“By the way, may I come in for a moment?”
I had thought Yvonne stayed quiet last night because the other owners had told her off. It turned out that it was her husband who had done it.
It was hard to be rude to someone who was being polite. Even though I was still annoyed about Yvonne’s behavior, I stepped aside and let him in. After sitting down, Marcus rubbed his hands together and started talking.
“Look, Miss Rylance, my wife may have spoken out of turn. But she wasn’t wrong.”
“We’re neighbors, right? The flat next door is empty anyway. If you rent it to us, you’ll earn some extra money. Our family will have a place to live. Everyone wins.”
“And she’s right. A flat only stays in good condition when people live in it.”
He gave a small laugh.
“So I came here today partly to apologize and partly to talk about renting again in person.”
I sneered inwardly. Now I truly understood what it meant when people said, you couldn’t reason with someone who’s already decided to take advantage of you.
“If that’s what you came here to say, then please leave,” I said flatly.
“I already made it clear in the group chat yesterday. I’m not renting the flat next door.”
When he saw I wasn’t changing my mind, Marcus quickly shifted his tone.
“Miss Rylance, you’re young. Maybe you don’t understand how hard life can be. We have old parents and young kids to take care of.”
“I’m the only one working. The small one-bedroom we’re renting is really too small. If this place weren’t near my workplace, I wouldn’t even think about renting here.”
“I’m from Birmingham. Life here in London isn’t easy. My kids are older now. They need to go to a private school here in London. If we don’t move somewhere bigger … ”
I couldn’t listen anymore. I stood up, walked to the door and opened it wide.
“Mr. Eden, your family situation has nothing to do with me. I’m not responsible for your problems. Please leave.”
“I need to get ready for work, so I won’t see you off.”
Marcus’s smile disappeared the moment I said that.
Marcus paused at the door and looked at me with a trace of impatience.
“Miss, give me some space so we can meet again someday.”
“I met you at work. You and I should be in the same company.”
“I’m your supervisor at the company. I hope you can be just as tough at work.”