Contract Period

On the way to his sister's office, he took the time to calm himself down and to really think about the situation. Suddenly he had a whole other person invade his abode and while he was technically the one to let the guy in, he wouldn't have even opened the door if he knew what the other was actually there for.

'Andrew… that guy better not be making a mess.'

He never thought he'd have to spend his birthday like this.

Arriving at the corporate building his sister practically lived in and pressing the button for the top floor to reach her office, he began to consider the best approach to solving this issue. He knew his sister, she was as stubborn as a bull, and she was meticulous. Having her terminate whatever agreement she had come to with Andrew so that he could continue with his life, alone, would definitely cost him somehow.

He was sure of it. 

The best-case scenario would be if she just handed over the contract so he could terminate it himself. He was a little worried about the fact that she had said in her letter that she "put it in his name," but he'll deal with that when he gets there. If worse comes to worse, he would just have to handle whatever cancellation clause there was.

The thing is, he highly doubted she would just hand it over to him like that and he was ready to duke it out if need be.

The brunette's thoughts began to drift to the man in his home. He almost felt bad for the guy, Andrew, that is. He was currently trying to rid himself of someone that had really only shown up to do a job he was hired to do. He was also apparently homeless at the moment as well, probably didn't prepare for being booted by his employers on the first day of the job.

Was he really going to go through with this anyway?

Absolutely.

He was even willing to put the guy up for the night.

Better sooner than later after all. Gives the guy a chance to figure out something more definitive. 

That preferably didn't involve him.

He doesn't fancy the idea of a live-in nanny/bodyguard at all.

The elevators chime indicating his arrival kicked him out of his thoughts. It was now time to face his sister and prevent overseer hell for who knows how long.

He couldn't let that happen.

Opening the large double doors leading into his elder sister's office, the midday sun cast its light across the room, streaming in from the massive window adorned in golden embellishments that made up the center of the back wall directly across from where he was standing. He scanned the room for his sister until he spotted her. There she was, off to the left side of the room working endlessly against a massive pile of paperwork.

He didn't really want to disturb her while she was working but this was something that he needed to do. So, steeling himself one more time, he set about walking over to the desk she was working at. Stopping a little off to the side of it in a place he was sure she'd be able to see him, he began messing with the miniature globe she had sitting next to one of the massive stacks of paper. 

Now he just had to wait for her to acknowledge him.

As he was standing there fiddling with the little trinkets she had on her desk, he occasionally glanced over to her working frame. It never ceased to throw him off and simultaneously amaze him how different his sister was when she was at work or otherwise back at the main house, versus how she was when she was messing with him or surrounded with some of the few close friends she had.

He wasn't sure if she was harder or easier to talk to when she was like this, but he just had to try.

After a while longer of waiting, with only the sound of writing filling the room, he awkwardly cleared his throat.

He couldn't just stand here all day. He was anxious to return home and make sure it remained untouched. 

"Ahem-"

Her pen stopped moving for a second before resuming again.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of my dear brother's presence? It's hard to catch heads nor tails of you around here."

"Er," what should he say? He looked around and noticed a prominent figure was missing.

"Um, so, where's Loretta?"

'Nice one, that wasn't deflective at all…'

It's not like he needed to broach the subject right away right? Ease her into it. Small talk small talk…

She took a second to answer as she was finishing out a sentence but eventually she did.

"She's out right now, running some errands."

Loretta was his sister's secretary and she was damn good at her job. She'd usually be in here doing paperwork alongside his sister and occasionally refilling his sister's mug whenever it emptied before even she could notice that it was. The woman was scary efficient, and amazingly competent. 

"Ah, I see, I see…"

Nothing but the sound of her pen moving could be heard.

He couldn't delay it forever. He just had to come out and say it.

"I don't need a nanny so take him back."

Maybe that was too much of a straight shot.

His sister looked a little confused for a second before it clicked what he was referring to.

"Oh really. He arrived already?" She quirked a brow, but didn't stop her work.

Thank goodness he hadn't flipped her 'messing with him' switch quite yet.

"I'm pretty sure I told him he starts tomorrow though?" she hummed

'Seriously?'

'That's it, I'm gonna kill him.'

So much for sympathy.

"I'm guessing your meeting didn't go over too well since you're standing in front of me now."

"Just met the guy and he's already on my hitlist, that's a new record."

His sister chuckled at that

"Don't be too harsh on him now, he's practically homeless."

'Did they read off the same script or something?'

She'd stopped writing now.

"So I'm assuming you didn't just come here to pay me a visit and tell me what a good job I did. You want me to terminate his contract don't you?"

'Sharp as always.'

"I'd prefer it if you just handed me the contract and I'll take care of it. I'll deal with the penalties of cancellation."

She was just looking at him now so he continued.

"I mean how can you expect me to just-"

She hummed, "Alright."

'That fast?'

That's suspicious. He was ready to fight for his life if he needed to but she just let it go like that.

Something wasn't right here.

She opened one of her desk drawers and pulled out a small stack of paper held together by a single paperclip.

"Here, but I'm asking you now, do you really think you can handle the penalty?"

He gulped, a little nervous now. He got this far so he had no reason to back down. He took the papers from his sister's outstretched hand and began reading over the contract. Nothing out of the ordinary so far, just information regarding what was expected of Andrew and how he'd be taken care of during the duration of the contract. There was also a renewal section but he skipped over that part since it wouldn't be necessary for what he was trying to do.

That's when he got to the end of the contract and froze. There was no need to doubt what he was seeing because his sister kindly listed the penalties for him.

"Oh, and let me just mention, alongside the penalty amount listed in the contract, you'd also need to go talk to your landlord since I already did all the paperwork for an extra person and a pet for your residence, I even was so kind as to pay the fee myself and set up an automatic withdrawal on my account to keep them there, 

She smirked.

"So, to put it simply, you'd need to pay me back too."

She's the devil. She had to be.

And he just activated her 'messing with him' switch.

What he was looking at was so many zeroes he'd need to sell the entire city twice to get that amount. That's why she was so confident about handing him the contract.

There's no way he'd be willing to break this contract if he needed to become the world's richest man in the world to the world's most dirt broke, penniless motherfucker in order to fulfill the penalty.

There's no way this was legal right?

No, knowing his sister, she absolutely made sure it was as legal as she could possibly make it before it ever made it into his hands.

"I-is there no way to…not go through with the contract?"

She smiled at him.

"You like dogs right?"

'She can't be serious.'

"Even if you don't, think of this as a lesson in responsibility! One dog to take care of, and "another" to take care of you. Just think of him as a flower on your wall and if you can prove to me that you don't need him after all, then they'll be out of your hair by the end of the contract period."

But the dog wasn't even–

"Just one year."

She tapped on one of the lines in the contract. 

"No renewal necessary."

Julien didn't even know what to say about that. His sister was just way too meticulous.

And he had achieved nothing but a prison sentence by coming here.

After saying her piece, she resumed her work where she left off, signing off paper after paper.

Just like she'd signed off his privacy.

"Oh," she looked up again briefly

"Make sure you sign for the other packages that will be arriving at your door. It's good to accommodate your new roommate."

'Is it too late to try again in the next life…'

"And you should visit more often y'know, your poor older sister gets lonely." She faked a sob

It was hopeless. Deciding it was better to wave the white flag before she sent another birthday 'surprise' his way, he began to walk away. But not without at least displaying his disgruntlement.

In one final display of dissent,

He flipped her off.

"Bugger off."

"Telling me that when it's my nickname for you just makes it sound like you're signing off y'know?" The playful lilt to her tone was the worst.

He hates her.

Truly.

With another middle finger for good measure, the brunette quickly made his way out of the office. The sounds of pen hitting paper growing more distant in the background. There was no winning here, but at least now he had information. Now he just had to endure.

Just one year, one year and he could be on his own again. 

He just had to buckle down and deal with it.

—

Back at Julien's residence, right after Julien had left,

Andrew was sweating.

He almost had to sleep on the streets for the night.

"Maybe I pushed too hard"

The only reason he had come over today instead of tomorrow like originally planned was because the hotels were busy with families coming en masse for the thanksgiving holiday.

And he'd left his old home like a bat outta hell, never looking back.

It probably would've been a better idea to book something in advance just in case but...

He looked at Cello who was off sniffing around the apartment. He personally wouldn't even call it an apartment since just the kitchen alone was twice the size of his old apartment.

He sighed.

"I won't be out on the streets after this will I?"

He messed with the collar around his neck again, debating whether or not to take it off or just leave it on. He'd already slung the leash over his shoulder so he could walk better. 

He decided not to.

"Celloooo," he whined, opening his arms to grab the joyful little floppy eared pup. He scooped her up and hugged her close.

"Do you think it's too late to act cute?"

The pup just licked his face in response.

He hadn't learned his lesson at all.

After a few more pets, Andrew decided to put Cello down and to just set up the air mattress for now. He was guaranteed the night if nothing else so he should take it. Picking the mattress up off the ground, he brought it upstairs like he tried to do earlier and looked for a place to put it. 

Putting it at the foot of the Brunette's bed definitely wouldn't be an issue. 

Satisfied with his work, he set to making sure Cello was comfortable as well. He went downstairs to the kitchen, Cello following close behind, and checked all of the bags on the counter for things that might've been for her. Sure they technically weren't his things to look through but it doesn't hurt to try.

Rifling through the bags, he found a toothbrush, a couple of squeaky toys, and some dog treats. There was other stuff as well, mostly things that doubled up on what was already in any lived-in residence that could be used to accommodate the sudden presence of another person: soaps, toilet paper, tissues, other miscellaneous things. He didn't think he was going to be staying long enough to use any of it though so he left them alone. The owner of the house could deal with it.

Unfortunately, he didn't find anything more for the dog. 

"Looks like you're sleeping with me." 

Cello barked out a response and he bent down to pet her.

He looked towards the front door and thought about going out to get her some things, such as proper dog food for one, or even taking her for a walk, but he wasn't sure if he'd be let back in if he stepped out the door. He didn't even know when the smaller man would come back either.

He didn't have much else to do except wait for the owner of the residence to return.

Letting out a small sigh of resignation, he walked over to the recliner by the window and settled in, Cello in his lap, and waited.