Coming home later that night, you were exhausted.
"Honey! I'm – oh, that's right," You smirked to yourself, locking the door behind you, and getting a flurry of tapping noises coming from the other room, "I'm single."
A dog came flying into the room, making a genuine smile replace your smirk, and you crouched down to give him a greeting back.
"I missed you, bub," You laughed, giggling a bit when he licked your nose, "And I think you missed me too, yeah?"
You couldn't pinpoint a breed for the older dog in front of you, maybe a golden retriever mixed with a beagle or something, you really couldn't say, but Ollie was medium sized, and you only knew he was older because of the white around his eyes. The vet confirmed probably around eight, but even they couldn't tell, and you were fine with not knowing, just happy you got him out of that shelter before they put him down.
After you took him for a walk, you decided to make some dinner while he lounged in the kitchen on his bed. The place wasn't huge, but he always liked to be next to you whenever possible, so you decided to throw a dog bed in the kitchen so that he could comfortably relax while you cooked and not laying on the cold tiles. Whatever you ended up making, you always gave him a little sample of everything that he could eat in his bowl and the two of you usually migrated into the living room so you could finish in front of the TV with him by your side on the couch.
You were texting a few people, mindlessly stroking his back while the commercials were on when the doorbell rang, and he perked up a bit.
"I'm not expecting anybody," You mumbled to him as you got up and then shot the dog an accusatory smile, "Are you?"
You laughed to yourself, slapping your slippers against the hardwood floor until you reached the door, taking a peek since they didn't have you buzz them up first. You sighed before plastering a fake smile on your face and swinging the door open while Ollie came to your side, clearly used to this visitor.
"Rent's due." Your landlord, Jimmy – aren't they all named 'Jimmy'? – grumbled and you cocked an eyebrow, tilting your head a bit with a tight frown.
"No, it's not."
"First of the month," He nodded in thought, as if he was checking that empty head of his to make sure, "Two grand."
"First of all, it's the fifth today and I already paid you last week," You smirked, and he scrunched his eyebrows, seriously doubting his very few remaining brain cells, "And another thing, it's – actually, yeah, it's two grand but not until next month."
In reality, it was a bit more – New York is expensive, but he didn't need to know that if it shaved a few bills off next month's due, so you kept your mouth shut about it.
"Damn, really?" He scratched his head and then his eyes snapped to Ollie, pointing at him when he asked, "And I allow dogs?"
"I know it's been hard since your uncle passed away and left you the place," Your tone was condescending, but you seriously doubted he noticed or even knew what that word meant, "But you really need to stay on top of these things," You crossed your arms defensively, "Ollie's been here as long as I have and unless you wanna lose your most loyal tenant..."
"No, no, no," He rushed out, putting a hand up for emphasis, "Sorry I bothered you...both, I'll just be..." He gestured down the hall, "Going."
"Have a nice night, J." You rolled your eyes as the stoned out of his mind thirty something year old stumbled down the hallway.
It wasn't that you hated your landlord, sure, he was annoying, and a bit entitled, but when his uncle Luke was alive, you guys were really close, and it was painful to be the only one he considered family attend the funeral. That was less than a year ago now and you thought about him every single day, frustrated with the fact that the nephew who never even gave a thanks for the birthday cards Luke sent him every year was the one who inherited the building. Luke had only seen Jimmy up until he was in high school before he had a falling out with his family, and they refused to speak to him again.
