THE DRY CLEANER'S MESS

CHAPTER 21

On the day they arrived Jameston, she drove straight to the bespectacled realtor she'd met with the first time she was in Jameston. She couldn't help the excited squeal that left her lips when he informed them that the penthouse was unoccupied at the moment. Finally, she would be neighbors again with Andrew after three months.

"How much does it cost?" Luke asked the realtor.

"Fifteen hundred dollars a day."

Luke scrunched his face in confusion and shook his head. "I mean how much is it? Not lease, I want to buy it."

Arielle whipped her head to look at him. "You want to buy it?"

He nodded and faced the bespectacled man. "How much is it?"

"2 million dollars."

Arielle turned her neck so fast, she thought she'd have whiplash. "What?" Then she looked back at Luke. "Are you even considering this? You're not going to live here forever so why do you want to buy it?"

Luke ignored her and continued talking with the realtor. "I'll sign you a cheque. We want to move in immediately though, so process the papers quickly."

The man nodded and scurried away, he seemed so eager to sell the house. She scoffed at the thought. He's a realtor, his job was to buy and sell houses, so of course he'd be eager. She turned to look at an impassive Luke who was scrutinizing the neat, modern office.

About an hour later, she was on way to the penthouse with Luke in the passenger side holding a sheaf of papers. The ownership documents.

"You know, someday I'll like to know how it'd feel to leave a 'fairytale castle' type of mansion and buy a two million dollar penthouse in a state I'd never been to. Must be very nice."

Luke shrugged. "There's nothing special about a two million dollar house."

She scowled and reached out to take the papers in his hand but he moved it away before she could touch it. She frowned at him. "What was that about? You think I'll forge the papers and make the house my own or something?"

"Yeah. Something like that."

She rolled her eyes at his mockery and hid the smile that tried to creep up. "Shut up."

He laughed and put his legs up on the dashboard. "Since we've already gotten to Jameston, what are we going to do about this car?"

She turned the corner that led to the street where the penthouse was located. "This car is scrap. If it wasn't, I'd have sold it."

He scowled at her answer. "You really need to stop selling stuffs you stole."

Arielle chuckled quietly. "What am I supposed to do then?"

"Stop stealing. You can do better."

She pulled up in the driveway and shook her head. "No, I can't. Not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to pay for a penthouse they don't need. Some people have to hustle for the most basic things."

He gave her a blank look. "So you're going to steal all your life?"

She shrugged and opened the door. "I'll do whatever I have to to survive. Whether it's to steal, to draw tats, to wash clothes or be a trophy wife. I don't care really."

He quirked his brow. "Trophy wife?"

"Yep, marrying a rich man would definitely take care of my financial problem. That's a wise line of action."

He followed her inside the lobby and spoke with the ladies at the front desk. One of them seemed to recognize her and smiled at her in a very warm manner. She couldn't really return the kind gesture as she was busy glaring daggers at the other ladies who were drooling over Luke. Why couldn't ladies respect themselves whenever they saw him? She also glowered at Luke who was laughing at the comment one of them made. What was so funny?