The Ex-Wife They Begged To Keep - Chapter 165: Chapter 165

The landlord spoke in a high and mighty tone, "If you don't have money, why bother opening a shop? You might as well go home, dress up, and find a rich guy to marry.
"The two of you are not bad-looking. Why work? Marrying a rich guy would make money way faster."
Serena had managed to hold Lana back at first, but she hadn't expected the landlord to keep adding fuel to the fire. Suddenly, she could barely restrain Lana beside her.
"Why are you such a rude jerk? If you weren't serious about renting, just say so. I wouldn't have bothered coming to see your place!" Lana snapped at him.
If the landlord hadn't had such a filthy mouth, Serena wouldn't have let Lana lose her temper in public.
Most importantly, this shop was really the one she wanted most. Even though 15,000 dollars was ridiculous, if by some chance they could negotiate the price down, it would still be their top choice.
Half an hour later, Serena pulled the fuming Lana into the car, helpless.
"That guy was so unreasonable. We have no grudge against him. If he didn't want to rent, he could've just said so," Lana said, taking a few deep breaths.
After a moment, she calmed down and turned to Serena with a pitiful look. "Did I mess things up?"
Seeing that she wasn't as fired up as a minute ago, Serena couldn't help smiling and nodding. "You chewed him out so badly. He'll probably never want to see you again."
Lana fell silent, thinking, 'But that guy really was such a jerk.'
Serena didn't think Lana was in the wrong. She just felt a little sorry. That location was really the best they'd seen, and there probably wouldn't be a better one.
"Let's call it a day," Serena said. "When I get back, I'll check if there are any new shops up for rent. If there's something good, we'll go take a look."
Watching how calm Serena was, Lana immediately looked at her with teary eyes. "Seri, I bow to you. It's so good to have you around."
Serena got home and opened up all the apps, but she actually felt a bit stuck.
When Keith walked into the room, he happened to catch Serena looking like that. He stepped over and sat down across from her. "What's going on?"
Keith's voice was deep and rich, taking on a warmer depth in the night. Serena tilted her head slightly and told him what had happened today.
She said, "Even though renting that landlord's place is definitely out of the question now, that location really is the best."
Hearing that, Keith couldn't help furrowing his brow.
It didn't make sense. Someone wouldn't just lash out at strangers like that, especially since Lana and Serena hadn't done anything to start with before the landlord started asking for a crazy price.
"Alright, let it go since it's over," Keith said, taking Serena's phone from her hand. "Get some proper sleep and figure out the shop stuff tomorrow."
Serena just nodded.
While she wasn't looking, Keith had already snuck a message to James, asking him to look into who that shop's landlord was.
Word came first thing the next morning.
"So he's a friend of Winnie's. That's why he never meant to rent to us from the start," Serena said, finally understanding.
The landlord had clearly known who she was, which was why he'd been so rude when they met. Lana had just gotten dragged into it because of her.
"It's not your fault," Keith said, picking up on her guilt. "I've got a better shop in mind. James put all the details together last night. If Lana likes it, I can do 5,000 dollars a month."
Serena thought in surprise, '5,000 dollars a month? That's way too cheap.'
Serena's eyelashes fluttered, and she shook her head. "We have enough money. We shouldn't keep taking advantage of you like this."
Keith said, "Look, I'm your boyfriend. You don't need to keep score with me like this. Besides, it's just been sitting empty, not making anything. 5000 a month is a reasonable price."
Serena suddenly felt like she'd heard something like this before. It was just like when she'd moved into this place. Keith had said something similar back then.
"Alright," she finally agreed.
But things were different now, after all. Serena figured she shouldn't draw such clear lines with Keith. It might only hurt his feelings. So she sent Lana all the info James had put together.
Lana instantly filled the screen with exclamation marks. [Where did you get this place? I checked it out before. It's the best one! But the owner never wanted to rent it.]
Serena could tell how excited she was. Before she could type a reply, Lana called. "Babe, how on earth did you manage this? What's the monthly rent? I'd even take 10,000 dollars!"
Listening to her excited voice, Serena explained the whole story.
"You mean this place is Keith's, and he's renting it to me for 5,000 dollars?" Lana almost dropped to her knees. "Hurry and set up a meeting. I need to thank my savior in person."
Keith was right there, hearing every word of their conversation. For a second, Serena actually felt a little embarrassed for Lana.
"Um, I don't think I need to set it up. Keith's right here. Why don't you just talk to him directly?" Serena said.
Lana went quiet on the other end for a second, clearly awkward, but that was just her. Even if she felt awkward, it only lasted a couple of seconds before she brushed it off.
Keith said, "I'm free tonight. I'll bring the contract over then. We really should have a proper dinner. After all, you're the closest person to Serena."
As soon as he said, Lana immediately agreed, "Sure, that works. Whenever you're free, Mr. Brannon. No need to worry about me." With that, Lana hung up, sounding thrilled.
"Your friend... is pretty lively," Keith said after a moment. He hadn't expected Serena to have such a high-spirited friend, but it seemed like a good thing.
"Lana's been like that since we were kids. I hope she didn't offend you," Serena said.
Keith wrapped his arms around Serena's waist, lowering his eyes to look at her. "No. Anyone who's your friend is a friend of mine. If she's close to you and makes you happy, that's all that matters."
His breath brushed against her ear as he spoke. Serena suddenly felt a little awkward and cleared her throat.