"When are you paying the rent?" the leader asked with an arrogant look on his punchable face.
’These guys...’ Xavier recalled his first encounter with them. ’I thought I would finally be able to have peace, but...’ he sighed and prepared himself for the encounter.
All the customers in the restaurant and the workers working there stopped for a second and looked at the collectors.
Seraphina walked to them and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Did you not hear me, you hag? Have you gone deaf?!" I said the rent’s due!"
"Today is the 27th. I still have three days left." Seraphina folded her arms below her bosom. "Why should I pay now?"
"We came to collect some rent today, so we thought we should collect yours too," one of the lackeys said. "It’s only three days so what’s the problem? You are going to pay three days later anyway, so you should pay up now."
"And why should I do that? Would you give me a 10% discount if I do?" Seraphina wasn’t fazed by the collectors, nor by their appearance.
’Well, she is an adult, and she has dealt with them before, so I guess she knows how to handle people like them.’
"Hah?! Are you out of your mind, you hag?! Your rent is $80,000 a month, and 10% would be $8000."
Seraphina frowned her face and gave them a dismissive hand. "Then get out of here or I will call the cops. You are disturbing the customers and the employees here."
"This hag...!" One of the lackeys, big and tall, stepped forward and stood in front of Seraphina.
"What? Am I supposed to be scared of you?" Seraphina let out a chuckle and shook her head in disappointment. "Looks like I need to call the cops."
Seraphina took out her phone, but the leader stopped her.
"Wait. It’s okay. We will come after three days." He tapped on the back of the big guy who had just stepped forward. "Let’s go Jo."
"Oy!" As they were leaving, someone called out to them in the same manner they deserved.
It was Xavier.
The five of them turned around at the same time and glanced around to find who justice called them.
"Here!" Xavier raised his hand and waved at them.
"How dare you!" Jo rushed to Xavier, but the leader stopped him.
"Wait a minute, you dumb fuck!" He looked at Xavier. "Isn’t he the one from the second floor who was all taped up? What’s he doing here?"
"Of course, they are here to eat." A lackey responded.
The leader glared at the lackey and then approached Xavier.
"What is it?"
Xavier pointed his finger at the empty table adjacent to his. "Go and sit there. I want to ask you something."
"Hey! Who do you think you are, huh?! You can’t order us around and tell us what to—"
"I am interested in buying an apartment."
As soon as Xavier said there, they sat at the table Xavier had pointed at.
"Which apartment would you like to buy? And for your information, you have to pay some deposit beforehand, and it is non-refundable." He shrugged. "Just letting you know in case you call us scammers or something."
"I am actually going to rent it." Xavier corrected himself. He wasn’t even looking at them. He was focused on eating while talking with them. "If I am going to own a property, it certainly wouldn’t be this place."
"Boss, this guy is getting on my nerves. Let’s just beat him up."
"Shut up, you dumb bastards! Did you hear he said he is interested in renting an apartment? What if he changes his mind? You fucks keep your mouth shut, and let me handle this."
The leader forced a smile at Xavier and asked, "What kind of apartment are you looking for? If you tell me your needs and special requirements, I will be able to find a perfect place for you."
’What the hell?! His talking style changed completely. Before he was talking like a thug you would find in any alley, but now he is talking like a distinguished salesperson who has years of experience.’
The Nexus tower had a total of 69 floors and was divided into three sections. First 30 floors for lower class consisting of five thousand apartments. Next twenty floors for the middle class consisting of two thousand apartments, and 10 floors for the upper class consisting of one thousand apartments.
Out of the remaining 9 floors, five were common floors for different activities, each section having their own entertainment zones, food courts, stores, market stalls, gyms, and other amenities common to shopping malls.
Out of the remaining four, one was an operational floor, and no entry was allowed on that floor. The rest three were penthouses for the ultrarich.
Each section had a different entry and exit point, including an entirely different elevator to make sure one doesn’t run into another class of people. Although all the three sections shared the same underground parking, the space provided to them was different.
Naturally, the size of the apartment also increased as the level of floors increased. An apartment on the second floor would be 10 times smaller than the apartment on the 20th floor.
"So, what are your requirements?" the boss asked again.
"What’s your name?" Xavier asked a question out of topic.
"Huh? Me. You can call me Waller."
"Okay, Waller. I need an apartment in the upper section of the tower."
"Pfft! What?! That’s hilarious!" Lackey number one laughed.
"Is he trying to act cool in front of the girls?!" Lackey number two shouted in anger.
"Do you even know how much an apartment in the upper section costs?!" Lackey number three asked while holding his stomach.
Before the lackey number four could say anything, Waller got up from his seat and started beating them.
"I told you shits to keep the fuck down! Why are you acting off, huh?! Can’t you see how serious he is? Does he look like he is joking?!"
After a beating of five minutes, they apologized to Waller.
Waller then turned to Xavier with the same forced smile and said, "The upper section starts from the 61th floor and the apartment number 7001. Monthly rent of that apartment is one million dollars. Or i you pay for an annum, then it would be 10 million."