“Some of them,” my real estate agent replied. “I figured I’d show her the lounge first and save some of the perks as a surprise when we went to the clubhouse.”
“Great. Let me show you the apartment first and give you a rundown on the renovations that will need to be done. There’s a lot, as the previous tenant made a mess of the place, but once it’s done, you’ll find your rent to be well worth it. Enough was damaged I’m giving the place a complete overhaul. It’ll be two weeks until you can move in, and even after then, there’ll be work that’ll have to be completed. Three solid weeks will put the work at mostly done, with a few small tasks to be completed.”
I could handle living in a hotel for three weeks. “I can deal with the hotel life for three weeks. I don’t have any pets yet, and the hotel does allow pets in their rooms if I decide to get one before I move in. I’m looking at a dog possibly. Do you allow dogs over limit if it’s a visiting pet with a friend?”
“Absolutely. The limit is only on the animals permanently staying in the apartment for more than a few nights. If you need to babysit someone’s dog for a week, I don’t have a problem with that, just let the leasing office know there’s a temporary resident so we can register the animal. We keep a log of all animals in the building in case of a fire, as we try to make sure all residents are able to be rescued, including the pets. We can’t do anything for the fish, but if we can grab cages or other pets during an emergency, we will. Having a roster helps us make sure everybody got out, too. We do require all guests, including delivery staff, to check in at the front desk. If we have a security guard available, delivery staff are escorted to the appropriate apartment. If it’s non-food deliveries, staff make a round once a day to apartments unless it’s something you’ve flagged as time sensitive, in which case they’ll give you a call when your package arrives.”
When something sounded too good to be true, it usually was, but I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with the landlord or the building. I’d already been warned the entire place would be under renovations, which was a major downside, but I could live in a hotel for three weeks. “That sounds great. Do you have pictures of what the apartment should look like when it’s finished?”
“I have something better. I’ll take you to one of the apartments that has been renovated. The tenant is moving in this week, so it’s currently empty, although I did get their permission to take you into it so you can see what yours will roughly look like after renovations. Their apartment is smaller than yours and doesn’t have a fireplace, but you’ll get a feel for it at least.”
“Mine has a fireplace?”
“It will when the renovations are done. The unit already has chimney access, but I hadn’t installed the fireplace before the previous tenant had moved in. That’s why it will be three weeks for the renovation. The fireplace needs to be inspected and verified before I can allow you to move in. The fireplace itself is already in place, so you can see where it will be and how much space it will take up, but there’s renovation debris still inside.”
I could definitely wait three weeks for an apartment with a fireplace, and I would feel a great deal better about paying the rent with a cozy fire I could sit in front of every night while reading a book. A dog warming my feet would make things even better. Rick’s dog warming my feet would be perfection.
As I couldn’t help myself and he kept doing nice things for me, Rick warming me would be beyond perfection.
Damn it, I needed to get over him and quit giving myself the run around on an impossibility. Rick was my brother’s friend, he was getting married to someone, and I had no business liking someone I couldn’t have. I could be friends with him and nothing more.
I’d need to read a lot of books in front of a cozy fireplace to get over him.
“That sounds great.” I took another sip of my wine. “I think I am properly fortified with alcohol