Vacancy

I've worked in the same building for 25+ years.  At this point I believe I'm the senior tenant.  Over the course of a quarter century I've seen lots of tenants come and go.

There is a lady in my building I've come to know as we see each other in the hallway, in the ladies room, parking lot, etc.  She is a really sweet woman who is all too trusting.  She's divorced and has been trying her hand at the dating scene.  She has been in my building for about 10 years. 

Anyway, a guy moved into an adjacent office in our building about two years ago.  It did not take this guy long to figure out which ladies in the building were vulnerable, and the Sweet Lady was one of them.  From the very beginning I never liked nor trusted this guy.  There were dots that I could not connect and I just picked up a vibe that he was a scammer and kept my distance.   Each and every brief hallway conversation I had with this guy revolved around how wonderful, wealthy, smart, and important he was.  That was enough for me.  I will refer to him for the rest of the story as Mr. Yuk.

Sweet Lady and Mr. Yuk became an "item" and everybody in the building knew it.  We did not care, as it's none of our business.  Sweet Lady was all a-blush with her new beau.  He had all the visible trappings of being so perfect.   My radar still picked up on something on this guy despite Sweet Lady's infatuation with him.  Ahhhhhhhh, love.  I would just smile and nod and allow her to gush on.  Who am I to rain on her parade?

Still, I could never figure out how Mr. Yuk's business deals actually worked.  Granted, I was removed from the situation and it was none of my business and I never asked questions. Sweet Lady was head over heals for Mr. Yuk and gobbled up his each and every word like Gospel.

Well, as of yesterday Mr. Yuk's office is now vacant -- he disappeared in the classic fly-by-night move leaving no forwarding information and lots of money owed in back rent.