“You would have to deal with me regarding your lease, as I’m the owner of the building you would be staying in.”
“You could just leave my unit alone and demolish everything else,” I grumbled.
“I’ll be turning this building into a commercial venue, and I plan to have the entire building torn down to its foundation and completely rebuilt. It would be rather challenging to do a complete rebuild while you were living here.”
Damn it. “Maybe I like this apartment.”
“You enjoy living in an apartment without a bathroom door?”
“It’s not like I need a bathroom door when I live by myself.”
“While that’s true, I find this arrangement to be offensive at best, and the day this building is demolished, I may directly help with the dismantling of this unit.”
Lycanthropes. Once they decided to do something, they did it, and I saw no reason to think Wayne was any different. I had my moments, too.
My refusal to move out counted as one of those moments.
“My offer would include a rather spacious bathroom with a door, and the tub is an upgraded model.”
“What do you mean by upgraded? Is it as deep as mine?” As a good bathtub might be able to convince me to leave if I could make the long-term math work, I abandoned my dinner to head to my bathroom. I pointed. “Is it deeper than that?”
An amused Wayne joined me, peeking through my bead curtain to have a look at my bathroom. “I can promise you it is deeper, longer, and wider. It also has a control panel, heaters, jets, and nice ledges for you to place things you might enjoy, including candles.”
My eyes widened at that. “It has a jet tub?”
“A rather nice one, yes. Upon researching your situation, I determined it would take some incentives in addition to ensuring your long-term stability to get you to do what I want. The inclusion of such a tub and some other creature comforts have short-term expenses but long-term rewards for both of us. The leasing agreement will list all amenities and luxuries I’m required to provide for you as your landlord, the restrictions on when and how you might be evicted, and the restrictions on when and how you can break the lease. You’ll find that portion of the contract to be rather strict, as you will be getting a lot of concessions from me, but you will be expected to remain for the full term of the lease.”
“Which is how long?”
“Five years, and it will detail renewal terms, rates of rent increase following your five-year period, and additional restrictions. But at the end of the five-year term, you will be able to move out without penalty, although I think you will find your future living accommodations difficult to beat. There are a few considerations I should tell you now.”
I nibbled on my salad to buy myself some time to think. “I’m listening.”
“I would pay for you to live in a nice hotel effective within a week of signing a contract until your new accommodations are ready, which will take two or three weeks. I will pay for your movers and any of your belongings that need to be kept in storage during this period of time. Your commute to work will be limited to thirty minutes each way, which I do understand is an additional burden and part of why I added some extra amenities to your accommodations.”
I’d do a lot more than accept a longer trip to work for some luxury and security in my life. A lot could happen in five years, but if I could make the finances work, I wouldn’t lead Wayne on for too long before I accepted his proposal and took him for all he was worth and then some.
The lycanthrope deserved to pay after annoying me for so long over where I lived.
I pushed my salad around in its bowl before stabbing a piece of chicken and nibbling on it. “What’s the catch? There has to be a catch.”
“As I said, the lease will be fairly restrictive. I won’t be able to show you the unit in advance, and you’ll be tied to a five-year term. In exchange, you’ll pay a reduced rent, which I will not be able to raise more than one percent every five years.”
“Wait, the rent restriction is for a single percent every five years?”
“Yes. The lease would bar me from raising your rent during its term, and I can only increase it by a percent at its renewal.”
“How much is the rent?”
“I will set your rent to thirty-percent of your earnings at McDonald’s, assuming you are only working seven hours a day and five days a week. I am guessing, due to the number of hours you work and the cost of your current rent, that you work part-time jobs to make ends meet, although I do not have any information on your part-time work.”
“Yeah, I do part-time work. What I do is none of your business.”
“I am rather impressed you have time to sleep and have a part-time job in addition to the number of hours you put in at your regular job.”
I had time to sleep? I snorted. “I work efficiently.”
“I guessed as much. If you have been forced to work in evening entertainment, you will be given assistance to get out of that line of work.”
