Shelbie closed the door behind her to AJ's office. He smiled at her and pointed at the chair on the other side of the desk. She sat down and smiled back at him. He was a good boss. She enjoyed the time she had been working there. When she chose to walk into a stranger's garden three months ago, she had never in a million years thought it would lead to where she was now.
"Just doing my usual three months checkup," he said. "I always do that with people I hire, and you'll find out I check in later as well. I wanna make sure everyone is happy working here. So tell me, Shelbie, are you happy with this job?"
"I love it," she said truthfully.
"That's good to hear," he smiled. "And no one has given you a hard time?"
"No, everyone here is respectful. I will admit I was scared joining an all male workforce at first, but not one single rude comment has been made in my direction. And you're a great boss, AJ. I know I can always come to you with anything."
He smiled proudly. He loved getting this kind of feedback.
"Well, that was all," he said. "I'll see you tomorrow."
She left his office, waved at her coworkers, and walked home. She still couldn't afford a car but she loved walking. Just the fact that she was allowed to go wherever she wanted when she wanted meant a lot to her. Getting out of her mother's house had opened up a whole new world for her.
She made it home and kicked off her shoes. She took out her phone and found Roman's number. She needed to talk to him about something important. He answered after three rings. As always she could picture him smiling by the tone in his voice.
"I was hoping to hear the voice of an angel today," he said.
"I don't even know if that was supposed to be flirting," she laughed.
"I don't know either," he laughed too. "So what's up?"
"Rent is up," she said.
He stopped laughing and sighed on his end.
"It's okay. I talked to my friend. He said you could stay another month for free," he said.
"He's said that for three months now," she said.
"He's a good friend," he said.
"I'm beginning to think he doesn't exist," she said.
He cleared his throat. Clearly he was uncomfortable. She hated questioning all the good things he had done for her but something about this whole situation was starting to feel weird.
"Let me meet him," she said.
"He's a busy man," he said.
"I don't care. I wanna meet him. He's my landlord. What if something breaks that I need his help with?" She asked.
"Then you call me," he said.
"Roman, either you give me his number or have him call me, or I'm gonna pack up my shit and move out next weekend," she said.
"And go where?" He asked.
"I don't know," she answered frustrated. "Back to my mother maybe."
"You'll do no such thing!" He growled.
"Then give me his fucking number!" She raised her voice.
"I'm on my way. Don't go anywhere," he said.
He hung up and she let out a sound of frustration. Three long months and this was one thing that was getting to her. Roman was a sweetheart, and she loved that she had him in her life, but some things weren't adding up, and she was scared those things might come back to bite her in the ass. 15 minutes later she heard his car outside. He walked fast up to the front door and entered without knocking.
"Let's talk," he said.
"Just give me his number," she said.
"You don't need that. Just go through me if you need something," he said.
"I need to pay rent," she said.
"You don't have to," he said.
"But I want to," she said.
"What's so wrong with getting to live for free? Don't you like it here?" He asked.
It felt like the air was kicked out of him. He sat down on the couch and looked up at her.
"I don't understand you," he said.
"This feels shady. Either give me the contact of the landlord or I'm out of here," she said.
"I'm the landlord, alright?" He yelled.
He stood up again and stared at her.
"I'm your fucking landlord," he said.
"That's what I was afraid of," she said.
"Why are you afraid? I would never ask for anything in return. I just wanna help you," he said.
"For three months the only thing you haven't told me is what you do for a living. You keep talking your way around it, and AJ does the same. I wonder what kind of shady business you do. I need to know if police is gonna show up at my door one day and arrest me for something you've done. Are you hiding drugs or a body under the floors of this house? I'm fucking scared, Roman. I need to know what you're hiding," she said.
"Oh my god," he whispered.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a tight hug.
"I'm so sorry. I never meant to scare you," he said.
"Please, tell me," she said.
"I'm a landlord. I swear. I have many houses and apartments. Nothing shady. I'll show you all the paperwork to prove it. I didn't want you to know because I knew you'd connect the dots that I own this place," he said.
"I don't understand," she said.
"I knew you wouldn't accept a free ride if you knew it was me," he sighed. "I just wanted you to feel special after 32 years in hell. I didn't know what else to do. That morning I woke up early. I drove to the thrift shop, picked out all the furniture, and had them transport it back here while I drove out and bought kitchenware and other things for you. The only thing I bought from new was the bed because no one should sleep in a used bed," he said.
Her jaw dropped at that information. So that was why he was out of the house that first morning where she had slept in.
"You bought all of this?" She asked. "Why?"
"Because you needed help, and I wanted to help," he answered.
"Don't you think this is a bit overkill?" She asked.
"Not to me," he sighed. "I hate bragging about my money but I can afford it easily. It's just a drop in the ocean to me."
Again she was surprised. She knew he had his life together and that he wasn't exactly poor, but hearing he was that rich was still a surprise.
"If it's that important to you to pay rent, you can do it," he said. "I just didn't want to cross that line. I was hoping that maybe one day..."
He voice died down and he sighed again.
"Hoping what?" She asked.
"Forget it. It's stupid. Sometimes I'm a bit of a dreamer and I need to pull myself back down to earth," he said.
"No more lies, Roman," she said.
"Fine," his shoulders dropped. "I was hoping that one day when you're ready, I could ask you out on a date. I wasn't actually going to ask because I'm afraid you'll think you have to because of what I've done for you, and I don't ever wanna make you feel like that. Like I said, I'm a bit of a dreamer sometimes. I'm gonna go home and get the paperwork now. I'll come back with a lease so you can start paying rent."
He turned his eyes to the floor and walked towards the door. Everything suddenly felt different. He felt like he had ruined a good thing.
"Saturday," she said.
He turned to look at her, not sure what she meant.
"I'll take you out on a date this Saturday, and you're not allowed to pay for anything," she said.
He smiled widely at those words. He hadn't ruined anything. She was ready to take that step with him.
"Or we can split the bill," he tried.
"I'll pay. That's my offer. Take it or leave it," she said.
"I'll take it," he said.
"Great," she smiled. "Pick me up at 6."