My stomach drops because the rent in this part of town has another zero at the end of my measly twelve hundred dollars we agreed to. “Oh no,” I whisper and press my face against the car window, seeing the expensive buildings as we pass them.
My breath becomes harder to inhale, and when he turns right onto West Fifty-eighth, all the blood drains from my face.
“Oh snap,” Sukii says, her eyes meeting mine. “How much did he say he was gonna let you pay?”
“Oh God, oh God, I can’t breathe.” I loosen the buttons on my blouse and heave my breaths.
“Get it together,” Sukii retorts, patting my back.
“Is something wrong?” the driver asks as he opens the door.
“No.” Sukii scoffs and shoves me out of the car. “She’s just so excited.” She pushes me up to the door where the doorman rushes over and opens it.
“You must be Ms. Snowdon. I’m Eric, if you need anything at all, let me know.” He holds out a gloved hand.
With a professional, albeit sweaty, smile, I take his hand. “Yes, I am. Nice to meet you.”
“You as well. Mr. Levisohn said you would be arriving around now. That man is uncanny.” He chuckles and helps the driver with the bags.
“Oh, he’s something.” I walk into the stunning foyer. It brings to mind the reception of a beautiful hotel with sitting areas on either side of the check-in desk with double elevators, one for each sitting area.
“Building 58 is a wonderful community of people. We have twenty-four-hour concierge and doorman. The super lives in the building, which is nice. His name’s Xavier Timmons and he’s wonderful.” He hands me a card with Xavier’s name on it. “We’re one block from Bergdorf’s and the park. Carnegie Hall is right there. It’s a prime location.”
My head is spinning.
I accept this.
The driver hands Sukii a small envelope as she tips him.
“Enjoy.” He waves and leaves us.
I’m still homeless in my mind.
My fingers are trembling and I’m grateful Sukii decided to stay.
“Your apartment is on the fifteenth floor, great view. It’s 15C.” He presses the elevator button for us. “I’ll come up after with the bags. Let you go in and see for yourself first.” His eyes sparkle with excitement. He knows I’ve won the lottery. The apartment lottery. But he’s the only one excited. I feel sick.
My knees are weak when Sukii shoves me into the elevator.
“How can I accept this?” I ask us both.
“Because Stan owns the building. You’re a tax write-off. You work your ass off and this week is the first time you’ve booked any days off in five years. You always help with the worst clients. You never complain.” Sukii stares at me in the mirrored walls. “And if Stan plays the long game, you’ll end up being one of the partners, and he will have your undying loyalty because of this. He’s old. He’s outdated. And honestly, between us, he’s out of his league. Having you on his side means he can keep control of some aspects of the company when he retires.”
“You’re smarter than you look.” I won’t lie, the black-and-white explanation makes this a little dirtier. I’m being bought and I didn’t even know I was for sale.
“I know.” She winks. “Being underestimated is my jam.”
The elevator lands on the fifteenth floor and the doors open, making my frazzled nerves twitch a bit more.
The hallway is like a hotel. Sukii takes the key out of the envelope and hurries to the door. She’s so excited to see the place, but I’m at odds with accepting such a grand gift.
The door to 15C is dark wood with a fancy door knob, matching the other doors. She turns the key.
My stomach twists more until the door opens.
Then I’m frozen.
It’s not at all what I expect. There’s a long hallway with a door leading to a powder room on the left. Next to it are three closets, making up an entryway. On the right are tall windows, nearly as high as the ceilings which seem double the height of my old apartment.
The floors are a wide plank beachy wood, reminding me of driftwood on the island. The trim is wide and white, making the hallway modern and stylish against the silvery pale-blue walls.
We round the corner to discover my house is sort of set up.
“How can I possibly accept this?” I whisper and stare, blown away. “This is like selling my soul.”
My gray sofas and white coffee table match the walls perfectly. The view from all the windows is insane, the city and park.
“Holy shit!” Sukii rushes to the French doors and opens them, bringing the city in with her. The balcony is huge.
My HGTV obsession whispers at me to be excited but my rational brain is in the way.
The kitchen is open, overlooking the living room, with a dining room off to the right, opposite the hallway where the entrance is. Sukii is running around like a crazy person, shouting out obvious things like where the bathrooms are and which of the two bedrooms is bigger.
I run my hands over the white granite counters and stop at the white full-sized fridge.
It has double doors on top and a large freezer drawer below, like my father and Judith’s. It’s an adult fridge. I open the doors slowly, scowling when I see a bottle of champagne and a large blue box. It’s Tiffany’s.
“Oh my God, I’m moving in!” Sukii shouts as she comes into the kitchen and grabs the bottle and box that I’m stuck staring at. “Jesus, this is like a four-hundred-dollar bottle of champagne. Are you and Stan fucking?”
Her comment draws my eyes and I realize how bad this looks. “Oh my God, everyone is going to think that, aren’t they?”
She laughs. “No. Dude, it was a joke. Besides I don’t
