Too Good To Be True

After hurriedly fixing myself in the mirror I left the bathroom and followed her to the only other door in this office.

She knocked quietly a few times before letting me in and closing the door behind me.

Immediately the thing that caught my eye was the dark walnut office table and a set of orange leather sofas in front of it.

The table was a little too large for this room and I wonder how they managed to bring it in in the first place.

A seemingly middle-aged man wearing a black suit sat in front of a computer and the light from the device reflected off of his rectangular glasses almost comically, like something you would see in an anime.

The darkness of the room was a big contrast to that, and he seemed to be almost camouflaged into the background.

It seemed that he wouldn't notice my arrival any time soon, so I had to clear my throat rather loudly to gain his attention.

"Oh hello, was it Ava? Please come in and make yourself comfortable I just have to send this one last email before I can get back to you"

he paused for a while before continuing "sorry about the curtains I like to keep them closed when I'm working, darkness helps me concentrate better"

"Hello, nice to meet you Mr. Allen" I chose to ignore the fact that he clearly called me by the wrong name.

"You can open the curtains if you want, I'm done anyways" he said before he typed one last thing on the keyboard and turned to look at me.

'I don't think I should be the one doing that' I thought to myself but did as was told after nodding stiffly.

"Have a sit" he pointed to the sofa "I was notified by Mr. Collins that you would come in today".

"Yes" that was the only thing I could voice out loud even though there were a lot of things I wanted to say but I chose to stay quiet and patient.

"So, I heard that you are looking for a place to stay, is that correct?" I nodded and he continued "and that you don't have a good financial situation".

I started to play with my fingers as I thought over what to say in my head "yes that is correct" I gulped "I don't have much in savings" I confessed as I looked down shamefully, already defeated "I can totally understand if you don't have anything suitable for me considering my financial situation".

"Oh, I do, when Billy told me about your situation I sympathized very much, and I was delighted when this opportunity came along.

You see there is a house, I mean calling it a 'house' wouldn't do it justice, but it could be a 'home' for you if you want".

Before I could voice my questions, he cut me off "I know what you are going to ask me and I'm happy to tell you that it is completely free, no rent and no deposits, at least for a while until you can get back on your feet and pay off the debt".

"I don't know what to say" I think my voice matched the shocked look on my face because this seemed more like a dream, it was too good to be true.