Here's another chapter! Hope you enjoy it!
Dark's Assassin & Assassin's partner – you guys are really great! thumb up Kaye – thanks for the great review! Keep R&R!
Chapter Nine
The only clean spots she could find on the babies were the seat of their pants & the small circle where their bibs had protected their shirts, so she filled the basin with cold water & started dumping every item of clothing in as she removed it. If she was lucky, the tomato stains would soak out.
She put Ella in the tub & chased Nikko down to strip off his tiny jeans, & her eyebrows raised at what she found underneath. By the time both babies were clean, diapered & pajama-clad, she was pretty well covered with tomato sauce herself, so she put on her sweats & dumped her tailored pinstriped shirt in the cold water as well. Then she had to pursue both the babies into the living room, where they scampered in order to avoid being put to bed.
"You'd increase your odds of success," she told them as she scooped them up, "if you went in opposite directions. On second thought, forget I said that."
By the time they were settled, Mimi felt as if the circus ring full of tigers would have been a much easier way to spend the evening.
Matt was lying on his back under the sink, doing something to the drain. The old dishwasher was gone from the center of the room, but everything Sora had stored in the cabinets was stacked together on the floor by the back door.
Mimi leaned against the counter & contemplated the mess. "I don't suppose you'd like to tell me why Nikko was wearing a strip of duct tape under his clothes."
"He was wiggling so much that I couldn't get his diaper on tight enough. So I pulled it apart to try again, & then the sticky tabs wouldn't work." He answered carelessly.
"So you patched his diaper together with duct tape?"
"It was the only thing I could reach at the time."
Mimi told herself not to ask, but the words came out anyway. "Do I want to know where you were doing this?"
"On a portable workbench and he was eyeing the router & a jigsaw & was trying to decided which one to grab first."
Mimi winced at the thought.
"Hey, it stayed on didn't it?" Matt pointed out.
"Yeah, in fact, it stayed on so well I had to find a pair of scissors to get it off."
"Don't blame me. They should make those fastener things stronger & stickier."
Mimi rolled her eyes.
"I stuck the pizza in the oven to warm it up."
In all the confusion, Mimi had almost forgotten the pizza & how hungry she'd been. In fact, she hadn't even managed a bite for herself. She picked up the can of soda she opened earlier & took a long drink. It was warm & flat, but she drank it anyway.
Matt twisted a handle under the sink. "If this connection just doesn't leak, the job's finished."
"Great timing," Mimi said. "I bet you've just been lying there taking it easy while I fought the battle of the bath."
"Want to switch places? It's not exactly a featherbed down here." she took a second look & decided that the cabinet's edge must be cutting painfully into his shoulder blades.
She shook her head & changed the subject in order to distract herself from the idea of Matt in a featherbed. "Sora will worship you for this. Tell me again how you're going to explain it to her."
"Why do you want to know?"
"So id don't slip up & give you away." Mimi's voice was tart. "Goodness knows you wouldn't want to get a reputation for generosity."
"No," Matt said softly. "What I don't want is to make Sora feel like a charity case."
Mimi bit her lip. She should have seen that herself, of course. Asking him to work on the dishwasher at all must have been difficult enough for Sora, but accepting the gift of a new one…admitting that she & Tai couldn't afford it on their own…would be more than she could bear.
"You actually expect her to believe that someone discarded a brad-new dishwasher?"
"Almost brand-new, Mimi, I'll tell her we're installing a new kitchen in Mission hills…that one is true…and let her draw her own conclusions."
"Oh, in that case, she'll believe it," Mimi said. "I sold a house out there last year. It brought well over a million dollars, but the new owner never even went inside. He just sent in a bulldozer to knock it down so he could build the house he really wanted."
"Exactly, guys like that…or his wife…wouldn't think twice about discarding a dishwasher just because the buttons weren't in the right place."
A phone rang. Mimi reached for her pocket & remembered that she changed clothes & her phone was still in her jacket in the bedroom. "That must be yours. Want me to get it?"
"It's in my toolbox, if you'll hand it to me."
He couldn't make it plainer that he didn't want her to answer it. Well, that made sense, Mimi thought. It was probably one of his model girlfriends & he didn't want to explain why there was a woman answering his phone. Like I'd want to chat with one of them, she thought. She dug the phone out of the box & handed it over without a word.
"Yeah?" Matt said. "Well, not at the moment. Are you going to be at home? I'm in a bit of an awkward position right now."
Mimi wondered whether he meant the fact that he was lying under a sink, or that there was another woman in the room where she could listen to the conversation.
Don't be silly, she told herself. He wouldn't let your presence stop him from saying whatever he wanted because you don't begin to count as another woman in his eyes.
"Yeah, I had fun, too. Look, I'll call you later." Matt snapped the phone closed.
Mimi had to bite her tongue to keep from suggesting that…judging by the absent-minded tone of his voice…the occasion didn't sound as if it had been the world's most successful date. But commenting would only make it clear that she had indeed been listening, & perhaps leave the impression that she cared who he talked to & what he said.
So she stuck a fingernail under the label on the edge of the dishwasher door & pulled the corner loose. "If you're going to tell Sora that this isn't brand-new," she pointed out, "you might want o peel all the stickers off."
"Looks like you're doing fine with doing it." Matt hauled himself out from under the sink. "But hand me that wrench & I'll put a dent in the front panel just to make it more convincing."
"Let's not go to extremes.'
He grinned. "Then give me all the stuff from under the sink & I'll put it back in."
Mimi began passing him bins & buckets. When everything was stowed away once more, Matt stood up & stretched. "I'm glad to be out of there. Here's the real challenge." He started pushing buttons, & water surged into the dishwasher.
"Hey, why waste the opportunity?" Mimi waved a hand at the dishes stacked in the sink.
"I don't want to complicate things at the moment, just checking out the cycle. Besides, the pizza should be hot again by now. Let's eat."
The cheese had gone rubbery from being reheated & the crust was a bit limp, but it still tasted good. Mimi collapsed on the couch with a plat & put her feet up. Matt carried the pizza box in & sat down beside her.
"Are you ticklish?" he asked.
"What?"
"I was just continuing the likes & dislikes game, and I wondered if…"
"If I was ticklish, I wouldn't tell you."
"That must mean you are, because otherwise you'd have just said you weren't. so we both like pepperoni & we're both ticklish. And there's always your ex-fiancé," Matt added helpfully. "That's something we have in common."
Mimi couldn't help it. She let her eyes widen till they must look as if they were ready to pop out, & she forced a breathless note into her voice. "You mean…you were engaged to Michael, too? Matt, I had no idea you…"
"It's a shame I wasn't," he said lightly. "I'm not gay, Mimi! And besides, I'd have thought far enough ahead to keep the diamond ring instead of throwing it at him."
Mimi shrugged. She wasn't about to explain to Matt what she'd been thinking when she threw her engagement ring in Michael's face. For that matter, she wasn't sure she could explain it to herself…or even remember the details.
"What ever happened to him, anyway?" Matt asked.
"He moved to New York. At least, that's what one of the bridesmaids told me."
"He couldn't stand staying here, huh?"
Mimi remembered what Matt said about admiring her for facing the crowd on her wedding day, despite the embarrassment of admitting that she wasn't going to be married after all. "I don't think it was that because his friends thought he was pretty macho. For months I heard how unreasonable I was to hold it against him, how it wasn't his fault, that he didn't hire the call girls…oh, all right, exotic dancers…for the bachelor party."
"They just showed up?"
"It doesn't sound very likely, does it?" Idly, she rolled her slice of pizza up till it looked vaguely like an egg roll & nibbled the end of it. "Anyway, I gave the ring back because I didn't wasn't to keep anything that would remind me of him."
"That's a polite way to tell me to stop talking about it, right?"
"Congratulations! You win the grand prize…the last slice of pizza."
"You sure you don't want it?"
"I can't eat another thing. If you're finished playing with the dishwasher, I'll load it up & give it a real test."
"I'll get it later. Go to bed…you look tired."
Mimi couldn't decide whether to be grateful or insulted. As she was pulling back the comforter, she began to wonder how Matt had managed the night before. It must have been chilly out there, & since the little house had no official linen closet, the extra blankets & pillows were stored in the top of the closet in the master bedroom. She got out one of each & took them out to the living room.
From the kitchen she heard the rumble of Matt's voice, punctuated with the rattle of dishes. It was odd that she never noticed before how low, rich, & sexy his voice was. Strange how hearing someone, without being able to see them, made such a difference in perceptions…
Or maybe, she told herself, it wasn't odd at all. She hadn't noticed before because he probably only sounded that way when he was chatting up with Vicky or Sarah or whatever the current model's name was, & not when he talked to Mimi.
Though the pillow & blanket helped, Matt woke up again with a stiff neck & sore shoulder. In fact, every joint in his body felt absolutely creaky & he almost limped into the babies' room, where Nikko was lying on his tummy in his crib, yelping like a puppy & stretching one hand through the bars as far as he could in order to jab Ella awake.
"Knock it off, pal," Matt warned. "Take a lesson…waking a woman up in the morning before she'd ready is the worst single thing a guy can do."
Nikko giggled happily & pulled himself up till he was standing in his crib.
"And that comes from somebody who knows what he's talking about," Mimi added from behind him. "though his experience may only apply to models."
Matt glanced over his shoulder. She was still wearing her sweats, there wasn't a drop of makeup on her face, & she pulled her hair up into a messy ponytail. She looked about sixteen. "Is that an offer? Because…in the name of science…I should take any opportunity for further study in order to test my hypothesis."
She tipped her head to one side & studied him. "Sure," she said. "When you wake up tomorrow morning…on the couch…pop on in & see whether I bite your head off. In the meantime, I'll leave you two gentlemen to theorize about it."
"She doesn't sound sixteen, does she?" Matt asked, under his breath. Nikko giggled & held up his arms to be lifted out of the crib.
When Matt reached the kitchen, carrying a baby under each arm, Mimi was pacing the floor with the phone tucked under her chin.
"I understand that you have a policy," she said & it was apparent to Matt that she was holding on to her temper with a leash. "I'm telling you that no matter what your policy is, it's impossible for us to keep the appointment this morning. We're talking about babies here. Children get sick, they get hurt…" She stopped pacing & closed her eyes, listening. "No, not sick exactly, but…"
Matt stopped listening & started mixing cereal. He was feeding the babies by the time Mimi put the phone down with a bang. "That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," she stormed. "How they can stay in business wit that policy is beyond me."
"No changes, no refunds?" Matt guessed.
She made a whiny, nasal tone. "We never give refunds. We can schedule a later date if you're willing to pay a second fee, but we only change an appointment without charge if we're given at least a day's notice. That's because if someone cancels at the last moment like this, we can't fill that slot again. Can you believe it?"
Matt handed her a spoon. "Make yourself useful."
Mechanically, she began feeding Ella. "It's not a bad business plan, you know…collect the full fee but don't do the work. You wouldn't even need to own a camera, just hire a snippy little receptionist & teach her to keep saying 'time is money' till the customer either screams or gives up."
"This must mean you're not giving up, because you were certainly screaming."
"I do not scream on the phone," Mimi said with dignity. "Honestly, how do they get by with this? Where would I be if I charged people when they didn't show up for their appointments to look at houses? Where would you be if you charged potential clients for every job you estimated but couldn't actually get?"
"You mean, besides being a lot richer?"
"From the fees, maybe…if we could collect them, but we'd both be without a single real customer." She slammed the spoon down on the high chair tray. Ella jumped & looked at her wide-eyed. "That's it! I'm going over there to give them a piece of my mind."
"Forget it, Mimi. How much can another sitting cost? It's worth the price not to have to dress up two kids & get all the way over to the mall by ten o'clock."
"It's not the money, it's the principle. Besides, the studio is at the mall & there's a supermarket right there…I can pick up the groceries we need, too." She was still talking to herself as she went off toward the bedroom.
"Whoops," Matt said. Time for some fast action. He snatched the spoons from the babies' hands & set them aside, reaching for a washcloth instead. Ella, who had her mouth open for the next bite, gave an unhappy little yowl as he picked her up.
He was in the babies' room when Mimi came out in jeans & a sweater, tucking her wallet & cell phone into her pockets. "I'll be back just as soon as I can, so I won't hold you up from going to work." She paused. "What are you doing?"
Matt fitted a small arm into a sleeve & said, "I'm getting the babies ready to go with you."
"I'm not taking the babies. That's…"
"The only way you'll probably convince the receptionist, or her boss, to give you a break."
"I suppose you're right," she said slowly.
"Of course I'm right, there's no point in pushing it. Let them be stubborn & lose customers. What difference does it make to you?"
Mimi shook her head. "I feel very strongly about this. They're taking advantage of people like Sora & I don't like it."
"Okay," Matt aid & picked up a tiny pair of denim overalls. "It's your funeral, though, because the twins didn't finish breakfast."
He thought she looked a little doubtful at that news, but then her perfect little chin set firmly. "Dammit, Matt, somebody's got to stand up to them." She reached for a matching shirt & the other baby.
He helped her manipulate the twins & their stroller down the front steps & around to the driveway, and watched her look from the stroller to the infinitesimal trunk of her car. He wondered if she realized how helpless she looked when she chewed on her lower lip like that. Not that he was going to point it out to her, because he figured the ever-resourceful, stand-on-her-own Mimi Tachikawa wouldn't appreciate hearing that she looked like a helpless waif sometimes. A charming, sexy waif…but still a waif.
He popped the back hatch of his SUV & lifted the stroller in. "Com on, I'll get Ella's car seat."
Relief made her eyes sparkle like diamond & the smile she gave him made the sun look dim. If it hadn't been for the alarm bells going off his brain, it might have been fun to watch her. Maybe even nudge her along & see how far she'd go in trying to enchant him.
"Hey," he said lightly. "Lay off, okay? You're making me dizzy. The truth is I wouldn't miss this encounter for the world."
AN: The next chapter would be fun to read coz it's the part where Mimi confronts the receptionist & instead of having it her way, unexpected things happen. So be sure to check it out & don't forget to leave a review! lol
