Page 39 of The Jerk in Apartment 1B

I go in my apartment and shut the door. I hear it open again and turn around to see Cole walking in.

“You’re back,” he says, going to the couch to sit down.

“Can’t you knock?” I say, annoyed that he’s here. I’m not in the mood for company.

“Why would I knock? It’s not like you have a girl here.”

“What do you want?” I say, tossing my keys on the table as I sit across from him.

“James is moving out. He’s going back to LA.”

James is a struggling actor who couldn’t find work in LA so he came to New York to see if he could work on Broadway. He’s been in a few shows, but only minor roles.

“Did he get a new agent?” I ask.

“Yeah, and the guy already got him some auditions. James said the Broadway stuff is what got him the agent. He’s going to come by later and thank you.”

“For what? I didn’t get him on Broadway.”

“No, but he wouldn’t have stayed in New York if it weren’t for you.”

“Yeah, I guess.” I look out the window, noticing the sky getting dark. It looks like it’s about to storm.

“What’s wrong?” Cole asks.

“Nothing.” I look back at him. “So was that it? You just wanted to tell me about James?”

“Yeah, he’ll be out of the apartment in a couple weeks. You want me to start looking for a new tenant, or do you have someone in mind?”

I’d like to give Trina the apartment. It’s a one bedroom that’s over twice the size of her current apartment. I feel bad she’s living in a place not much bigger than a closet. It was fine for Jenna. She was only there one or two nights a week. The rest of the time she stayed with Leo. But Trina is living there all the time.

“Let me think about it,” I say.

“What about the new girl? The one in Jenna’s old place? You think she’d want it?”

“Yeah, but she can’t afford it. She lost her job last week. That’s why she’s working at the grocery store. I’m sure that place doesn’t pay much.”

“So what’s her story? Did you ask Jenna about her?”

“Yeah, I called her. She didn’t know anything so I took her out.”

“Took who out?”

“Trina. Just now. I took her to get something to eat.”

“That’s interesting,” he says, a smug grin on his face.

“Why is that interesting? I wanted to know more about her, and I didn’t think she’d tell me if I just went over there and fired questions at her.”

“So you asked her out. Took her on a date.”

“It was not a date,” I say, glaring at him. “It was brunch. With my neighbor.”

“And? What’d you find out?”

“Her boyfriend dumped her. Actually, he was her fiancé. He broke up with her and kicked her out of his apartment.”

“Why? Does he have someone else?”

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