when he saw Sara standing there.
Chapter 9
Mason
“Dr. Davis. It’s nice to see you again.” Elijah extended his hand. “What is going on here?” he asked as he took a seat behind his desk and Allison walked out, shutting the door behind her.
“The leasing agent at my apartment building leased the same apartment to both of us.” We both handed our leases to him.
“To both of you?” He pointed at each of us as he let out a chuckle.
“This isn’t funny, Elijah.”
“Oh, but it is, little brother.”
He looked over the identical leases and let out a sigh.
“How did this happen?” he asked.
“One agent called me, and another called Sara without the two of them knowing they were renting the same apartment.”
“It is illegal to have two active leases for the same property. What did the leasing agent tell you?”
“She said one of us has to move out and we have until tomorrow to let her know who it’ll be. The problem is neither one of us will leave.” I shot Sara a look. “So I need you to advise me on how to make her leave.”
“Excuse me!” she snapped. “It isn’t my fault they screwed up.”
“And it’s not mine either!”
“Okay. Let’s calm down. The only thing I can tell you is one of you has to move out.” He closely looked at the lease again. “How is it possible that the two of you signed these leases at the same exact time? Didn’t you see each other in the leasing office?”
“I didn’t go to the leasing office. Victoria, the leasing agent, came to Nathan’s, and I signed it there. She was working from home that day.”
“Ah, I see.” He let out a sigh.
“I’m sorry to—” My mother walked into the office and immediately came to a halt when she saw us sitting there. “Dr. Davis?”
“Hello, Ms. Wolfe. How are you feeling?”
“Please, call me Caitlin. I’m feeling much better. Thank you. Why are the two of you here? And more importantly, why are you here together?”
“Apparently Mason’s new apartment building leased the same apartment to Sara,” Elijah spoke as he held up both leases.
“What? So they’re collecting rent from both of you? That is highly illegal.”
“The landlord is giving them until tomorrow to decide on who will leave the apartment.”
“I see. Who signed the lease first?” she asked.
“They both signed it at the same exact time,” Elijah replied.
“Oh. Wow. That’s weird.” She cocked her head at us.
“Well, you two work it out. Elijah, I need you to sign these documents by this afternoon. It was good to see you again, Dr. Davis.” She smiled at her. “I’ll talk to you later, Mason.”
“Sure thing, Mom.” I sighed. “Okay so what are we supposed to do?” I asked my brother.
“One of you has to decide who moves out. If either of you decides to sue the landlord, it can be arranged. We’d go for punitive damages and emotional distress. We’d win, but it would take some time. My advice to you is that you go somewhere quiet and talk it out. You’re both adults and there are a million apartments in New York to choose from. Mason, you’re a captain for the New York Fire Department and Sara, you’re a doctor. You’re both professionals and you need to discuss this situation as such. I’m sorry this happened, and I know it isn’t fair, but there’s nothing we can do about it. The leasing office screwed up. I can’t force them to make another apartment available.”
“Thanks, bro,” I said as I stood from my chair.
“Thanks, Elijah. I appreciate your advice,” Sara spoke.
“You’re welcome. I’m here anytime you need me. Let me know what you decide and if either one of you want to proceed with a lawsuit.”
We walked out of the building and stood at the curb while I grabbed us a cab. We sat there in silence for a few moments until I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Sara, we have to talk about this at some point.”
“There’s nothing to talk about. I’m not leaving.”
I sighed as I turned my head and looked out the window. It was going to be a long day.
When we arrived back to the apartment, we both took out our keys, but mine made it first into the lock. I opened the door and motioned for her to go in first.
“Like Elijah said, we’re both adults and we need to have an adult conversation about this”, I spoke as she sat down on the couch. “Didn’t you already have an apartment?”
“Didn’t