Secret: My Roommate is a billionaire!!!

Surreptitiously, she walked back to the window and pushed aside the curtains. The man was still there, and yes, he was pacing the stone path between his BMW and the porch, his ear pressed to a phone. The one he'd gone to retrieve from his car.

"Otto Bergmann, eh?" Allie said with sarcasm.

Britney took a breath. "He's actually going by Otto Bergmann at the moment. It's a long story. I'm so sorry, Iva, I completely forgot he was coming into town this week. He's---well, never mind why, it doesn't matter, but yes, the house does belong to him. It slipped my mind that it wasn't available until next week. I just got so excited to rent it after all this time. Silly me."

"Silly you," Iva repeated in a low voice. Louder, she said, "Well, this De-Peyster dude the fourth probably took ten years off my life."

Britney took the opportunity to apologize some more. "We'll take off the rent charges for your first month. How does that sound?"

When Iva didn't respond, Britney added, papers rustling in the back-ground. "That particular house is actually rent-free for the rest of the summer! How about that?"

Iva smiled to herself. Rent free would certainly help her bank account considering she wasn't pulling a paycheck for a few weeks. The leave of absence was without pay, but her boss assured Iva she had a job when she returned to Toronto.

"Iva, I know Cil---I mean, Otto. He would insist on these terms. He's actually very kind. A very good man. So generous."

"Honestly, I couldn't care less what kind of a man he is," Iva interrupted. "He should have seen the lights on and known someone was here."

Britney gave an indulgent sigh. "I'm sure he's distracted. You see, his grandmother is ill, and, well, the house was hers. The De-Peyster family built it over a hundred years ago. Lots of family history there Vancouver land history."

"Honestly, I couldn't care less," Iva repeated. "I just need some sleep. And I want him to go away. I suppose he has keys. That's how he got inside the house without me being aware of it."

"Exactly," Britney said in her annoyingly calm voice. "I'll call him back and talk to him. Don't you worry, the entire De Peyster family is wonderful and they have been extremely generous with the county. I assure you."

As if Iva cared about their generosity or legacy at the moment. It had never affected the Remington family, and probably never would.

Downstairs, the door bell rang. Even Britney heard the sound of the West-minster Chime through the receiver.

"Is that Otto?" she asked.

"If it is, I don't know why he bothers ringing the bell," Iva said, her sarcasm a mile thick. "After all, he barged in earlier without a knock or a hello."

She glanced down into the front yard again. A set of headlights were parked along the edge of the road, the engine obviously running. A shadow of a figure sat in the driver's seat.

"Now who's arrived?" Iva fumed. "This house is turning into Grand Central Station,"

"Call me if you need anything else," Britney said gaily. "Enjoy the house!"

The woman had to be at least thirty-five but she acted no more than twenty.

"You can be sure I will do exactly that. It might even be five minutes from now,"

Iva said, and clicked off the call with a good hard punch of her thumb.