The halfling took a deep breath and turned in the black-leather chair to face the man head-on. “Look, I’m not interested in waiting ‘til next week, and I’m not interested in looking for any other apartment. That’s the one I want. How much will it cost me to get that key in my hand right now?”
“Uh, well, I…” William scratched his temple and cleared his throat again. “I’m not sure we can get a moving crew in there to clear the place out on time—”
“So, it’s the cost of replacing all the furniture and everything already in that apartment? That works for me.” The halfling grinned, nodding slowly as the man processed what she was saying. Come on, William. You’ll get there.
“Furnished? You want the unit as is?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Well.” He tugged his tie, then slapped a hand on the conference table and stood. “I’ll go draw up an itemized bill, then. Should only take me about half an hour.”
Cheyenne rose to her feet beside him and reached into the incredibly deep pocket of her baggy black pants to pull out her wallet. “Don’t bother, William. I’ll just give you my card, and you charge it for the total price you think is fair for everything in that apartment, plus the initial up-front cost as usual. Two months and a security deposit, right?” She pulled out the debit card linked to her inheritance and handed it to him.
The man blinked at it in surprise and swallowed thickly. “Ms. Summerlin, I don’t know the exact cost of that furnished apartment off the top of my head.”
They always forget my first name. “Don’t worry about it. Use your best estimate. I trust you to come up with a number that’s good for both of us.”
She’d heard that line from her mother’s mouth so many times, she knew exactly what it meant. So did William Alban. Not quite a threat and not quite a warning. Don’t even think about taking advantage of me. I know who you are, and you know who I am.
“Of course, Ms. Summerlin.” William dipped his head. “I’ll be right back.”
“Thank you.”
The man turned and slipped out of the room just like Caroline had, and Cheyenne sighed. “I don’t know how she does it.”
“Are you kidding me? You just tore down the guy’s defenses in less than five minutes.” Ember wheeled around to stare at the door. “That was incredible.”
“Yeah. Works like a charm.” The halfling frowned. “A super-draining charm that takes a lot more mental energy than I realized until right now.”
“Your mom taught you that.”
“More like I watched and learned for eighteen years.” Sitting back down again, Cheyenne dropped her forearms onto the chair’s armrests and spun back and forth some more. “Always new meanings to the things she did tell me, though. Everything comes with a price.”
“Kind of a big one for this apartment, huh?”
Cheyenne smirked. “I’m not even a little worried about the money, Em. That’s not what she meant.”
“Huh.” Ember licked her lips and tried to put the pieces together. “So, you’re talking about the price of being your mom for twenty minutes? Wearing you out like that, and almost giving Caroline and William Alban a heart attack.”
“Sure, that counts.” The halfling blinked at her friend and cocked her head. “That and by the end of next week, everyone who works here is gonna know Bianca Summerlin’s daughter just moved in.”
“Oh.” Blinking slowly, Ember studied the edge of the conference table and let out a wry chuckle. “Well, you did say you were done hiding, right?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Chapter Fifty-Three
“I can’t believe you did this.” Ember wheeled herself farther into their new apartment and laughed. “For real.”
“For real.” Cheyenne jingled the two keys on individual keyrings and handed Ember one. “Don’t lose that.”
“Please.”
“Okay.” The halfling rubbed her hands together and looked at their new digs. “New car. New apartment. Change of lifestyle. This might be worth it.”
“Yeah, now we just gotta keep those bull’s-head idiots from breaking into the place and blowing up the Panamera, and we’re golden.”
Cheyenne laughed and spun around. “I’ll handle that part, Em. You wanna call around and find some movers?”
“To move what? The only things I want out of my apartment are my clothes and my laptop. Probably that plant, too.”
The halfling clicked her tongue and frowned in mock pity. “Can’t leave the plant.”
“Hey, at least it’s alive. Seriously, most of my stuff is still packed in the bags you brought to the hospital. I don’t think we need movers.”
“Okay. Decorating, then. If you’re up for it.” Pulling out her wallet one more time, Cheyenne handed her debit card to her new roommate. “Seriously. Whatever you think is gonna look good in here. I trust you. Just no more of this white and silver and hardwood. Kinda makes it feel like we’re standing in a glass box.”
“I think that’s the point.”
“I think I prefer a Goth box.”
They both laughed, and Ember stared at Cheyenne’s debit card, shaking her head. “If you really want me to do this, I’ll do it. But it’ll be tasteful, got it? Don’t expect me to go full Goth on this apartment.”
“Ha, ha. I’ll handle that part too. So. You think you’ll be okay in this awesome new spot by yourself for a couple of hours?”
“Where are you racing off to now?”
“Just to go shove all my clothes into a trash bag and pack up Glen. My computer, Em. Server, tower, monitors, all that stuff?”
“I had no idea Glen was so multi-faceted.”
Cheyenne pointed at her friend and grinned. “That’s exactly what she is. All the different pieces working together to make magic. Which, actually, doesn’t mix well with real magic. I found that out through personal experience.”
Ember snorted and pushed herself closer to the wall of windows to get a better view. “Well, I’ve got a fully charged
