Wow, that was surprisingly easier than I expected. Who would've thought Andrew Geldan would agree to those terms so easily. Is that not bad business practice, or am I just an awesome negotiator?
Lillian went to bed late that night, replaying that evening's turn of events over and over again in her head until she finally fell asleep.
Her parents had come got back while she was in the cafe. They had been relieved to hear she had found a place to stay, and was ready to go pack up her stuff from her bedroom the next morning.
Tuesday was forecast to be the warmest day that week, so luckily it was not too cold when they arrived at their home. The steps leading up to their door were wet with the snow and ice melting under the warm morning sun.
Lillian went straight to her room to pack up her stuff that she wanted to take with her to her new place. In total, she ended up with 8 boxes full of things. Clothes, shoes, personal items, books and photos, her laptop, and a cat sized penguin plushie.
Once she was all packed up, she sat on her single bed mattress, and looked around her room. Though it was not very large, she had a lot of fond memories there. Her family had moved in when she was in elementary school, and she had lived there ever since. 15 years of friends staying over, studying for class, staying up late reading under her covers or watching dramas on her phone. Even when she was gone for months, away at university, her room would be there waiting for her when she came back.
After a while, she got up and turned to look at her bed.
I guess I should take my bed with me to my new place. I wonder how it comes apart?
Lillian pulled the mattress off of the bedframe, and studied it closely. She determined that she needed to detach the wooden slats from each other and unscrew the corners that held the frame together. She found a screw driver and spent an hour taking the frame apart, working up a sweat as the pieces were really stuck together from the years of use. Eventually, she finished and sunk herself into the floor, excited to give herself a break.
"Honey, how's it going in there?" Her mom yelled from across the house.
Catching her breath, she shouted back, "l just finished. Do you need anything?"
"No need to shout," her mom appeared out of nowhere, standing in the doorway.
"Oh my god, mom! Don't sneak up on people like that," Lillian startled in surprise at the sudden presence of her mom.
Ignoring her daughter's reaction, her mom asked Lillian to come to the kitchen to help pack up the items there.
About midway through filling a box full of various spices and seasonings, Lillian's phone dinged.
'Address?'
Oh right, I forgot to tell them where I'd be today.
She quickly texted back her location and continued loading dry ingredients into the box.
About 30 minutes had passed when she heard a familiar voice call out her name.
"Lillian, I've come to deliver some documents on behalf of Mr. Geldan." She quickly turned around to see Peter standing a few steps away.
"How did you get into the house?" Lillian asked as she took the papers being handed to her in a manilla envelope.
"Your father was kind enough to let me in, though he made me promise to help him move some furniture after this."
"Ah, I see." She opened up the envelope and read the contents inside.
She was pleased to see that all of her requests had been met, though she found a sticky note that read : 'No more changes once signed'.
Lillian read through the document twice over, then signed her name at the bottom, sealing the deal between her and the unusual CEO. She walked around the house, looking for the secretary, when she found him struggling under the weight of a table her dad had forced him to single handedly move.
"It's okay, you can just set it down right there. I'll help my dad move it later," she gave Peter an apologetic smile for all the heavy labor he'd been put through, noting the sweat forming on his brow. "Here, it's all signed and ready to go," the contract passed between hands and he went on his way.
The rest of the packing that day went relatively smoothly. Her mom had decided it was a great time to get rid of any excess stuff that they had, so a significant pile had accumulated outside with a 'take me' sign on it. Since the sun had come out in full force that day, a good number of people were out, and by the end of the day only a single chair remained in the free pile outside.
Some neighbors had stopped by too, sad to see them moving so suddenly, but all of them sent well wishes for their future ventures. Their next door neighbor, an elderly woman named Anne, even dropped off some soup and cookies for them for lunch.
The following day, Lillian went to work as usual, though she took off for an extended lunch to see her grandfather and brother, who had come by to pick up the stuff. It was a teary goodbye with her mom and dad as they hugged each other close. It was 3hrs drive to farm from the city, so they knew it'd be hard to see each other often. She promised to call at least once a week, and planned to go out to visit them in a months time.
She was just about ready to head back to work, when an expensive looking black car pulled up in front of the house, followed by a small truck.
Hm? Are these the people who bought the house?
Lillian walked toward the black car, to greet the new owners, when Andrew Geldan stepped out from the back seat. Lillian quickly spun on her feet to face her business partner, not expecting to ever see him in front of her house.
"Your colleague told me you had gone home for lunch. Good timing as we need to move your things."
"Huh? Uh, yes! But, I don't think I have time now, I need to get back to work."
"It's alright. I've already notified them you'd be taking the rest of the day off."
"Ah, ok. Well I don't have too many things. I'll go grab my stuff real quick." Lillian rushed inside, to see a strong looking young man step out from the truck behind them and follow her into the house.
As he was bringing the boxes outside for her, she was thinking about Jacky's reaction to having been told she'd be taking the afternoon off. She had already been off the whole day before, leaving her still injured coworker to do all the tasks, and now taking off without notice gave her a guilty ache inside. She tried to shake off the feeling, and went to assist the young mover with lifting the pieces of her bed.
"I don't think you'll be needing this bed at your new place," the young man said.
"Really? Is it already furnished?"
"Yes?" He replied, giving her a look that seemed to ask how she did not already know.
"Then let's just move it to just outside, I'm sure someone will take it if I leave a sign on it."
Andrew stood, leaned against the car, and watched Lillian and the mover with his signature poker face as they propped up the bed frame and mattress just outside the house.
"Is that everything?" He asked as Lillian approached the car.
"Yes. I appreciate you having called a mover, even though it's just a few boxes. Can I ask where my new place is going to be?" Lillian tried to be calm as she asked her question, but internally she was excited, thinking about the possibilities for her new home.
Could it be a cool, modern apartment in the heart of the city? Or maybe an older room with a classic style in the historic district. Even a small studio apartment would be enough, though I wonder if the CEO knows what a studio is. I bet this guy's only ever lived in fancy apartments and palace like mansions all his life.
"It's close to work, just as you requested," Andrew replied.