The Landlord

I was sitting on my computer, filing some paperwork for a job I hated doing. Every day was the same process...I wake up, get ready for work, go to to work, argue with my boss, go home, sleep, rinse and repeat. It was a not so well lifestyle. Even if it does get the bills paid and puts money in my bank, I still hated my job. I'd much rather work a job that I would actually enjoy than to live miserably.

One day as I was on my way to work, I got a phone call from one of my father's associates. I answered it and my eyes widened from the shocking news I was told. I immediately made a U-Turn and drove to my father's apartment. Once I made it, I parked my car and walked into the main building. I walked over to where Mt father's friends were.

"I'm glad you could make it, Mr. Owens. As you know we called you about your father." One of my father's associates said.

"What the hell happened to my father?" I asked.

"That's what we are trying to figure out. We already have investigators on the scene. All we know is that he disappeared but not before he left you his fortune and the ownership of this apartment complex, Glamour Avenue." Another one of his associates said.

I looked at them as this was a lot to take in. I always knew my father was a reckless man, but to get himself caught up in something like this where no one knows what happened to him? This was almost extremely surreal. At the end of the day I had no choice but to accept the position because if no one did, this place would fall apart.

"Don't worry about putting the right people in the apartment and things like that, I have all of that covered." One of my father's associates said.

"Yeah and don't worry about the bills since I usually cover that." Another one said.

"So what do I do?" I asked.

"You play the role of Apartment Manager and Landlord. Basically you'll just be helping the tenants, making sure they are okay and things like that, filling vacancies, but that's already Ruby's job. Basically you own the entire property and you'll be helping the tenants. That's all you have to do." The associate said.

"I see...alright." I nodded.

"Do you already live in the apartment?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah I do. I have my own apartment here." I said.

"What floor?" She asked.

"The VIP Building." I said.

"Ahh okay, so you pay at the end of the year. Alright. I hear there's a few tenants there as well. It'll be a perfect chance for you to get to know them now. You'll need a good relationship with them if you want this to be enjoyable. We will keep you updated on your father as well." Ruby said. She handed me a set of keys which was trying the keys to every apartment in the complex.

I took the keys. "Okay. Thank you." I said then walked off.

This was a twist of unfortunate fate. My father is missing and now I'm forced to take on the roles of Landlord and Apartment Manager. I went to the VIP Complex and heard loud thumping.

"Wait Nozumi! You can't do that!" A woman yelled.

"Pipe down, goody two shoes! This means war! If my sister doesn't want to buy me those concert tickets then I'll force her!" Another woman yelled. "Unlike her I take after our Yukuza Father!~ I wear the Yukuza name with pride!"

"But we aren't in Japan! How can you wear something that isn't even in this country?" The woman asked.

I walked ahead and walked over to them. "What's going on here?"

The two women looked at us and one of them looked nervous.

"I-It's the Landlord's Son!" The nervous woman spoke and took a step backwards. "We are really in for it now.."

"Pshh! I ain't scared of no son of a Landlord!" The other woman said.

"Well you're gonna have to be afraid now because I'm the new Landlord now." I said.

"W-Wait what?!" The woman said now afraid.

"Who are you two?" I asked.

"My name is Sylvia Grace, s-sir." The nervous woman said.

"M-Mmph...my name is Nozumi Kiryu! I'm gonna be a Yukuza Boss and don't you forget it!" The other woman said. "You don't wanna see my Rush Mode or my Beast Mode!"

"Sylvia and Nozumi. You two are friends?" I asked.

"Yeah. What's it to you?" Nozumi asked and puffed her cheeks.

"No particular reason. Just wanted to get a better understanding." I said.

"Are you done with your temper tantrum, Nozumi?" A third woman asked. She looked at me and placed her hands in her pockets. "Who's your friend?"

"Friend?! We just met and apparently he's the new Landlord!" Nozumi said.

"Hm? What happened to the old one?" The woman asked.

"He...stepped out for a while until further notice. I'm his son, Ray Owens. I'm the new Landlord and Property Manager." I said.

"Oh. Cool. My name is Riko Kiryu. I'm this little delinquent's older sister." She said.

"Huh. You two seem like opposites." I said.

"That's because we are. She wants to follow down our stupid father's footsteps. I'm trying to warn her about that life. That isn't the life she wants to go down because once you're in you can never get out unless you die." Riko said.

"So what seems to be the problem? I heard loud thumping. What's the matter?" I asked.

"My sister won't buy me tickets to a band that's coming to town this month! It's one of my favorite bands and I can't miss it!" Nozumi complained.

I looked at Nozumi then looked at Riko.

"Ugh...do you know the dangers of going to a concert that huge? You could get crushed by the crowd or get lost and get kidnapped! You're only 19!" Riko asked.

"Come on! I'm one of the scariest people in the entire complex! I don't carry this bat that dad gave me for no reason!" Nozumi said.

'Scary...more cute than she is intimidating.' I thought to myself.

A door opened and a woman peeked her head out the door. "Can...we all try to keep it down..? My baby is trying to sleep.."

Nozumi looked at the woman. "Sorry, Ms. Alarie."

I looked at the woman and my cheeks began to grow red. This woman was extremely hot! It's a wonder on how I've never seen her before in this complex.

The woman looked at me. "You're Henry's son aren't you? Ray correct?"

"Y-Yeah.." I stammered.

The woman noticed how flustered I looked in her presence. She let out a soft smile despite her shy demeanor. "I'm Valerie Alarie. Where's the Landlord?"

"I'm the new Landlord now and property manager. The role was kinda forced on me since my dad has important business to handle elsewhere." I said.

"Ahh okay, well...I might need help with something in my apartment." Valerie said.

"With what?" I asked.

"My sink has been leaking for the past twenty minutes or so and a handyman hasn't come over yet. Since you're the property manager now, I was hoping you could fix it?" She asked.

'Shit...I haven't fixed a pipe a single day in my life. I can't lie to her and say I know how to fix it, but I also can't leave her to her own devices. She's got a baby as well, she looks to be at most my age, 23. Her baby has to still be pretty young. And she's a single mother as well it seems.' I thought to myself.

I weigh out my options. One hand, if I do this for Valerie, I could get to know her more. If I don't I'll look like a real jackass. "Alright I'll see what I can do."

"Oh thank you! This will be a huge help to me!" Valerie said happily. "Come in, come in!"

I said my goodbyes to Nozumi, Sylvia, and Riko then headed into Valerie's apartment. She led me to the kitchen sink then I crouched down and opened the cabinet doors to look at the piping of the sink. At the very least she did put a bucket under the sink. I studied the piping and tried to come to a definite conclusion.

"It looks like the ring came loose." I said then proceeded to attempt to fix the leakage of the sink.

Valerie watched me and proceeded to make small talk with me while I tried to fix the sink to the best of my abilities. I chatted back with her and got to know her a bit better. Her and her husband recently divorced and she gained custody of her three year old daughter. Apparently he did something to her that was beyond her limits and she had enough of it. Ever since then she's been a single mother and changed her last name back to her maiden name.

After ten minutes pass, I finally managed to get the sink fixed and stopped the leakage. I stood up and dust my hands off. "There you go. A non leaking sink."

"Thank you so much! You were a huge help to me.." Valerie smiled at me.

"It was nothing." I said and crossed my arms.

"So humbled..." She said. "If you want I can make you some breakfast."

"Nah I'm good for right now. Thank you for the offer though." I said.

"Of course. I guess you are a busy man so I guess I'll see you later." Valerie said.

I nodded then walked off and left her apartment. I noticed Nozumi looking at me with a smirk on her face. "What's with that goofy look on your face?"

"Well I know you're dying to know about the women who live here. There are eight of us anyway soooo.." Nozumi said.

"Something tells me you're not accepting no for an answer so go ahead. What do you have to tell me?" I said.

"Well starting with me, I'm 19 and preparing to be a Yakuza like my dad! I go to a university nearby here and it's a private university so not anyone can get in!" Nozumi said.

"It's a wonder how you got in." I said.

Nozumi let out a proud chuckle. "Anyway, my best friend Sylvia Grace is a goody two shoes and 19 as well. She never does anything bad or even has ever had a boyfriend before! She's always gotten straight A's and a perfect attendance. Now onto her mom, a beautiful 39 year old woman who loves cooking for everyone. Her mom is pretty easy to trick and fairly playfully but really nice! She's also a single mother. I hear she doesn't even know who the dad is but she made it work out."

"Okay?" I said and walked to my apartment.

Nozumi followed me. "Now onto my stuck up big sister. She's 21 years old and although she tries to stray away from the lifestyle she's a Yakuza as well. She's got a boyfriend but...something tells me she doesn't like him and the only reason she's with him is because of the money. Wink wink."

I looked at Nozumi. "You seem well off without the extra help."

"Oh it's because we are but unfortunately our father's debt has gotten us in a pickle. That's why I wanna become a Yakuza so I can take out the one that's making us pay all that money!" Nozumi said.

'I genuinely can't believe she has lore..' I thought to myself.

"Now onto Ms. Alarie, a truly gentle easy-come easygo woman. Though she divorced her husband and takes care of her daughter by herself she still holds down her own fort. She pretty much marches to her own beat...even if the best is a little off. She's easily startled and more gullible than Sylvia's mom." Nozumi said.

"I see.." I nodded.

"Now the other three women...I have no idea what they do since two of them are famous. One of them is a pop idol and the other is a literal supermodel. The third one seems to never be in her apartment. I see her mostly in the library. If you wanna know about them, you gotta ask them yourself. That's all I got! See ya!" Nozumi smiled and skipped off to her apartment.

"I have eight women to juggle as well as finding out what happened to my own father. Alright...I have to get my head in the game. I'm no longer an office worker. I have to prepare myself for any situation..." I mumbled to myself. I walked into my apartment and went to first quit my job and second learn about the duties of my new occupation.