A bonus chapter for you today. Enjoy!

JE characters belong to JE.

13. Bright, Shiny and New

When we met at the door in the morning, Carlos was wearing his grey trousers and white shirt. Because it was such a beautiful day, I decided to wear my skirt suit. Ricardo took one look at us and said, "My my, don't you two look great. Let's get on the road and maybe we'll beat some of the rush hour traffic."

The journey to the office was relatively painless. I explained my conversation with Linda Morris to Ricardo, and he was happy to accompany me to take a look at the apartment on the way home. If I decided I wanted to stay there, he'd happily let Carlos help me move my things. I thanked Ricardo, and once we got to the office, Carlos and I were ushered into the new employee induction training.

The morning went by extremely quickly. We had our pictures taken for our employee ids, we had a detailed tour of the building and we watched several videos about HR policies such as sexual harassment and fraud.

When we were released for lunch, both Carlos and I went up to see Ricardo, who had suggested that we join him for lunch at the diner. Carlos knocked on his father's door, and when Ricardo answered, he smiled and grabbed his jacket and ushered us out of the building.

When we walked into the diner, it was quite crowded. Ricardo directed us towards an empty table near the back. Ricardo sat facing the front of the restaurant and Carlos and I sat across from him with our backs to the front. When the waitress came to take our drinks order, she greeted Ricardo like he was a regular customer, but barely paid Carlos and me any attention.

Carlos raised his eyebrow, and when the waitress left Ricardo said, "I come in here at least once a week, sometimes more if I'm in a rush. I can order at the bar and eat in my office on really busy days."

I didn't say anything, but I suspected that Carlos was a little bit disappointed about the lack of attention he received. Maybe he like the attention, but it was more likely that he wanted to repeat the banter we shared the last time we were here. I decided to ignore him and concentrate on the menu, looking for something that would taste good, but wouldn't get slopped on my new clothes. In the end, I decided on a club sandwich and some potato chips. They were the safest option on a menu filled with chili, hot dogs and many other messy foods.

When the waitress took our food order, Carlos' presence was finally noticed. Ricardo and I took the opportunity to tease him and ganged up him. After our food was delivered, we teased Carlos some more. Carlos looked at us both and said, "If I recall correctly, last time we were here Steph, you implied that we were going to start a family."

I choked on my drink and laughed. "What I said was, 'let's talk about family later' Carlos. I meant your family because we were here right before I met your father for the first time. You were the one who elaborated and started talking about practicing for a family."

I was a little red, but the colour of Carlos' face matched that of a beetroot. He was so red that Ricardo burst out laughing. He said, "Son, be careful with this one, she's probably going to outsmart you at every turn." Carlos looked a little deflated by Ricardo's comment, so when I caught his eye and he winked at me, I couldn't help but laugh.

We finished our lunch and returned to work where Carlos and I spent the remainder of the day learning the various computer security protocols. At around 2:30 PM, Amanda came down to show us to our respective desks.

We followed Amanda into the largest room in the building, where the majority of employees worked. It was an open plan room with desks grouped into fours. Since I was going to be splitting my time between two departments, I was sat at a desk that was between the head of marketing and one of the top accountants.

Carlos was going to be working with the company's business contracts as well as sales, but there really wasn't a set department for that as Ricardo tended to do a majority of that work. As a result, Carlos was assigned the desk directly across from me. Amanda said it was so both of us would see a familiar face every day. Personally I think she liked the idea of keeping me and Carlos close. She was smiling more than was normal when she was showing us our desks.

We settled into our workstations and were thrown into the deep end immediately. Carlos was given three contracts to put together for his father while I was given an audit report from one of our customers whose accounts needed to be balanced.

When I next looked up from my computer, most of the desks in the office were empty. I looked at the clock and realised that it was almost 5 PM. I couldn't believe that 2 and ½ hours had passed already. I looked up and even Carlos was nowhere to be seen. I panicked for a moment thinking that Ricardo and Carlos may have left without me. No sooner than I thought this, they both walked into the room laughing, with huge smiles on their faces.

Ricardo looked at me and asked, "Are you ready to go and look at this apartment? Maria is aware that we might be a little late and has assured me that supper will be just as edible at 6:30."

I nodded and shut down my computer. I grabbed my bag and followed the men to the parking garage. I gave Ricardo the address of the apartment and he laughed. "We don't need the car for this. The building is only four blocks from here. It would be easier to walk than it would be to try to find a place to park."

I was so shocked at this news that my mouth gaped open. Carlos came towards me and used the index finger on his left hand to close my mouth. He laughed at my reaction and said, "Let's walk that treacherous journey and see the neighbourhood where your potential new digs are located."

Ricardo pointed us in the right direction, and 5 minutes later, we were standing in front of an impressive building. A man inside the door saw us standing there and came out and asked me, "Are you Miss Plum?"

I still hadn't found my voice, but I was able to nod. He smiled and said, "Hi there, I'm Jonny, the head of security here. Mrs Morris wants me to show you up to their apartment, but before we go up, I'll explain the building's security.

"There is a man at this desk 24 hours a day. Nobody gets into this building without them knowing about it. Every guest must sign in and be announced before they are able to come up and see you. If you do not wish to see a guest, they will be turned away."

I nodded and followed Jonny to the elevator. He punched the call button and the doors opened immediately. Ricardo, Carlos and I followed Jonny into the elevator and waited as we were lifted to the top floor of the building.

When the doors opened on the top floor, there was a short corridor. There was only one apartment door and a smaller door that Jonny said was storage. Jonny pulled out a ring of keys and unlocked the door. He stood aside so that I could enter first.

My jaw dropped as soon as I walked into the entrance way. The floors and walls were tiled in sheets of cream marble with flecks of gold and brown swirled throughout. Jonny laughed at the look on my face and started explaining what was where. "In the living room, there are two large sectional sofas and three matching recliners, all in soft brown leather. There is a 75-inch wall-mounted plasma TV behind that panel, the remote control is in the coffee table.

"There are speakers wired to the stereo throughout the apartment, so you can enjoy music no matter where you are. The Morrises are very big music lovers. The kitchen has every appliance imaginable, and the dining room is big enough that you could host a dinner part for 20 people.

"There is a library/study down that hall, and there is a large powder room in that corner behind the front door. The master bedroom with a fully equipped bathroom is behind those sliding doors. There are two additional bedrooms and a full bathroom upstairs, as well as a fully equipped gym. And last but not least, there is a Jacuzzi, sauna and a small pool out on the deck off the hallway upstairs."

I was looking around like a lost little puppy, and Ricardo and Carlos were not faring much better. Carlos walked over to me after looking at the television and whispered, "You have to move in here Babe, that television is spectacular."

I laughed and asked Jonny, "Do you mind if I wander around for a few minutes?"

"Sure, I don't mind. I'll leave you to it and I'll go back down to the front desk. There are currently no other tenants, but there may be some deliveries. I don't want to leave the front desk unmanned for too long."

After Jonny left, we looked in every room, each one as beautiful as the last. We went out on the deck and we were each speechless at our surroundings. There was a large BBQ, a covered bar and seating area, as well as several folded chairs and loungers that would be perfect for sunbathing.

Ricardo peeked under the pool cover and said, "This is a little bigger than I was expecting. When he said this was a small pool, I was expecting something like a 6 foot square. This is more like a 25 meter long pool, adequate for swimming laps."

Carlos nodded and continued to snoop. He looked back at me and said, "You know what Steph, you are the luckiest unlucky person I have ever met. So much crap has happened to you in such a short time, so the universe or fate or whatever you want to call it, has delivered you a solid. This place is awesome"

I agreed with Carlos but said, "You are right, this is an amazing apartment. I just don't think I'd feel comfortable living here. It's so nice, and I'd be afraid I'd break or scuff something. Besides, it's too big for just me."

Ricardo smiled and said, "I understand how you feel Stephanie, but you have to admit, it would be a pretty cool place to live for a few months."

I nodded and said, "Come on guys, I'll have to think about it."

We all walked out of the apartment and when we returned to the lobby, Jonny said, "Let me guess, you really liked it, but it's too much for just one person, or you're afraid you'd break something?"

Carlos laughed and said, "That's exactly what she said, almost word for word."

Jonny smiled and said, "I'm sure there are dozens of reasons not to want to live here, but don't forget to focus on the positive reasons as well. I do hope you decide to live here as it would be nice to have another person around. None of the other apartments will be finished until at least November."

"I'll think about it Jonny. I'll let Mrs Morris know when I've made my decision. Thanks for your help tonight."

We waved goodbye to Jonny and walked back to the car. The journey home was made in silence, and when we pulled into the driveway, Ricardo got out of the car and preceded Carlos and I into the house. Carlos walked beside me, put his arm around my shoulder and said, "A penny for your thoughts Babe."

I blushed and said, "I'm embarrassed to say that I was imaging sun bathing on the deck and cooling off in the pool."

"I like the sound of that too. Maybe we can make a list after supper to help you decide. We can list all of the positive aspects and any negative things you can think of."

After we finished eating, that's exactly what we did. The girls had gone to bed, so Ricardo, Maria, Carlos and I sat around the dining room table discussing the pros and cons of me living in the Morris' apartment.

Maria was the first to speak. "I think you should start with the practical issues first, then move to the more emotional ones. For example, the commute is a plus, but being away from your friends is a minus."

I agreed, so added those to opposite columns on a piece of paper. After about an hour, the positive side was just edging in front of the negative column. That was until Carlos mentioned the pool, sunbathing, sitting in the Jacuzzi under the stars, watching a film on a gigantic television and half a dozen other things. In the end, I had to admit that it looked more and more likely that living in that apartment was going to become a reality.

Ricardo and Maria were very supportive and told me that I could stay with them for as long as it took to make my decision or my apartment in New Brunswick was ready. I thanked them for everything and bid them goodnight. Carlos followed me up the stairs and gave me one more positive thing to add to my list. "It will be easier for me to visit you in Newark than if you were all the way in New Brunswick."

I laughed at that. "I'll have to think about that one. I'm not sure whether it's a positive or a negative thing. Maybe I will cherish the days that I don't have to look at that smug look on your face. I'm sure that if you did come visit me there, you'd be completely obsessed with some type of sports on the massive TV."

"You've got me there Babe. I want you for your TV, not for the pool, Jacuzzi, good company, or even the secure building."

I stuck my tongue out at him and closed my door in his face laughing.

I pulled out my laptop and thought about what I was going to say in my email to Mrs Morris as I waited for the computer to boot. I opened my email client and started to compose the email.

After about 20 minutes, I took a break and went to wash up and brush my teeth before bed. I returned to my room. I decided to finish writing the email in the morning, so I put my laptop to sleep and crawled under my covers, still not 100% sure what my answer about moving to the apartment was going to be.

Well, will she move or will she stay with the Manosos? What would you do?