Schemes Come to Naught novel · Chapter 5 of 24

Chapter 5: Rent Paid by Ines

The basement of our building smelled of paper and old radiators.

I went down at noon with an apology rehearsed and ready.

Room B-1 was long and low, lined with gray shelves of file boxes.

In the middle of it, someone had put a rug.

There was a desk lamp, a kettle, a folding table with four chairs, and the plant from the second floor.

Six people from the fourth floor were eating lunch at the table.

When I came in, they stopped talking.

"Sorry," I said. "Don't let me..."

"Out," said Ines, from the far end of the room, not unkindly. "Lunch hour's yours. Take the sandwiches."

They took the sandwiches.

Nobody looked at me on the way past.

Ines stood at a shelf with a box in her arms and flour on her hands, because she had been holding a bag of her mother's rolls.

She set the box down and wiped her palms on her jeans.

"Hello, Dex."

"Ines, I didn't know about the basement. I signed a form. I didn't read it."

"I noticed."

"I'll move you back up. Today."

"No," she said.

I stared at her.

"Don't," she said. "I like it here. It's quiet, nobody wanders in, and I can finally find the Henderson contract."

"Then let me make it right."

"You keep saying that." She sat on the edge of the table. "If I'm staying at this company, I have three rules, and you can decide whether you want them."

"Go ahead."

"One. No favors. I don't want anything from you that I wouldn't get as an employee."

← Chapter 4 · All chapters · Chapter 6 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend