The Landlord and His Tenant

A rude landlord and an adult tenant who lives in costume circle each other in a building where privacy is mostly a rumor. He has the keys. She has a role she puts on before she opens the door, and a life outside that costume he has not been invited into. The years between them make him sure she should be flattered. She has not agreed. / He treats charm and pressure as the same tool. Whether she is playing along, or playing him, is the question the rent day will force into the open. The triangle, if there is one, will not stay a rumor in the stairwell.