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"You two even came all the way to Gary's place to look at houses?" Henry switched the topic with a smile.
Fabio answered, "I can't very well send a single young lady to the really messy neighborhoods, right? But the problem is—any place suitable ends up being too expensive. Charlize wants to keep looking.
"So I brought her here to try our luck with Gary. You know how it is—this place isn't somewhere you can just decide to live in. Gary has to approve the tenants."
Everyone's gaze immediately landed on old Gary—shirt tied in a knot at the waist exposing his midriff, tight aerobics pants, eyeshadow and all.
The flamboyant landlord twisted shyly before saying, "Henry, your friend seems lovely. If she wants to move in, I can show her a few rooms. I've even got some shared rentals here—the rent is much cheaper."
"Really, Gary? That would be wonderful!" Charlize said happily.
Gary continued, "Darling, you earned this yourself. Do you know how many people look at me and immediately make a disgusted face? And those who look at me like prey? I hate those even more.
"My so-called 'screening' is just me looking for tenants who can tolerate my personality. I finally found myself—I have every right to choose people who won't despise me as roommates, don't I?"
Charlize nodded earnestly. "Of course you do, Gary. That's your right. You're just being yourself. That's a hundred times better than those jerks who take out their violence on others."
Gary brightened. "Ha! Good girl, I knew I'd like you. My top floor has small suites. You'll have to take the stairs, but the privacy is good.
"If you want something cheaper, I've also got a full apartment with individual rooms rented separately. One of the units is all girls. The empty room belonged to a college student who just moved out after graduating. You can take a look."
Charlize smiled. "Gary, then show me everything."
"Alright, give me a minute—I'll get the keys."
With that, Gary sashayed back inside.
Seeing they were about to get busy, Henry said, "Then I'll leave you to it. I need to put these groceries in the fridge."
He had no intention of following along—he didn't want his presence influencing her choice.
If Charlize Theron ended up making a financially irrational decision because she felt indebted… well, who would she blame afterward?
And if she felt obligated and couldn't refuse? That would be even worse.
"See you later."
"See you."
Henry headed up to the third floor and began loading the refrigerator.
Vegetables and fruits went to refrigeration if needed; the rest went into a metal cage. Normally, tigers didn't eat fruit, but they would absorb the water content if no fresh water was available.
And since Katie—the tiger—held the philosophy "If the two-leg can eat it, I want to try it," Henry's unprotected fruit had been thoroughly vandalized before. Hence the cage.
Why not cage the tiger instead?
Because Katie might choose not to break the fruit cage—but she would definitely break any cage holding herself.
Meanwhile, as Charlize followed Gary, she asked, "Gary, which floor does Henry live on?"
"Henry? He's in the corner room on the third floor."
"He lives alone?"
"Yep, alone. Oh—he does have a pet."
"You allow pets here? I thought most landlords hated tenants with pets."
"In principle I don't allow it. But as long as they're not screaming at midnight or pooping in the hallway without cleaning it up, I'll make exceptions. If they mess up, though, the exceptions disappear."
"I see."
Gary added, "Henry's place is a one-bedroom unit. Smaller than your usual apartment, bigger than a studio. I usually rent that layout to people with lots of personal equipment—like those running small studios, painters, sculptors, that type."
"Oh? Henry is that type of person?"
Gary thought. "Probably not. But he's installed so many things inside that unit—I'm already stressing over how I'm going to restore the place once he moves out. I knew I shouldn't have let him do whatever he wanted."
Charlize asked, "Is he some kind of slippery guy who sweet-talks his way through everything?"
"No—Henry always bribes people with good food. I've eaten so much that I don't even know how to refuse him anymore."
"…Alright. So he's a cunning guy."
"Haha! That's not wrong. He is a cunning little brat."
Gary and Fabio exchanged knowing laughs.
Though Henry and Fabio had first met four years ago when Henry initially rented a place in L.A., their connection didn't stop there.
Henry occasionally bought special computer parts from Giovanni—so his ties with the Italians had remained strong.
Thanks to that, Fabio felt no hesitation joking about Henry with Gary behind his back.
Charlize, however, kept her questions about Henry controlled.
She acted as if she didn't care—but her curiosity inevitably drifted toward him.
She wanted to know how Gary and Fabio evaluated him.
For two men in their fifties, her little thoughts were obvious as daylight.
But neither dared play matchmaker—because if Henry was involved, they had zero confidence in the outcome.
What twenty-something man didn't chase after women? Especially good-looking ones?
But Henry's life… was practically monastic.
He'd never brought home a girlfriend.
Never partied.
Never clubbed.
His idol was a Golden Age Hollywood beauty—and not just admiring her on screen. He literally became her assistant.
Which meant the closest women in his life had been… women in their sixties and seventies?
With his silver tongue, one would expect he'd win over countless girls—or even most men wouldn't dislike him.
—
Tony Stark: Who says?! One full salvo from that sharp tongue of his and who wouldn't want to strangle him on the spot?
—
Even if he couldn't charm A-list Hollywood stars, surely he could win over some attractive girls, right?
And then—he adopted a tiger.
Not even petty thieves dared enter his place.
Normal girls? Forget it.
Gary had even introduced a relative—his ex-wife's young, pretty niece.
Henry didn't bite.
It made people question his orientation…
Or whether he was even a normal man.
So when it came to Charlize's feelings, neither old man knew whether to help push or to stop things.
Best to let fate decide.
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