𝙽𝙴𝚆 𝙶𝚄𝚈

CHAPTER ONE: THE LOFT

Ransom's worst nightmare came true a week ago. Harlan, his grandfather and provider, has decided to cut him off. At 30 years old Ransom is forced to move out of his giant house, find somewhere else to live and find a job.

Except it isn't that easy. He's never had a job, ever. He has done an internship for his grandfather's publishing company a few summers in a row but aside from that: nothing. Shockingly enough, no one wants to hire a 30 year old, good for nothing man. Plus, he doesn't have the best attitude in general. He's never had to filter what he says or doesn't say and now he's paying for it.

Harlan gives him two months to move out, at least he doesn't have to take the first place he finds and instead he can visit a few places. Harlan says he'll pay his rent until he gets his first paycheck and then Ransom will be on his own, which means that he needs to be careful with the rent to make sure he can still afford it once Harlan stops paying for it. He only has a few months to find a job and if his grandfather feels like Ransom isn't making a big enough effort to find one, he'll cut him off immediately. He won't get one more penny from him.

He ends up finding an ad online for a loft downtown. At first he almost skips it because it says that they are looking for a fourth roommate and the last thing he wants right now is three annoying roommates, right before moving along he decides to look at the pictures of the loft. It's mostly curiosity, he wants to see how four people can fit in it and his jaw drops.

The loft is huge. Every room is big enough to have plenty of personal space and the living area is the perfect size so that it doesn't feel crowded. The great news is that the rent seems very reasonable and affordable. Ransom doesn't waste any time and calls the number from the ad right away, changing his mind in an instant.

The guy he talks to says that he can come over any time during the day. By the time he hangs up the phone he's already walking to his car.

The loft is on the fourth floor and to Ransom's delight there is an elevator. It'll make it easier when he brings back girls for the night. There's nothing sexy about making someone walk up four flights of stairs.

There are only three doors on the fourth floor, making it easy to find the number he's looking for.

He knocks on the door and it almost opens instantly, two men are waiting on the other side to greet him.

"Ransom?" One of them asks, extending his hand.

He nods. "And you are?" He shakes the man's hand.

"I'm Chase, we talked on the phone. This is Theo." He points to the man standing next to him. "Our third roommate is at work but you can come in and look around."

Chase steps aside to let Ransom in and closes the door behind him.

"You're Harlan Thrombey's grandkid, right?" Theo asks as he watches Ransom walk around the loft.

"Yeah." He stops himself from rolling his eyes.

"Our roommate is a bookworm and adores your grandfather's books." Theo smiles, knowing that you'll be excited about that little fact.

Ransom hums to let Theo know he heard him. "Where is the room you're renting?"

Theo and Chase exchange a glance when Ransom moves on to another subject.

They take him to the empty room across the hall from yours and open the door to what will be his room if he ends up moving in.

"I want it." He simply says, clearly used to people giving him what he wants when he wants it.

"Mh, ok." Chase laughs quietly. "We have a few things to discuss together before we sign anything." He gestures for Ransom to follow him and the three of them sit at the kitchen table.