Published September 2011; This didn't come from the public Beyond The Mat roleplay website. This came from elsewhere; Randy's character with another writer's OC diva character were in a long-term relationship. This relationship's beginning can be found in our story "Ladies, Do Not Let RKO Buy You Anything". The near-meltdown with Hunter is in "Intricacies of an ugly breakup." It ended badly, and this is the 'official cleanup', how Randy handled things at home. Some might think it was an "I don't give a fuck" attitude. Quite the contrary. But it is easier to remain behind an emotional wall.
Reviews welcome. This is also being published for our current, public Beyond The Mat players and followers to understand our Randy a bit better; this breakup was recent.
Randy got in late last night with Tyler. It was one of those Go To Bed, Go Directly To Bed, Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200 nights. All he'd really wanted to do today was sleep in. Not jump in the tanning bed. Just do nothing. Be lazy. Everybody needs that every now and then.
But when he'd gotten home, he saw that Eve's things were still here, just as they'd been before he left this week. Now, they'd been in contact. She told him not to touch her stuff, that she'd pack it, but the more he thought about that, the more paranoid he got.
She could fall down the stairs, get hurt, sue his homeowner's insurance. Accidents happen.
She could get the last of her bags and boxes out, then call the cops and say he hit her.
Women do some spiteful shit sometimes.
He called his attorney, to put an inquiry in about how to go about this so there was no trouble. "Can he call you back, Mr. Orton? He's on a conference call."
"Sure."
So, Randy waited. There was a lot of clothes, accessories, handbags, shoes, boots, makeup, perfume and personal care items. He'd boxed just a little of it and put it in the garage, but went down there and brought that box back up. Why? That'll be explained in a minute.
He went through the other rooms. There was nothing in Alanna's room that belonged to Eve. Same went for Tyler's. He found a necklace of hers in one of the guest rooms, presumably from when she'd slept in one of those. He put that in his pocket. Checking the bathrooms, he found some of her beauty products, and collected those, to bring in his bedroom again. That was it for the 2nd floor.
Downstairs, honestly, he couldn't find anything that belonged to her, and he did try hard. He'd gone through every room, including the laundry room, as well, making sure nothing was left behind. Nothing.
The Range Rover was still outside. Randy had glanced out the window at it, and the phone rang. His attorney was calling back.
Randy explained the situation simply. "We broke up last month. I'm just trying to have her shit removed from the house."
"She lived there over 30 days, Randal?"
"Well, obviously," Randy said.
"She does have some tenant's rights then."
"Huh?"
"If someone lives with you for over 30 days, they do have some rights as a tenant, even if they're not paying you a dime. Couple that with a breakup...what are your plans for her belongings? You're not thinking about selling them or discarding them, are you?"
"Hell no! I'm not that much of an asshole! I was going to have them put at a self-storage place. I was gonna have movers come in and box everything, pack it and move it. I'd pay for everything..." Randy said, defending himself.
"Oh. Alright, it's not as adversarial as I thought it might be." The lawyer was relieved.
"What?" Randy asked.
"Meaning you're not being spiteful or doing anything illegal. Remember, I said the thing about tenant's rights..you also have rights as a property owner. Who initiated the breakup?"
"I did," Randy said.
"And she left the house? Does she come back to visit or anything?"
"She was supposed to be coming in while I'm on the road to get her shit. So far, that hasn't happened."
"What?" Now the lawyer wasn't worried about Randy being potentially lawbreaking anymore. Now he could see his client possibly being taken advantage of. "You're going to let your ex-girlfriend traipse through the house while you're not there and take whatever she pleases? Or maybe have an 'accident', slipping and falling and suing you? Randal, you're leaving yourself wide open for trouble."
"That's...that's why I'm calling you," Randy said. The fact that the lawyer brought up the possible accident angle got Randy nervous. But he never would think Eve would steal from the house, so the lawyer saying that really didn't concern him. It was just the liability issue and a possible false accusation issue. Randy mentioned the false accusation issue.
"That's yet another way this could be trouble for you," the lawyer confirmed. "Breakups can be volatile, and with your luck, you and your children will be the ones moving out while the judge straightens this out if you do this the way you've been doing it thus far."
"So...what -do- I do?"
The lawyer flipped through Randy's files in the office. "You bought a piece of property in both of your names, an investment or vacation property, yes?"
"Yeah, the condo. And you wrote up in the agreement that if we split, she gets it. I told you to put that in there."
The lawyer rolled his eyes as he looked at the document. It wasn't him, it was a junior lawyer in the firm who'd prepared this document. The lawyer looking at it now felt Randy was being entirely too generous. Divorces of legitimate marriages don't always leave the ex-wife with this much.
"Here's what you're going to do, Randal. Go ahead and call those movers. Go with a good company. Anybody can be insured, but I'm going to go ahead and recommend you contract with Werner Donalson Moving. Those "We Do Moving" people. They're very reputable. Are you writing this down?"
"I am now. Go ahead."
"You're going to have the movers inventory everything first. In cases such as this, it's their protocol anyway. They will document every single thing they pack. Every sock, every shoe, every earring, every bottle of nail polish. The company keeps a copy, you get a copy and a copy's laminated and put inside one of the moving boxes for her. This way, you're protected."
"Ok, what else."
"Alright. The movers won't be putting her things in a Lackland Self Storage or similar place, and incur further expenses to you, though. Randal. There's no need for that. You've overlooked the obvious. You're going to have her things moved to that condo that you bought, that becomes her property. Wow," the lawyer sighed, "You really fucked yourself over in this agreement. You put yourself on the hook to pay the maintenance fees even if you no longer have ownership. I don't know how that slipped past whoever typed it up, but if you want me to have that changed..."
"Leave it for now," Randy said quietly, "I put that in there so she wouldn't have to worry about paying for the place. Just tell me what to do."
"Alright. Everything gets moved to the condo. Have a locksmith change the locks on your house when the movers finish, and change your alarm codes. That way, she can't access your house. There won't be any need for her to. Give the movers your keys to the condo and once those keys are returned to you, drop them at my office. I'll then send a letter out to Miss Sharmouta and take your name off the property deed."
"Ok, but one more thing. She has to come get her second vehicle. She's got a Range Rover in my driveway."
"Call a flatbed, Randal, and have it moved to the condo as well. That building has security. She's got car insurance."
"Well, alright," Randy said.
"Call me if you run into any problems," the lawyer said. Randy said he would. They ended the call.
Randy looked up the number for the Werner people and they said they'd be over around 3pm to give the estimate. "I don't want an estimate," Randy said. "I want you to come and do the job." The secretary who took the call wasn't used to hearing that. Normally, people got an estimate, and then the job would be done several days later.
"Let me put you on the phone with my boss," she said. Randy waited.
"You don't want an estimate first?" the boss asked, perplexed.
"No. My lawyer said you guys are reputable, I need the job done."
"Well, we're booked solid for today. The only one I could get out there would be our guy who does estimates. We do have some open hours on tomorrow's schedule for the move, if it's local and not long distance."
Randy verified it was local and not long distance.
"So we'll have the guy come out today, do the estimates and the inventory sheet and drop off the boxes they'll need. You did say you're paying for the packing of the stuff too? You sure you don't want to pack it yourself?"
"I did say I'm paying yous to pack. I don't wanna pack it myself."
"Ok. Bill will be there at 3 to start the paperwork. I can..let me see the schedule a second, Suzanne," he said to the secretary. She passed the clipboard over. "I can have guys at your house to do the move at 8am, 11:30am, or 4pm."
"I'll take the 8am," Randy said. The sooner, the less dramatic.
"Ok then. Bill will be there with you at 3, and our guys will be there at 8am," he said, after he got the address.
The call ended. Randy would just wait for the guy to show up at this point.