Page 14 of A Bossy Roommate
“It’s lovely to meet you. I’m sure you’ll find the place quite delightful. The views are absolutely gorgeous, and it’s a pretty peaceful place to live. As long as you’re not bothered by the chilly man next door, that is.”
“Chilly man next door?”
“Yes, over in flat fourteen.” She gestures to the apartment to the left. “Ooh, an unbelievably sour soul. Not a friendly bone inhis body. Detests animals. Never spares a moment for a friendly chat. Never smiles, you know.”
Oh, he sounds awful. So much for having a pleasant neighbor. “I’m sorry to hear that…”
“It would be wisest to avoid him,” she adds.
“Well…no problem. I don’t plan on doing much socializing anyway. Are you just collecting a few things before heading out?”
“Oh, no, dear, I shall be here for the next two weeks.”
My stomach drops through the floor and falls all the way down into the garage. “But…Lewis told me you would be out by the tenth.”
Hattie huffs and puts her hands on her hips. “Gosh, that man! Bless his heart, he means no harm, but he’s forever muddling up dates. It’s the twenty-fourth, dear. I’ll be off on the twenty-fourth, attenin the morning. Precisely when the movers arrive.”
Shit. Now what the hell am I supposed to do? Even if it had been her fault, not even in my wildest dreams would I try to kick a sweet old lady out of her apartment so I could use it. Worse, I don’t have enough money to put toward a motel room.
“Oh…okay.” My arms are shaking and itfinallyoccurs to me to put my bags down. “I…have no idea what I’m going to do.”
“Fret not, my dear,” Hattie says. “You’re very welcome to stay here with me.”
“Oh, really?” How kind! Oh, my God. Of course I’ll take her offer. It’s incredibly sweet, and the fact she would open her home to a complete stranger at the drop of a hat tells me all I need to know about her.
Besides, spending time with a sweet older lady will be good. I miss my sister, and having a motherly figure around sounds comforting.
She opens her door farther and steps aside, waving me in.
All of a sudden, my nose starts to twitch, and my throat becomes itchy. This can only mean one thing. I look down at the floor to see three fat orange tabby cats winding their way around Hattie’s legs.
Immediately, I turn away to sneeze. It happens again, and a third time before I force myself to take a few steps away from her.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I say, sniffling. I’ve been allergic to cats since I was small, and just seeing the three animals makes my body start to break out in hives.
“Are you feeling quite all right?” Hattie asks with concern. She tries to step forward, but I put my hand out to gently stop her.
“Cat hair,” I say while sniffling. “I’m highly allergic to cat hair…”
“Oh goodness, I do apologize.” Hattie nudges the cats with her foot and closes the door a bit. “You three, shoo, off you go! Back inside, go on, back inside.”
This is such a mess. I’m broke and homeless, standing in the middle of the hallway of an expensive NYC apartment with my allergies trying to kill me. What am I supposed to do? I don’t relish the thought of spending the next two weeks in my car, but by the looks of things, that’s exactly where I’m going to end up.
Ping.
The sound of the elevator doors opening comes from behind me, and I turn around to find myself facing the person I least expected to see.
Carter. Did he follow me?
“You?” I ask, wiping my watering eyes with the back of my hand. “What are you doing here?”
For the third time in less than twenty-four hours, this man has appeared in my life out of nowhere.Grrreat. This is exactly what I need right now, for my new boss that I slept with to seeme surrounded by numerous big bags, homeless, hopeless, with a red face and nose.
“Oh, Mr. Bancroft, how fortunate that you’re back.” Hattie waves. “It appears there’s been a bit of a mix-up.”
Carter’s eyes bore into mine, their intensity as strong as they were last night, just before he unbuckled his belt. I have no idea what is headed my way.
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