CHAPTER 6

Maya’s POV:

We decided to stroll to the apartment on Madison Avenue since it wasn’t so far from Violet’s home.

After 8 minutes of peaceful walking, we stopped in front of a brown building. It looked like a modernized cabin on the outside.

It had three apartments - labeled A, B, and C (judging by the mailboxes in front) - and a little garage.

It's not like I had vehicles to park in it.

The building didn't look like much, with little to no decorations but it looked pretty decent.

Way better than my previous place.

I knocked on the front door three times. It swung open after a few minutes to reveal a dark skin middle-aged woman with short black hair and puzzled brown eyes.

Her furrowed eyebrows indicated her throwing questions in my direction and waiting for an introduction.

“Hi, my name is Maya Jensen and this is my best friend, Violet Williams. I'm a new tenant here under Armando Corporations” I smiled politely and gave a little wave, Violet doing the same behind me.

Her lips spread into a smile and she extended a hand forward to shake mine.

“I'm Celine Johnson but you can call me Cel. I've been expecting you Maya” - Celine said as she took a step back and opened the glossy black door wider - “come in girls”.

I stepped into the house with Vi close to me.

We walked into a living room occupied with comfy looking couches and a coffee table at the middle.

A medium-sized TV hung on one side of the wallpaper covered walls. It had wires connected to speakers and a DVD.

Toys scattered around the living space and it carried a homely feel with plants and books laying about.

There was a kitchen to the left and three sturdy looking doors to the right.

Seems like the tenants get to share the living room and kitchen, that's cute.

“Sorry about the mess. My 3 year old, Lily, likes to play about”

Celine ushered us in, and went ahead to pick up and arrange the toys in a small basket next to the door labeled “A”.

“I stay with my daughter in room A, I was told you'll be staying in room B and room C remains vacant”. She spoke softly, gesturing to the three doors by my right.

Celine confirmed that the company had informed her of my moving in and she had been expecting me since the day before.

She also explained that she was an employee of Armando corporations, under the department of Human Resources, and lived here with her 3-year-old under their tenancy agreement.

After getting settled on the couches in the shared living room. Celine offered us tea and proceeded to speak,

“I've worked for Armando Corporations for 3 years now and I've been staying here for the same timeframe. I'm a single mother of one and this job has helped me in more ways than I can count”.

“Mr. Armando saved my life and has kept me on my feet since then, he has been an angel in our lives”

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion,

Was she talking about the same Mr. Armando or perhaps his father?

I couldn't wrap my head around Mr. Grey eyed Armando being an angel to this woman and her kid.

You really don’t judge a book by its cover I guess.

At the end of the conversation with Celine, I had come to understand that Mr. Armando built and owned multiple houses like this in the city of New York.

He rented them out at very low rates or in some special cases, allowed individuals to stay for free.

Celine explained that her case and mine fell under the “special cases”.

“Mr. Armando can be a mean boss and a lot to handle”

The black-haired beauty looked like she was trying to solve a puzzle in her head.

“Previous personal assistants of his have quit for this reason so I understand why they would offer a free apartment to get someone on the job ”.

She gave me a sad smile as she rose up from her sit,

“You seem like a sweet and strong girl Maya, I hope you don't quit so soon like the others”

Celine paused briefly in her speech, as if wondering if to proceed or not.

“Mr. Armando isn't as bad as he portrays himself to be. Hang in there and I'm sure you won't regret it “.

“Come on dear, let me show you your room”

Violet and I trailed behind Celine with her words replaying in my head like a broken record.

I heard similar words not too long ago.

Kate, the receptionist, made similar comments on our way to the bus station that night.

Why were they trying to ‘warn’ me? Was my boss that terrible?

I had no plans of leaving anyway, I couldn't afford to do that. I would be broke and homeless in a week.

I opened the sturdy door to reveal a single room with a medium-sized bed plopped in the middle.

Silky black curtains covered both windows in the plain white room.

It had a single desk and chair situated by the corner, and a door by the right, leading to the bathroom.

The room was spacious and pretty simple - I love it!

“Thank you so much for your time Celine! I love the space and I'm moving in immediately!”

I looked like I had just won a lottery with the wide grin plastered on my face.

“No problem love, let me give you my number so you can let me know when you're packing in”

Celine's smile never failed to drop as she put her number in my phone and gave us hugs.

She seems like such a sweet woman.

We left my new home as I would be moving in with my things the next day before I had to resume work on Monday.

My best friend and I went to get strawberry ice cream as promised and made our way to our separate homes.

I had to get home so I could pack and prepare to move out of that dump.

Violet offered to help but I refused.

I don't have a lot of property in the first place so I won't be needing it.

I got back to my place by 4 pm and packed up the little possessions I had in a duffle bag.

My paintings and painting materials took up another duffel bag and I was done packing.

I washed my curly hair, had some fruity cereal, and retired to La La Land.

Finally moving out of this shit hole, I’m so proud of this progress.

**********************************************************

The following day, I called Celine at the house to inform her of my moving in.

She was at church and mentioned that we would see later in the day.

I put my small possessions in the back of the yellow taxi and we headed to the cabin house on Madison Avenue.

I used my keys to get in and immediately got settled in my room.

My easel and paintings were situated on one side of the room, next to the small Burgundy wardrobe.

I cleaned and arranged my room the way I wanted it to be, decorating the space with ornaments and paintings from my previous place.

When I was satisfied with how it looked, I took a bath in the small pink bathroom and came out feeling like a freshly scrubbed baby.

I threw on grey sweatpants with a black crop top.

After matching my accessories aesthetically, I lined my lips (with a brown lip liner) and applied my glittery gloss with the help of a compact mirror.

Rule no. 1 - Never leave the house without lip gloss on or in your bag.

I picked up my faded sling bag by the door and headed out, making sure I locked my door and the house properly.

Violet and I made plans to hang out and binge-watch our favorite series, so I headed to a mini-mart to get movie snacks.

It wasn’t far so I decided to walk.

The windy afternoon was great for clearing my busy head.

I got a job..

I moved into a free apartment..

And I'm heading to my best friend's house to watch The Vampire Diaries and eat junk food.

Could life get any better?!