Chapter 5 - The Unexpected Twist
The rooftop door burst open with a loud bang, revealing a figure silhouetted against the hallway
light. He was holding a sheaf of papers and looking furious. Joe squinted. It was the landlord.
The abrupt entrance made Taiga flinch, causing her to grip tight on Joe’s arm. The man stormed
towards them, his face a mask of irritation.
“May I help you, sir?” Joe asked, his voice calm and level, a stark contrast to the landlord’s
barely contained rage.
“There you two are!” the landlord snapped. “I’ve been looking for you two all over. I need to have
a word with you.” He thrust the papers forward, his impatience obvious.
“Over what, exactly?” Joe continued, not giving him an inch. “We paid our rent on time; I even
have the photo of the receipt to prove it. We’ve followed the lease to its core. And right here,” he
said, tapping an imaginary spot on the table, “it clearly states that so long as all parties involved
are on the lease, they are allowed to live in the same apartment.”
The landlord looked taken aback by Joe’s immediate and knowledgeable defense. “Yes, I was
aware of that clause,” he sputtered, shuffling through his papers. “However, there’s another
matter. I’ve received complaints from the residents below you.” He looked pointedly at both of
them, insinuating they were the cause of some disturbance.
“Were those complaints documented?” Joe’s voice turned sharp, cutting through the man’s
blustering. “Do you have proof that you’ve received complaints from these people, or are you
just shooting shit out of your ass and hoping it sticks?”
The landlord’s face flushed a deep red. “Well… no, I don’t have direct proof.”
“So, I’ll ask again,” Joe said, leaning forward. “What is the issue?”
Cornered, the landlord’s argument crumbled. “The issue is… the constant noise coming from
your apartment. It’s disturbing the other tenants’ peace!”
“Seems to only be disturbing you if no one complained and you can’t prove that they did,” Joe
shot back.
The landlord’s face twisted with frustration. He was caught, and he knew it. “I- well… that’s
beside the point. The noise is causing disruption, and it needs to stop.”
“Aren’t you not allowed to target tenants?” Joe shot back. “Yeah, I think somewhere in this lease
it says you cannot target tenants.” Joe says with a slight smirk on his face now. “So you have no
proof of these complaints, no proof of our noise being a disruption, and now you’re trying to tell
us to stop something we did not do. Man, oh man, you really do not like your job.” Joe says
boldly and sternly, with a little subtle amusement.
“I’m going to report this to the head office,” Joe said, his voice now cold as ice.
The man’s face went pale. “Wait, wait, wait! There’s no need to escalate things like that. I’m sure
we can work something out here.”
“Attempted bribery is also a violation of the lease agreement,” Joe added conversationally.
The color drained completely from the landlord’s face. “No, I wasn’t—I wasn’t trying to bribe you.
I was just trying to… goddammit.” He cursed under his breath, realizing he’d dug himself into an
even deeper hole.
Joe leaned back and laughed. “Get a load of this guy, Taiga.”
A smirk spread across Taiga’s face. She had been watching the entire exchange with rapt
attention, a storm brewing in her eyes. “Looks like he’s in quite a predicament now,” she said,
her voice dripping with mock sympathy. “A predicament that’s almost guaranteed to get him
fired.”
The landlord winced, sweat beading on his forehead. “Okay, okay… I-I’m sorry. I’ll leave you
guys alone, alright? Just… don’t report this to the head office. Please.”
“I’m sorry, sir,” Joe said, shaking his head. “But there’s no guarantee you won’t do this again.”
“Please… I’ll never do it again, I swear.” The man was pleading now, all his earlier ego gone.
Joe turned to Taiga. “What do you think, Taiga? Should we just let this slide this time?”
Taiga tapped her chin, playing along. “Oh, I know where this is going,” she muttered with a
snicker, before addressing the landlord. “Well… he does seem genuinely apologetic. Maybe we
could let it slide this time. Under one condition.”
She stood up, her small frame radiating an intensity that made the landlord shrink back. “Our
condition is that you never, ever bother us again. No more complaints, no more harassment,
nothing. Got it?”
The landlord nodded frantically. “Yes, of course! I swear, I won’t bother you two again. You have
my word.”
“Good,” Taiga said, her voice sharp. “Just remember, we’ll be keeping a close eye on you. If you
break your word, the consequences will be severe.”
“Now get outta here,” Joe commanded.
The landlord practically scrambled away, fleeing the rooftop. The door slammed shut, leaving
them in the sudden, ringing silence.
Taiga let out a long sigh, the tension finally breaking. She smiled, a real, unguarded smile. “You
were amazing back there,” she said, her eyes shining with admiration. “The way you stood up to
him, quoted the lease, and put him in his place… it was damn impressive.”
A slow grin spread across Joe’s face. “Turns you on, don’t it?”
A soft blush crept up Taiga’s cheeks. “Wha-what? No, I-I… well, maybe just a little.” She looked
away, flustered.
“Looks like the tiger likes a little dominance,” Joe teased.
“Shut up… it’s not that. It’s just that… you were kinda badass back there, you know?” she
mumbled, unable to look him in the eye.
“I know,” he said softly. “But girl, you were too.”
Taiga glanced up at him, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “…Yeah,” she admitted,
a hint of pride in her voice. “I suppose I was a little badass too.”
(To be continued in Chapter 6)
