Rodney was extremely glad to hear from someone who warmed his weary heart. Due to all the complications he had encountered, she had slipped from his mind. “Lilly,” he said. “I don’t think your friend likes me very much,” Lilly said in a sweet tone. Rodney chuckled. “Not really. He just doesn’t trust people easily.” “What does he think? That I’m a scammer?” “Yeah, he does. He’s crazy sometimes.” “What if he’s right?” she asked. Rodney smiled. “Let’s just hope he’s not. Otherwise, he would never stop teasing me about it.” “Why do you think you can trust me? Is it because of my looks?” “Shouldn’t I trust you?” She laughed. Rodney liked her laughter. It was sweet, low and hearty. An image of her smile popped in his mind, and he realised he wanted to see her again. “Did you arrive in new York?” “Yes, in fact i have just landed. That’s why I called you. Where are you staying?” “I actually have no idea,” Rodney said and looked around. He picked up a brochure that was lying on the
An hour later, Rodney and Harvey were in a taxi, on their way back to the hotel. Rodney was mildly irritated by Harvey’s insistence that Lilly was a con woman who wanted to scam him. He didn’t feel like having a conversation with him and it seemed Harvey didn’t want to either. He was reading through news articles to see if anything had been published about the shootout on their first day in New York. Apparently, the CCTV Footage had been very grainy so nothing was known about the boys whose luggage had been found in the taxi. The taxi had described their looks to the police. Rodney laughed when he saw the sketches. They were so off. No one could recognize them. They returned and had a good night’s sleep. Morning came with a lot of stress. As they had breakfast in a restaurant a few blocks away from the hotel, they went through reviews of several real estate agents.“You know you can call your father to give you the contact of a good one, right?” Harvey said. “So we don’t have to suf
Rodney was told that he was supposed to fill in some forms to make a name change petition. He had to provide proof of citizenship and identity with relevant documents. Unfortunately, he was told his name couldn’t be legally changed in New York until he had lived there for at least six months. As they checked out several houses, he decided that he would lease the house under Harvey’s name. When he finally got his new name, he would update or move somewhere else. “This is the best so far,” Harvey commented. Harvey looked around the apartment, studying everything in it. He went to the window and looked out at the busy city. “I like it.” “That’s settled then,” Andrea Cruz, the real estate said happily. “We’ll go through everything and I will talk to the owner. It’s late now so we may have to finish up everything tomorrow. I assure you that you won’t regret it here. I only show good houses to my clients and never hide anything.” “I hope so,” Harvey said. Rodney sighed and returned t
As the taxi drove them back home, Rodney couldn’t stop thinking of how Lilly had conveniently said it was time for them to leave right after he asked an important question. Lilly had not been looking at Carrie. How could she have known that Carrie wanted to leave at that very moment? He was staring to question her but did not want to voice his thoughts to Harvey. He didn’t want to hear the ‘I told you so’s’. He was sure Harvey couldn’t wait to hit him with them. The next day, they were able to get into their apartment. Andrea gave them a contact of someone who could help them get everything they need to furnish the apartment in only a few hours. Once the lease was signed and money paid, Rodney and Harvey moved in. it took about two hours for them to get most of the essentials, they even paid to own some of the decoys. When everything was done, the boys celebrated with drinks they had picked up earlier. “We have a home!” Harvey yelled. “Stop yelling. The neighbours might get us kic
“I’m very sorry that I left abruptly last night,” she said after they had made their orders. “It’s okay. Besides you had been there longer than me and it’s always wise to return home early.” She smiled. “You look really great. What are you doing in New York, Rodney? Are you just visiting or you live here?” “Harvey and I want to start over. We would like to start something here, maybe a business. I’m from LA.” “Why did you leave? I think LA has nearly the same opportunities as New York. Is there a significant difference?” Rodney shook his head. “I don’t know but I don’t really care. All I need is a fresh start. I recently lost my mother and didn’t want to stay home. Too many bitter memories.” “Ohh,” she said, her hand moving on the table. She placed it on top of his. Rodney felt a rush of electricity that travelled through his whole body within seconds. His breath hitched. He wanted to pull his hand back fearing that she would notice what was going on inside him but it felt reall
“Since you have a reasonable amount of money in the bank, there are so many options for you.” Gregory Johnson said. The financial advisor leaned back against his chair and glanced at a clock on the wall before turning back to the two young men. “If you decide not to start a business, you can invest in dividend stock funds, cryptocurrency, series I bonds among others. Of course all these come with their own gains and risks, but then again all investment involves the two aspects.”“Okay,” Rodney said.“Have you set any goals?”“No,” Rodney shook his head.“Well, you need well defined short term and long term goals with strict deadlines. These will give us a clear guideline to follow. Don’t worry, I will help you with the goal setting process since it is one of the things I do. Before we proceed, I’d like to know if there’s any field you are interested in entering. Although funds investment can grow your money, a business could make you a millionaire. So, Rodney and Harvey, have you thou
Rodney did not see Lilly during the next two weeks. She called him and sent messages but he made no attempt to reply. He couldn’t bring himself to block her although that was what Harvey advised him to do. A part of him believed her, and he was not ready to let go. Besides, he was lonely and had not made new friends since getting to New York. All he had was Harvey who was always busy on a job hunting mission.The financial advisor had said Rodney was not yet ready for entrepreneurship and he needed a bit of experience before starting out. He advised Rodney to put some money in bank investments and get a job somewhere to give him a feel of what it meant to run a business. Rodney and Harvey both managed to find jobs in sales at the same athletics store. Two people had resigned on the day they walked in. Apparently, they had fallen in love and decided to move to a small town and start their own business and family.It was hard to find motivation to work when you had more than enough mon
“Lilly is my name. My name is Lilly Price. I know this is a lot. I’m just waiting for you to get up and storm out of here.”Rodney sighed. He picked up his glass and downed the drink before requesting for another one. He stared at the beautiful woman in front of him and shook his head lightly. He smiled and stared into her eyes.Lilly smiled back, and didn’t say anything. She picked up her glass and took a sip of her drink before placing it back on the table.Rodney didn’t know what to think. He could hear a couple on the next table talking about how much they loved each other.All of his blood had run to a certain part of him a long time ago when he saw Lilly. Now, the feelings seemed to have grown. He wanted to ask her home but had no idea if he could trust her. When he looked into her eyes, he could see innocence, but that was the same innocence that had fooled him into believing her. “Do you admit that this is a lot to take in?” he asked her.She smiled. “Yes. I know. I’m glad th