Not to mention, the money that I brought in was used to help out my nana in any way possible. We were still behind on the mortgage, but at least I was able to pay my nana’s caregiver regularly. I even had enough money for the caregiver totake my grandma out to explore new hobbies. I knew that her dementia wouldn’t allow her to fully participate, but at least she’d be able to get out of the house.
Akira slowed the car as we entered a housing development. When we finally stopped at the second house that was built on the block, my jaw dropped. To say the house was huge was an understatement. I swear Akira and I pulled up to a damn mansion. The home had a circular driveway that could easily fit five to six cars and a small fountain in the middle. It had a soft cream tint with a mahogany trim and a mixture of wide bay windows and sliding windows. The second floor had a balcony that wrapped around to the back of the house and the front entrance had double oak doors. I glanced around the area and realized this was the only home that was built so far. There were tools and supplies around the community, indicating other homes were being built, but this house was done.
“Mr. Adalyn does have some good taste!” Akira cooed, stepping out of the car.
“Mr. Adalyn?”
She nodded. “He’s the owner of the entire neighborhood. He builds up homes for those in need and sells them at reasonable prices. According to my boss, he hasn’t been here in months and just decided to sell this house which makes sense. He never stays in one home longer than a year. Well, except for this one. He was here for like almost three years, but he got into some drama and had to travel back home to handle it.”
“How you know that man’s business like that?”
Akira laughed as she waved me off. “Don’t get no ideas. I have never met the man, but I’ve been working for him for almost two years. My boss, Raheim, has been by Mr. Adalyn’s side for a long time.”
I arched an eyebrow. “So…Raheim just voluntarily gives up his bosses info like that?”
Akira shifted uneasily before chewing on her bottom lip. She avoided my eyes as she fumbled with her purse, looking for the keys.
“K?”
My friend huffed out a sigh, her shoulders slightly dropping. “I don’t need you judging me, Addy.”
“Now you know I wouldn’t do that. I don’t know why you would even fix your mouth to say something like that. You know I’m not foul.”
Akira rushed up to me and wrapped her arms around my waist, embracing me. “I know. I know. I’m sorry, love. You are my best friend, and you’ve always been ten toes down for me.”
“You know you could talk to me about anything,” I said, holding on to her hands. A swirl of guilt swam through my core, but I ignored it. Here I was getting offended that my bestie was holding on to secrets while I had one tucked away.
Akira nodded, quickly swiping away the few tears from her eyes. “It’s Raheim. It has always been him. I don’t know how it happened, but one day he stayed behind to help me clean one of the properties and the next thing I know, we’re dating.”
I gave her a playful smile. “If you’re happy, then I am happy. I don’t want anything but the best for you, boo. You deserve it!”
“How did I get so lucky to get a best friend like you?”
I smirked and shrugged. She pinched my cheeks before she turned to unlock the door with her spare key. My mouth dropped as I stared into the beautiful modern style home. Sleek black and deep gold color schemes decorated the living room to the left. To my right, was a wide staircase that opened up to a loft style upstairs before it branched off into the bedrooms.
“Girl, how many bedrooms are in here?”
“Eight bedrooms, six and a half bathrooms, two living areas, a basement, and a pool in the backyard. All this for one man, too.”
I frowned. How could anyone live in this big house by themselves? As beautiful and impressive as this house was, I’d be too lonely to live here.
“Let’s get to it! We need to get this house ready for a showing next week.”
I nodded and followed Akira to the supply closet. We grabbed every cleaning supply that was in top tier condition and began our work. After an hour, we completed all of the downstairs area, except for the basement. Apparently, Mr. Adalyn had that specially cleaned already.
As Akira took out the trash, I began to make my way upstairs when my foot stepped on something hard. Looking down at my feet, I realized it was a phone.
“What the? Hey, K?”
“What’s up?” Akira stood at the bottom of the stairs.
“Where do you put Mr. Adalyn’s belongings that he’s left behind?”
Akira’s eyebrows scrunched up. “I don’t know. He usually never leaves stuff behind – he must’ve been in a rush. I wonder how the first cleaning crew missed that.”
I furrowed my eyebrows. “If he already had a cleaning crew here, why are we here?”
Akira shrugged as she typed away at her phone. “All I know is, Raheim usually doesn’t need me to clean until Mr. Adalyn’s ready to sell a house. Maybe the first crew thought he was coming back.”
