Page 35 of The Overtime Persuasive

“Thank you.” He gives me a grateful nod. “I’d also rather be closer to the arena. Somewhere downtown, if I can find it. I like walking out my door and having coffee, dinner, and other human beings nearby. You know? Go shopping, have activities. The bells and whistles.”

“Liam’s house is definitely not near a Metro stop.” I laugh, but across from me Lucy goes still. Her gaze slides toward mine as she slowly lowers her hush puppy.

“Did I hear that right?” She looks at Tripp. “You want an apartment downtown.”

“That’s the dream.”

“Eva,” she says, pointing her food at me. “You have an apartment downtown.”

“I have a small studio that will become available,” I correct.

“When?” Tripp asks. “Soon?”

“A few weeks.”

“It’s above her store,” Lucy jumps in. “Which is downtown.”

His head turns toward me. “What store?”

“Side B. Records, books, and coffee.”

His entire face lights up. “You have an apartment above a record store, and you didn’t tell me?”

I crack up. “We met three minutes ago.”

Lucy looks between us, beaming as though she personally constructed both the building and the apartment. “It’s on the second floor. And your landlord is very close—Eva lives there too.”

Tripp’s eyebrows lift. “You’d be my landlord and my neighbor?”

“Potentially. If you apply and pass the checks.” I pretend to tick down an imaginary list in my mind’s eye. “Oh, and if you saw the apartment before deciding it’s the answer to your housing prayers.”

“Does it have a toilet and walls?”

“Oh, it does…and a sink,” I add triumphantly.

“Hallelujah.” He holds a hand in the air and closes his eyes. “I am beyond optimistic.”

The server arrives carrying a tray crowded with brisket, ribs, pulled pork, slaw, cornbread, and something bubbling beneath a layer of gooey melted cheese. Tripp steps aside to give them room, but his attention remains on me.

“When can I see it?”

The apartment needs cleaning. Les still has boxes stacked in the front room, and I haven’t taken proper photographs nor decided what I’m charging. Come to think of it, I also don’t know Tripp beyond his name, his position on the Dominion roster, and the alarming quantity of meat he must have stuffed in that large to-go bag of his.

But an empty apartment means missing rent. Finding the right tenant could take weeks. Finding someone connected to Lucy, Liam, Ty, and the team is not the worst possibility.

“Come by tomorrow afternoon,” I say. “I’ll show you the store and check with Les about when you can see the apartment.”

“Four?”

“That works.”

He pulls his phone from his pocket. “Give me your number.”

Tripp hands me his phone. I enter my number and pass it back. He sends a text, and my purse immediately buzzes beside my feet.

“There,” he says. “Now we’re friends.”

Someone behind the counter calls his name.