I Left Him A Ghost Town

Summary

After graduation, I stayed in the South to start my own business. We started with three people in a cramped room; today, we employ over eight hundred.

This year, we landed a massive contract. My team spent three exhausting months grinding day and night to pull it off, so I made the executive decision to give every single employee a hundred-dollar monthly raise.

But the morning after the HR notice went out, my landlord called.

"Hey, Caroline," Richard said, his voice dripping with easy familiarity. "Next month's rent is going up by fifteen thousand. Just letting you know so you can prepare."