“The landlord is on the line,” the realtor said, holding his phone toward Isabelle. “You can talk to him.” When Isabelle took the phone and turned away, the man gave Jacob a wink–a sign that everything was going smoothly.
“Hello, I’m looking at an apartment here and I understand that the rent is only three hundred bucks?” Isabelle said into the phone.
“That’s right,” the man on the phone replied. “I know it sounds shocking, but I’m about to move abroad and wanted to get tenants before I leave. I figured I would get a tenant quickly if I lowered the rent.”
“Oh,” Isabelle muttered. That kind of made sense, she decided. If the landlord was moving abroad, it made sense that he would lower the rent to quickly attract a tenant. She still thought the rent was too low, but as long as the landlo
