “Pretty much. Even when I’m not actively trying to use it for something, my name gets me the looks. It’s super fun.”
“I can’t believe I’ve never seen you do that before.”
“Actually, this is the first time I’ve pulled the Bianca’s-daughter card like this. I don’t need to use my last name as a crutch, but it does have its perks.”
Ember let out a disbelieving snort and shook her head. “That’s a serious understatement.”
“But hey, she’s making calls. That’s gotta be worth something, right?”
“Not as much as throwing your name around, apparently. And she thought you worked for me!”
* * *
Ten minutes later, a tall, rail-thin man in a well-tailored business suit stepped into the conference room. “So sorry to keep you waiting, Ms. Summerlin.”
Cheyenne stood to shake his outstretched hand, and the man didn’t flinch when she held his gaze and gave his fingers a squeeze with a little extra boost. Like he’s looking at Bianca instead of her Goth daughter. Here we go. “Not a problem. Call me Cheyenne.”
“Pleasure, Cheyenne. William Alban. Have a seat, please.” He gestured toward the chair she’d been sitting in, then readjusted his suit jacket and took a seat. “It’s not every day someone steps through those doors wanting to lease one of our show units.”
“Well, it’s not every day I find a show unit I like so much that I’ll do what it takes to get it.”
William chuckled and slid the paperwork toward him across the table, then removed a personal pen from the inside pocket of his suit jacket. “It’s unit 301 in Building One you had your eye on, correct?”
“That’s the one.” As the man scratched out the unit number on the lease and initialed beside it, Cheyenne and Ember shared a knowing look.
“Very good. We shouldn’t have a problem reallocating everything to a different unit to get you in as soon as possible. By Friday of next week, the place is yours.” He looked at her with a small smile, like he’d been called in to handle something that should’ve been easy for Caroline to take care of. Which he had. “If you’ll just initial beside where I’ve changed the unit number, you can sign the rest of this, and we’ll get you that loft apartment.”
Cheyenne sucked in a breath through her teeth and gave him an apologetic smile. “Friday’s a little late for me.”
“Oh. Well, when were you wanting to move in?”
“As soon as I sign this lease.”
William laughed, but when Cheyenne didn’t, he stopped immediately and cleared his throat. “Ms. Summerlin—”
“Cheyenne.”
“Cheyenne, I’m sorry, but it’s not possible to get that unit ready for you on such short notice. It’s almost four o’clock on a Friday. At the earliest, we could have you in there Wednesday, maybe Tuesday.”
The halfling took a deep breath and turned in the black-leather chair
to face the man head-on. “Look, I’m not interested in waiting ‘til next week, and I’m not interested in looking for any other apartment. That’s the one I want. How much will it cost me to get that key in my hand right now?”
“Uh, well, I…” William scratched his temple and cleared his throat again. “I’m not sure we can get a moving crew in there to clear the place out on time—”
“So, it’s the cost of replacing all the furniture and everything already in that apartment? That works for me.” The halfling grinned, nodding slowly as the man processed what she was saying. Come on, William. You’ll get there.
“Furnished? You want the unit as is?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Well.” He tugged his tie, then slapped a hand on the conference table and stood. “I’ll go draw up an itemized bill, then. Should only take me about half an hour.”
Cheyenne rose to her feet beside him and reached into the incredibly deep pocket of her baggy black pants to pull out her wallet. “Don’t bother, William. I’ll just give you my card, and you charge it for the total price you think is fair for everything in that apartment, plus the initial up-front cost as usual. Two months and a security deposit, right?” She pulled out the debit card linked to her inheritance and handed it to him.
The man blinked at it in surprise and swallowed thickly. “Ms. Summerlin, I don’t know the exact cost of that furnished apartment off the top of my head.”
They always forget my first name. “Don’t worry about it. Use your best estimate. I trust you to come up with a number that’s good for both of us.”
She’d heard that line from her mother’s mouth so many times, she knew exactly what it meant. So did William Alban. Not quite a threat and not quite a warning. Don’t even think about taking advantage of me. I know who you are, and you know who I am.
“Of course, Ms. Summerlin.” William dipped his head. “I’ll be right back.”
“Thank you.”
The man turned and slipped out of the room just like Caroline had, and Cheyenne sighed. “I don’t know how she does it.”
“Are you kidding me? You just tore down the guy’s defenses in less than five minutes.” Ember wheeled around to stare at the door. “That was incredible.”