Ch 139 - The Dark Side of Lawrence Heights

"Fantastic. Here's my ID. It's three thousand dollars for the first month's rent, right? I have the cash here," the girl said as she started to take her passport and cash out of her pocket.

"Leave that for now." Philip walked over to the girl again and smiled gently. He said, "I'll take you to view the apartment first to see if you like it. If you do, then we'll come back to the office to sort out the paperwork and payment."

"Thank you, Mr. Gellor," the girl said with a broad smile. She was so excited about the apartment and felt so grateful to him for his attentiveness.

"Let's go," he said as he smiled back.

Then, Philip and the girl walked out of the office together.

Watching them leave, Alex felt a little uneasy. He felt wary of Philip. He thought he might have hidden darkness beneath his kind exterior.

He asked himself, could it be an illusion? After all, any man would want to go out of their way to help such a sweet and pretty girl, wouldn't they?

He approached the woman and asked her, "Why was that girl taken to view the apartment, but no one offered to take me?" She hesitated, but finally, she said, "She's a young girl renting her first apartment, so she needs a little more help. That's all."

There was no argument to that.

Alex had had enough of talking with this woman, so he took the key and went to look at the other apartment.

After he had left, the woman punched the man hard on his arm. She had a ferocious look on her face.

"Hey, what are you doing?" the man asked, rubbing his arm.

"What am I doing? You couldn't take your eyes off that girl." She snorted and turned her head away.

"Okay, I'll admit it. She was very pretty. But you know that I only have eyes for you. To me, you're the most beautiful woman in the world. Darling, don't be angry." The man's expression was playful as he gently tugged on her hand.

"Just get lost. Go home and tell your wife all about it," she said angrily.

"Oh, baby, I've admitted my wrongs. What else do you want me to do? You should be shouting at Philip. He just went off with her."

"You know I could never challenge Philip," the woman replied, deep in thought.

I've worked at Lawrence Heights for three years now, and I know exactly what Philip is like. He's handsome and well-dressed, and I know he looks like a good gentleman, but you have to see past that. The fact is, he's a womanizer. He lusts after and tries to woo the female employees in the company. He's also really stingy, she thought.

Wining and dining beautifully with women is expensive, so recently he had started trying to take advantage of his position at Lawrence Heights to attract pretty female tenants by offering them discounts and other benefits.

Philip operates by offering the attractive tenant a discount to gain her trust. Then he finds a way to build up his relationship with her and finally asks her out. Usually, the girl trusts him and enjoys the attention of such a generous and handsome man. Then, when he gets bored with her, he moves on to the next target, the receptionist muttered to herself.

To the employees who had worked in the company for a long time, this was an open secret that they had no choice but to accept.

Deep in thought, the woman turned and looked at the man.

"Darling, you're so beautiful. Let me hug you," he said as he pulled her into his arms.

"When do you think the senior managers will find out about Philip?" she asked him softly.

"Who knows? He's worked here for five or six years and most people already know. It's amazing that none of the bosses have found out about it. I'm also surprised that none of the tenants have called the police."

"You're still thinking about that girl," the woman accused.

"No, I wasn't thinking about her specifically," the man quickly explained with a smile. "In my eyes, there's no one who can compare to my baby."

"You're talking nonsense. Tell me, though—is my figure better than your wife's?"

"Of course, it is. Come on, baby, show me your beautiful figure right now."

**

Alex arrived at the door of his new rental apartment and was about to put his key into the lock when the door next to his opened. A young woman leaned out and looked him up and down.

Her face was exquisite, her hair was black and shiny, and her eyes were full of spirit, giving him the impression that she was extremely intelligent and capable.

If Alex had been able to stay in the ward longer when he had visited Rose, he would have recognized her as Rose's aunt, Sue Bradley.

"You must be a new tenant. I heard something from next door, so I came out to take a look." Sue walked over to him and smiled. "Hello, I'm Sue."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Alex," he replied.

"I'm guessing that you've just left university? I remember when I first graduated, I was worried all the time about finding work. My advice to you is not to worry too much. You've got plenty of time to figure things out and I'm sure you'll find the right job soon," Sue said chattily. "Oh, and as this is probably your first time renting your own place, I can tell you everything that I've learned from experience. First of all, don't use the bedding and towels in the room."

Sue told him all about her experiences of renting apartments.

Suddenly she stopped, and said, "Sorry, I'm talking too much. I haven't even let you go in yet. Do you want me to help you set it up?"

"No need, I'll set it up myself," he said with a smile.

"Well, you know where I am if you need anything," Sue said. Then she went back to her apartment.

Alex smiled. Although he was only renting an apartment as a cover, it had been great to meet his passionate, lively, and generous neighbour.

He entered his new apartment and looked around. He was quite satisfied with its size and condition and felt that the rent was reasonable.

Then he lay on the bed.

Thinking back through his day, he knew for certain that there were a lot of problems with the managers in the Lawrence Heights rental office. He thought, I'm going to have to filter out some of the staff. Anyone that doesn't conform to the rules will have to be removed. Only then will this business operate profitably.

**

Meanwhile, in the other apartment, the pretty girl was saying to Philip, "Thank you so much for today, Mr. Gellor. Without you, I really don't know what I would have done." She was sincere in her gratitude. He had brought her to view the apartment, and then he had personally explained the procedures for renting it to her. He had even helped her rearrange it.

"What are you thanking me for? Stop calling me Mr. Gellor. You should call me Phil. If you have any problems at all, just call me or send me a message on WhatsApp," he said with a gentle smile.

"Thank you so much," she answered sweetly.

"Now, since you've just arrived in New York, you must be tired. I won't bother you anymore. Have a good rest in your new home," Philip said as he walked toward the door.

"Bye, Phil. Thank you so much." The girl stood at the door and waved to him. Then, she walked back inside.

Seeing that the girl had gone back inside, he pulled out his cell phone. He looked at the girl's Instagram site, and with a lewd smile on his face, pressed a few buttons. He looked like a completely different person from a few moments before when he had been helping the young woman.

He murmured, "In one month, my little darling, you'll be mine. I'm looking forward to the day that I click my fingers, and you come running. You'll be in bed every night waiting in vain for me to pay you a visit." These naïve little girls were his perfect prey. The moment he saw the girl, he had already outlined in his mind the steps he would take to coax her into bed with him.

He put away his phone. This one could wait for now. He wanted to check in on his other prey, who he had been working on for several months. He felt that it was time to make his move.

He went back to his office, checked his appearance in the mirror, and took a packet of Viagra from his desk drawer. Then he went to his victim's door and knocked.

It was Sue who opened the door. She smiled and said, "Mr. Gellor, please come in." She was a little nervous as she opened the door, feeling embarrassed to see him because she knew that she owed rent for four months. He had been very generous and patient and allowed her to continue staying there. He said she should pay the rent whenever she could.

He went into her living room.

"I'll get you a drink," she said as he made himself comfortable on the sofa.

"Miss Bradley, have you found a job yet?" Philip asked. Eying up Sue's slender body, he was starting to get aroused. He knew that soon he would be rolling on the bed with this beautiful lady. Parts of his anatomy slowly started to grow.

Sue's heart sank and she became anxious. She tried to think of the best way to respond.

Finally, she said nervously, "Not yet, but I've been searching as hard as I can. I believe I'll find one soon. Please give me a few more days."

"I really want to help you out of this situation, but as you can see, I've already allowed you to stay here for almost four months without paying rent. I'm just the middle man, and I'm also under a lot of pressure from my manager." His words made Sue even more anxious.

"I'm so sorry. I never wanted to put you in a difficult position. I understand. I'll just have to move out." She didn't want to cause trouble for him, either.

"I'm afraid you can't just move out. You still owe us four months of rent. A few days ago, Lawrence Heights changed ownership, and I'm sure the new owner won't be happy with this situation. If he finds out that I've let you stay here for four months without paying rent, not only will I have to pay your debt myself, but I'm sure I won't have a future in the company," Philip said with a worried frown.

"What?" Sue had never imagined that letting her stay rent-free for the past four months would have serious consequences for him. And she knew that she could never afford to pay the rent arrears of nearly eight thousand dollars. "I'm so sorry. I never wanted to get you into trouble. It's my fault, what should I do—" she muttered anxiously.

Seeing her remorseful expression, Philip felt that the time was about right.

"Actually, there might be a way that you can make it up to me," he said as he stood up. He walked to the door, locked it, and walked back to the window. He pulled the curtains closed while saying, "Miss Bradley, there is one way that you can compensate me for my losses."

"Why are you closing the curtains?" Sue asked. She found it strange. "You said that there is a way to make it up to you. What is it?"