Richard had woken up earlier than usual. Kathleen had made even more absurd changes to the deal they made the night before. She has told him to leave the house the next day and only return when he got the contract. Richard hadn't agreed at first, but his mother-in-law took it as a sign that he wouldn't succeed, so Richard had no other choice but to bite on the bait. And now here he was, getting ready to leave the Warren Family Mansion for God knows where. He had checked his status, he had no less than $17,000 in his savings account now.
'That should be enough to rent an apartment for a week or two.' Richard said as he walked towards Diane's room. He knocked on the door and waited for a response.
"Who is it?" Diane's voice came from inside.
"It's me." Richard responded.
"Stand out there, I'm not through yet." She said. Her tone had a bit of annoyance mixed in it. Richard knew why she was annoyed. She was still soured up about the deal he made with his mother-in-law. No one believed he would be able to get the Denali Clean Energy contract, and frankly, he also have any idea how he will be able to do so either, but he knew that if he didn't do so, he stood a chance to lose the very thing that could change his life.
Richard for a few minutes before Diane opened the door. She walked out, in a red suit that gave her a professional businesswoman charm. She truly was beautiful, and Richard fell in love over and over whenever he sets his eyes on her.
"Don't just stare at me, here." She thrust her purse into his hand, and then walked towards the stairs. Richard followed quietly behind her.
"Are your belongings packed? Not like you have anything worth keeping anyway." Kathleen's voice sounded from the dining table. She had an annoyed expression on her face. She was expecting to see Richard with a duffle bag or something, but Richard was actually holding.. a purse? And from the looks of it, the purse was Diane's. What's he doing with Diane's purse?
"What are you doing with my daughter's purse? Do you plan on stealing all her money before you take your wretched self out of here?" She asked him. Her eyes set on his.
"Mom! What do you mean? I told him to hold my purse for me when he came to remind me of breakfast." Diane retorted sharply and rolled her eyes at her mother. She took sat down, took a plate and helped herself to the spaghetti and meatballs on the table. Meanwhile, Richard placed the purse on the table beside her, and returned to the kitchen. Ever since he came to live with the Warrens, he had never once ate on the same table with them.. it was clear as day he wasn't seen as part of their family.
Richard waited a few minutes, and soon Diane and her family were through with breakfast. He went back and took out the plates, the next thing was to do the dishes.
"I want you out of here in half an hour, do I make myself clear?" Kathleen's voice sounded from the dining table. Richard didn't respond. His mind was occupied on which Estate to rent an apartment. He already knew his mother-in-law was expecting him to beg her for a few more days to stay at the house, but he wouldn't, not when he already had a plan in mind.
*
The cab came to stop in front of a tall skyscraper. This was the Sunset Agency, they were in charge of the Sunset Estate, and that's exactly where Richard planned to stay.. why live in a poor environment when he was rich now.
Richard walked into the building, the lobby wasn't as crowded as he had expected, but what did he care? He made his way to the reception. He could see a middle-aged man arguing with a lady who was dressed in a professional white top and black skirt outfit.. seems to be the receptionist.
"What do you mean it's five thousand? The last time I was here, the price was three thousand a week, and twelve thousand a month. And now you're telling me it's five thousand a week? What do you take me for? A fool!?" The man was basically furious with the receptionist. It seems the price for apartment rent has skyrocketed.. well, price of everything was getting very high every day, so that didn't come as a surprise to Richard, besides, he wasn't bothered, he gets twelve every day from the system.
"Uhm, excuse me, but I'll like to rent an apartment, just the Garden View apartment." Richard spoke out, breaking the heated argument between the two. The middle-aged man turned to Richard, sized him up, and couldn't help but notice Richard's plain wornout T-shirt, grayed out jean trouser, and unremarkable footwear. He immediately burst into laughter, while the receptionist stared at him with disdain and disgust in her eyes.
"This kid just cracks me up." The man said and burst into laughter, attracting the stares of the few people around.
"Sir, I'd like you to leave right now, this is a high-end agency, certainly not for your kind." The receptionist said with a straight face.
"My..kinda?" Richard whispered.
"You heard the lady, kid. Crawl back to whatever sewer you came from, this isn't a place for you." The man said harshly and then turned his attention back to the receptionist, "I will pay $3,500 a week. That's the highest I'm paying."
"I see, so this is how the prestigious Sunset Agency treat a potential customer." Richard said, his voice firm and laced with annoyance.
Hearing his words, everyone turned to him. The middle-aged man wasn't laughing this time.
"Sir, leave now or I will call security to escort you out." The receptionist said.
"And what if I refuse? I'm here because I want to rent an apartment, and you, a common staff, not only just disrespected me, but even going as far as saying you will call security to toss me out?" Richard then stared at her, and his voice toned down to icy cold, "What do you think the management will do to you when they hear of this?"
To his words, the receptionist was now livid, meanwhile everyone else had a smile on their faces as they couldn't wait to watch a show.
"What's going on here?" A gruff voice spoke out. Everyone turned to the newcomer.. it was a man dressed in a well ironed beige suit..
"That's Mr Timothy."
"Isn't he the manager of Sunset Estate?"
"That kid is in trouble now."
Meanwhile Richard's expression never changed, it remained as stoic as when he had entered the building.
