Seriously? Dumbass.
“So, Zayn, was that your way of avoiding me?”
“Excuse me?”
“When you introduced yourself to me, you only gave me your first name, so I figure that was your way of not revealing who you really were.”
“Uh, no. That’s not why I did it. Zaynismy name; I just didn’t think to put my last name with it. Most don’t care, and the ones that do usually want something from me—so I’m just used to not giving it. Besides, most people that come to this building know who I am already.”
“Well, it seemed pretty convenient since I was here looking for you. Did you get my voicemail last night—or I guess it was this morning?”
“I did, and I tried to meet up with you at your office this morning, but I couldn’t wait. I also called a few times.”
“You came to my office? Were you wearing a suit? I never got any messages, though.”
“I didn’t leave any and yes, I was in a suit. The man I tried to talk to didn’t really have much to say, so I didn’t tell him who I was—I just left.”
He lowered his head. That was his fault. He really should have been more forthcoming. He pushed open his front door and backed away.
“Would you like to come in? We don’t have to have this conversation out in the hallway unless you really want to.”
“Sure, I’ll come in.”
When she walked past him, he shut his door and quickly stowed the duffle bag in the front closet before following her farther into his apartment.
“Can I get you something to drink? I have a couple cans of Coke, I think, and some bottled water.”
“Thanks, I would take a Coke. This looks like a pretty new building. How long have you lived here?”
Well, isn’t she a chatty Kathy.
He disappeared, coming back with two cans.
“It’s actually going on three years now for the building, but I didn’t move in until last year. I was contemplating moving into an actual house instead of apartment hopping, but in the end this place won out.”
He handed her the cold can and motioned for her to have a seat. He chose the chair next to the sofa.
“I’m so tired of apartments. My dream is to own a house outside of the city. I’ll make sure to have central air, though.”
She smiled at him. He liked it. She wasn’t as hostile as he thought she might be.
“Speaking of air, I’m really sorry about the unit that runs your apartment. Youareall good to go, though. I stayed with the guy this morning until he got it up and running. It was out of Freon, I guess.”
“Oh, thank god. I was not looking forward to another night of no sleep.”
“I’m really sorry you had to go through that, and that I didn’t know sooner.”
“Well, I get that’s why you have a building manager. But I have to say, I don’t think your boy Frank is really getting the job done.”
“I agree with you on that one.”
Zayn’s cell rang, and he hopped from the chair.
“I’m sorry, can you give me a minute? That’s my assistant.”
He knew who was calling because he had chosen a different ringtone for Jerry, so he would make sure not to miss his calls. Hopefully, it would be a quick call and he could get back to Jenna.
“Hey buddy, what’s up? I’m kind of in the middle of something.”
