She handed Miles a small card, grimacing as if she realized the futility of her action.
“If... if you should have something less expensive come available, will you call me?”
She turned, like an aged woman instead of the vibrant young girl Silas had witnessed upon her arrival, and shuffled toward the door, head bowed. He thought he caught a glimmer of tears on one cheek as her profile was briefly presented when she opened the door to slip out onto the busy sidewalk.
Silas bolted from his chair, fists gripped into tight balls at his sides as he watched her walk slowly down the street, tears trickling down her pale cheeks. In that instant, he threw sanity and caution to the wind and yanked up his phone, punching the button that would immediately connect him to his manager.
Miles answered on the first ring.
“Yes, sir,” he said briskly. “What can I do for you, sir?”
“The woman who just left,” Silas said hoarsely. “Find her. Give her the apartment to the right of mine but tell her she won’t be able to move in until day after tomorrow. It will take that long to have the workers replace the wall dividing it from mine and to refurnish the apartment.”
“Pardon?” Miles asked in a shocked voice.
“You heard me,” Silas snarled. “Offer her a ridiculously low rent and let her know it comes fully furnished with utilities paid. Make up something. I don’t care. Tell her construction was finished ahead of schedule and you only just received notice that it would be ready for a tenant just after she left. Just make damn sure you find her.”
“Yes, sir. Right away, sir,” Miles stammered.
“And have my driver offer her a ride home. I’ll call him now.”
2
Hayley dodged the first few raindrops and then cursed under her breath as she glanced again at the ever-darkening sky. Yep. Perfect foil for the day she’d had. The week she’d had, for that matter. At least she’d had sense enough to leave her violin at home instead of bringing it with her in her urgent search for a place to live.
Knowing it would cost her precious money she didn’t have, she hurried in the direction of the nearest subway stop and dug into her pocket for enough to purchase a subway card to get home.
Her cell phone rang and for a moment she was tempted to ignore it, her focus more on getting out of the rain, but she’d left her number with every place she’d been to in her apartment search and couldn’t afford to assume it was nothing more than a telemarketer.
With a sigh and admonishing herself for allowing herself foolish hope, she pulled up her cell and uttered a polite greeting.
“Miss Winthrop, this is Miles Carver. You left here a few minutes ago where you inquired about an apartment.”
Hayley’s spirits plummeted.
“Yes, sir, I remember you, of course.”
“Hopefully I have good news for you, Miss Winthrop. You see, anupstairs unit has been undergoing renovation, and it was thought it wouldn’t be ready for another few weeks, which is why I didn’t mention it, but right after you left, the owner called and informed me that the apartment would be ready shortly. I called to see if you’d be interested.”
Hayley closed her eyes, disappointment keen. It was as if fate were taunting her with opportunities she in no way could take advantage of.
“It’s completely furnished and all utilities are included,” the manager hurried on to say. “But it wouldn’t be ready for you to move in until day after tomorrow. I hope that’s not too late for you.”
“No,” Hayley said gently. “That wouldn’t be a problem at all. The rent is the issue. I’m afraid it would be far more than I could afford.”
Then the manager stunned her by stating a ridiculously low sum for the monthly rent. Her mouth fell open in a gasp, and her heart started pounding so hard that her knees threatened to buckle. She was so rattled she had to ask him to repeat himself. Against her will, a pulse of hope began to beat a furious tempo in her head. Surely she couldn’t be this fortunate. Fully furnished, all utilities includedandwithin her price range? It had to be a sick joke, or she was just imagining it all.
“It’s small,” the manager said. “Not quite as small as a studio but it does have one bedroom, an en suite bathroom, a small living room and a kitchenette.”
“I’ll take it,” Hayley said breathlessly.
There was a momentary silence. “You don’t want to come look at it first?”
“No,” she said firmly. “It sounds perfect. And I’ll be honest, Mr. Carver. I only have a few days remaining until I must move from where I currently reside, so as the old saying goes, beggars can’t be choosers. Should I come right back to sign a lease?”
Again there was a pause, and then he said, “Yes, perhaps that’s best, unless you’re too far away now? It’s begun to rain and I could offer you a ride home after you’ve completed the paperwork.”
Hayley’s mouth dropped open at the generous, kind offer.
