Chapter 6

• RICHARD
• I read the text message again, scarcely believing my eyes. To tell the truth, at the bottom of my heart, I had had some misgivings about 'throwing' a million dollars away just like that on a fancy apartment, but I had tamped that feeling down because at that moment, seeing the look of consternation on the face of the jerk that had been messing around with my wife had swamped every other consideration.
• One Ultra point meant that I was again one million dollars richer. Boy, was I on a roll! And it just kept betting and better with no end in sight.
• "...sir."
• I blinked, raised my head as I realized the manager had been talking to me.
• "Pardon? What was that you said?" I said, scarcely able to conceal my face splitting grin.
• "I was saying sir, that I am very sorry for any annoyance Mr James must have cost you. If I had known that he was being so rude to you, I would have come here and intervened earlier. I just wonder why my staff didn't intervene seeing I was not present." Hayes shot a reproachful look at Jake who blanched.
• "Ah yes, your staff..."
• I let the words hang in the air, and the manager shot another glance in Jake's direction.
• "I hope none of them offended you, sir," the manager inquiried.
• "Well..." I stroked my chin meditatively and paused. Jake clutched the edge of his desk tightly. I let him squirm for all of ten seconds.
• "I would like to see the unit I paid for," I finished.
• Jake sighed in relief and all but collapsed on his chair.
• "Of course, Mr Richard. Of course." Hayes snapped his fingers impatiently at Jake. "Quick. Tell Elle to come quickly to take this gentleman to his condo immediately."
• Jake nodded, picked up the telephone.
• "I assure you that you made the right choice sir," Hayes said as I signed the necessary documents of purchase, which the harassed Jake had somehow caused to materialize. "The condo we sold to you is second to none. You won't find anything close to that quality on the market. We guarantee you a hundred percent value for your money. Ah. Here comes Elle."
• He shifted slightly and I saw a tall, perfectly made up woman in a short skirt suit that showed off her shapely legs, walking towards us.
• Hayes gestured to me. "Elle, this here is Mr Richard who just paid for the condo valued at a million dollars. Take him there and show him around, will you."
• "Of course, sir. It will be my pleasure," Elle replied and smiled brightly at me.
• As I turned to leave, the manager held out his hand. "Please, let me know what you think about the place, sir. We look forward to doing more business with you in the future."
• I thanked him, and shook the proffered hand. I was for taking a taxi to the place, but Elle insisted on us taking her car. She didn't seem to think it odd that I had not come with a car of my own. She treated me with deference. She probably thought I was one of those eccentric millionaires.
• My new apartment was in a glittering glass and steel structure in the best and most fashionable part of the city. I strongly resisted the urge to stand and stare at the magnificent building. I followed Elle inside, went up to the topmost floor in an elevator. The door opened and Elle was the first out of it.
• "This is yours, sir," she said, unlocking and pushing open the door of a spacious, sumptuously furnished apartment.
• I walked in, almost on tiptoes, and looked around. The splendor of the place fairly took my breath away. Ellen talked, pointed to this and that, and explained the layout of the place to me. I just nodded, only hearing the sound of her voice, not able to concentrate on what she was saying.
• "Can you show me the other rooms?" I said, cutting her off mid speech.
• Again, her bright, polite smile made an appearance. "Of course, sir. Please, step right this way."
• She showed me the rooms, bathroom, kitchen which contained every single appliance that could make work easier. Then she showed me the master bedroom which had a breathtaking view of the city. It was evening now and the lights of the buildings winked and blinked like hundreds of tiny stars. I walked over to the window and drank in the sight, quite forgetting that Elle was present.
• "I hope you like it, sir," she said, watching me.
• Somewhat reluctantly, I stepped away from the window.
• "Yes, thank you. It's perfect," I told her.
• Elle beamed. "Oh. Mr Hayes will be so pleased to hear that."
• "Yeah. Tell him that I'm happy with my purchase."
• "I will. Here are the keys, sir."
• She handed the keys over to me and took her leave, after asking me to call the office if I had any further questions. When the door closed behind her, I moved around the place, running my fingers over everything which looked shiny, brand new and very expensive. I still could not wrap my head around the fact that I was now the owner of this place.
• Then I remembered that I had no personal belongings. All were still at Amelia's. I decided to go there to get my clothes and personal things. When I walked in, the entire family was in the sitting room, gathered around a table. It looked like they were having some sort of meeting. They had all been talking, but stopped immediately when they caught sight of me. I glanced at them, registering the look of hostility on every face. I looked away and headed for the bedroom. Amelia, recovering from the shock at seeing me, jumped to her feet and blocked my path.
• "What are you doing here?" she shouted. "I thought I made it crystal clear that it's over between us."