Hi guys! Sorry it took a while for me to update this one. My cousin's came here yesterday & I spent most of time with them. Anyways, thank you all for the reviews you've submitted.
Janay - I'm glad you're giving time to review both my stories. It's really nice of you. Thanks! crescentmoon-cat - thanks for the review! Keep R&R! just4reviews - the studio chapter is one of my favorites, too! Kaye - yeah, Matt's starting to get attached to the twins. MaRoNcOoL - I totally agree with you! I'm glad you like my story. Thanks! Koumi - just because you don't like something, doesn't mean you could get your way with it. You can say whatever you want, I don't care! You're full of crap, anyway! Whatever you say won't change the way I live my life, so deal with it!
Chapter Eleven
Mimi had put on the last clean outfit she possessed, & she was folding laundry in the living room while the twins played on a blanket nearby. The couch was pilled with small clothes in neatly folded stacks. Among the tiny jeans, shirts, pajamas, rompers, & overalls were a few of her own things…like her favorite pinstriped blouse which, despite her best efforts, is still blotched with the faint orange aftereffects of the marinara sauce from the twins' spaghetti spree.
She'd have to make a run out to her townhouse for more clothes. At the rate this was going, she thought, she might as well just move everything she owned. She heard a door slam outside & went to glance out the window into the driveway. Matt's SUV was there, & so was a pickup truck and a couple of guys who were loading Sora's old dishwasher into the back. Only when they drove away did Matt come in.
"Getting rid of the evidence, I see," Mimi said.
"Of course, I don't need to keep it because I have you to swear that it wasn't repairable."
"Well, you sound cheerful for a guy who was expecting to be on everybody's hate list today. Or are you just relieved to be done for the day?"
"Done? I thought I was only starting on the real chore." He ruffled the twins' hair & dropped a bright-colored plastic ring onto the stacking pole in front of Ella. "Are you anxious to see the tycoon, or just anxious to get out of here?"
"Anxious to have the evening over with," she gathered up as many stacks of small clothes as she could & took them into the twins' room to put away.
Matt followed with the rest. "Is this guy more annoying than your usual customer, or are you just edgy because of the situation?"
Mimi considered. "I think, a little of both. He has no idea what he wants. He just says that he'll know it when he sees it."
"So he wants you to show him every house in Odaiba that has a for-sale sign in the front lawn."
"That's just about the size of it." She closed a drawer in Nikko's cabinet & opened one of Ella's, taking the clothes out of Matt's hands.
"Maybe he's infatuated with you, not he house, & he'll just keep looking till you go out with him on a date."
"Please don't threaten me like that."
A shuffling sound in the hallway announced the approach of one of the twins. "I think they've discovered we abandoned them," Matt said.
"That will be Ella," Mimi said. "Nikko never comes in here on his own…he's afraid someone will think he actually wants to take a nap."
Ella peeked around the corner, grinned & scrambled across the room on hands & knees. When she reached them, she braced her hands against Mimi's knees, pulled herself up & began to babble.
"What is it, sweetheart?" Mimi asked. She bent down to pick up the baby.
"Watch out," Matt warned. "She'll drool all over you." He reached to take Ella out of her arms.
The baby held out one arm to him, but kept her other arm clamped around Mimi's neck. Mimi gasped as the baby pulled. "She's incredibly strong!"
"She does the equivalent of pushups about twelve hours a day," Matt pointed out. "Let go, you little cute octopus." His fingers brushed against Mimi's throat as he tried to pull Ella's hand loose. "I'm afraid I'll scratch you if I pull," he said.
But Ella discovered a new game, & she was determined not to let go. With one arm around each neck, she tugged.
Mimi glanced at the obstinate little face & gave in. "All right, you can have your group hug, Ella, & then you're getting down because I have to leave." Playing along, she took a step closer & laid her free hand on the back of Matt's neck over Ella's tiny one.
Ella gave an infectious little giggle that made Mimi smile. "It takes so little to keep her happy." Mimi looked up at Matt, expecting that he, too, would be sharing the joke. But his eyes were dark, without a spark of laughter.
She was so close to him she could almost drown in his ocean blue eyes. The last lingering hint of his aftershave mixed with the fresh scent of the outdoors, tickled her nose. His neck was warm under her hand…almost hot compared to Ella's tiny hand, cool from her crawl across the floor. Against the pad of her thumb she felt the uneven thump of his heartbeat…or was that her own?
Mimi pulled back, uncertain. "It was a joke, Matt." Her voice cracked.
"Yeah," he cleared his throat. "No new about the ship today, I suppose?"
At least they were off a touchy subject…even if the new one he'd chosen made it very clear that he was anxious to have this whole thing over with.
No more anxious than I am, Mimi thought. No wonder all his girlfriends had a dimness in common…they might not even notice how skittish he was.
Mimi shook her head, peeled Ella loose, & handed her over. "Not a thing. Wouldn't you think by now they could get some official guess about how long it's going to be?"
"You're getting tired of passing babies back & forth like cards in a game of war." He nestled Ella close.
Mimi tried to ignore Ella's pouting lower lip & her pleadingly outstretched hand. She turned back to the drawer, tucking tiny socks & undershirts inside.
"Well…yes. Aren't you?"
"I don't know." His voice seemed to be back to normal. "I actually found myself missing Nikko today. He seems to have a talent for setting my most troublesome customer on edge."
Mimi shot him a startled look. "And that's a good thing?"
"If he was with me today, she might not have decided to move another wall & enlarge her closet to include ten feet of cabinets for her shoes."
"Jun Motomiya."
"The one & only."
Mimi said, trying to sound fair, "I suppose the good thing about her is that she provides job security for all of your workers."
"Yeah, if you'd like to take Nikko with you tonight…"
Mimi shuddered at the thought. A child who could cause havoc on a construction site would be deadly in the sort of house she'd be showing to Willis Harrison tonight. "It's so sweet of you to share him, Matt, but no thanks."
Matt shrugged. "It's up to you, but I'll bet the tycoon will cut the evening short if you do."
Mimi didn't wait around to see what his next offer would be. Packing up both babies & coming along to keep her company, no doubt. And wouldn't Willis Harrison enjoy that treat!
The parking area outside her townhouse was full, so Mimi had to leave her car almost a block away. As she hurried down the sidewalk toward her house, her mind was already on the contents of her closet, so it took her longer than it normally would have to notice the two men standing outside her front door…and longer yet to realize that there was something very strange bout the way they were behaving.
She slowed her step & frowned, watching as she approached. The light bulb above the door had burned out…or been turned off, suggested a suspicious voice in the back of her mind…and the way one of them was crouched over the doorknob set off the alarm bells in her head. But just as she decided to veer off toward the closest neighbor's door & ask for help, one of the men turned around & saw her. It was the manager of the complex, she saw, & relief registered in his face.
"What's the problem?" she called as she hurried toward him.
The other man wheeled around, obviously startled. "Mimi! You're all right!"
"Joe?" She was just as surprised as he obviously was. "Of course I'm all right. What are you doing here?"
"You said you were going to call me," he reminded.
"Oh," she bit her lip, remembering the day at he bank when he offered to take her to lunch & she said she'd call him later in the week. "I've been a little busy & I forgot."
"Well, you seem to have forgotten to go to work, too," he said. "I've called a half-dozen times. You weren't there & your receptionist seemed very edgy about telling me anything."
After the discussion they had over Mimi's supposed headache, she wasn't surprised if Yolei had stopped manufacturing excuses.
"For that matter," he went on, "you haven't answered your phone, either. I've been leaving messages here all week."
"My cell phone…"
"It kicks over to a message that just says you're unavailable."
Mimi pulled it out of her pocket. The screen wasn't blank, but it was dimmer than usual. "I must have forgotten to recharge it today."
"Anyways, I stopped by to ask the manager about you, & he noticed you haven't picked up your mail, either."
"And there's a bag from the dry-cleaning service in my office," the manager added. "It's been there since Monday afternoon."
"So we came down here with the master key…"
"Expecting to find me drowned in the bathtub? Honestly, Joe." Mimi bit her lip. Obviously he'd been worried…& she had to admit he had reason to worry. She said she'd call him later in the week…& that had been only a couple of days ago.
Which, she supposed was part of the problem. Joe seemed to be taking their friendship a great deal more seriously than she was. "I'm sorry," she said. "Look, I've been really busy &…"
"Too busy to come home?"
The manager said hastily, "Well, now that we know you're all right, Ms. Tachikawa, I'll be on my way."
Joe took a deep breath. "Mimi, is there somebody else?" His voice was somber.
Somebody else? Mimi was stunned. "Joe, we've had…what, three or four dates? It's not like we're engaged!"
"No," he said. "No, it's not. I'll see you around sometime." He walked away before she could say another word.
Mimi rolled her eyes. There was one more thing for her to-do list next week…or whenever Sora got home. Take Joe out for coffee, tell him what had been going on all week, & make sure he understands that having dinner together a few times doesn't mean she was serious about him.
After the way Michael trampled on her pride, she wasn't anxious to go further than occasional evening dates, no matter who her companion was. Maybe that was why she made her spur-of-the-moment offer of friendship to Matt, she mused…because even though she hadn't stopped to think about it, she knew that if any guy would understand the concept of a no-strings-attached relationship, it would be Yamato Ishida.
Willis Harrison was nowhere to be seen when she pulled up in front of his hotel, so she parked off to the side & checked her cell phone while she waited. The battery charge was a little stronger now, but it had been plugged in for only a few minutes while she packed, & the car charger was so slow that it would take all night to charge the battery completely.
"And I thought I was doing so well this afternoon checking everything off my list," she muttered.
She saw Willis coming out of the hotel & let the car idle up to entrance. A bellboy opened the door for him & he slid in beside her. She nodded toward a brightly colored catalog which lay on the console between them. "I brought you the new multiple-listings guide," she said. "Have you looked at the books I left with you?"
"I've been very busy."
Mimi smothered a sigh. So much for hoping that Willis might take a little personal responsibility for finding a house he liked. "Perhaps you'd like to take them back to New York with you. Then you can let me know if you see anything you particularly want to see."
He didn't answer. "What are we looking at tonight?"
"I've got four possibilities. It's harder to convince people to let viewers come through in the evenings when they're normally home."
"If they really wanted to sell, they would.'
Mimi bit her tongue. "Have you thought more about the questions I asked at first? How you'll want to use the house or how often you'll have guests? You told me you were divorced, but will it just be you living here?"
He leaned back in his seat & looked at her. "If you mean do I have a live-in girlfriend, no." His voice was silky. "So the position's available."
"If I find anybody suitable, I'll let you know." Mimi kept her tone steady. "I was thinking more about children. You know…joint custody, summer visits, holidays."
"Oh, no, never had children. My ex-wife was too focused on her career. She was…is…a lawyer."
"That's interesting."
"She always seemed to think so. Personally I prefer a woman who doesn't put her home second to her career."
No wonder she didn't want to have kids with a husband whose attitude is pure medieval.
"You know," Willis mused, "real estate is such a perfect career for a woman."
Mimi said a bit curtly, "Women have certain advantages in the field, that's true."
"No, I meant that selling houses leaves lots of time for a woman to have a family."
I should take you home with me so you can tell Matt that one…he'd get a good laugh out of the idea of me having time on my hands.
Fortunately they reached the first house on her list, so Mimi didn't have to answer. She consulted her notes instead. "This one is a little smaller than you wanted," she said. "There are three bedrooms, but no home office. One of the bedrooms could be converted, of course."
"But that would leave me short."
Good. You can subtract. That must be handy.
Willis walked in, looked around, shrugged & walked out. At least, Mimi thought grimly, it looked as if the evening would be face-paced…even without Nikko to help it along. She wondered how Matt was doing with the babies. Funny that tonight he didn't object on being left alone with them for bath & bedtime, because he'd been so reluctant to take over the job by himself that first night.
Not that it took Einstein to figure that out. After Ella's little prank where she pulled them into an embrace, practically within kissing distance, no wonder he was so eager to shoo her out of the house. He wanted a little time on his own…even if it included two babies.
They were at the fourth house when Willis said suddenly, "That first place we looked at tonight. Why did you show it me, when it's too small?"
Mimi held on to her patience. "Because the lot is big & you can enlarge it."
"Oh."
Impulsively she said, "Let me show you something. It's not an office; it's a ground-level master bedroom. But it will help you get an idea of how it can be done, to put a new room on a house without making it look big." She turned the car toward Warrington. "This is private property, so we can't go walking through…especially at this hour of the night. But I'll drive around the block because you can get a pretty good view from the street."
It didn't take long to drive from the exclusive neighborhoods she'd been concentrating on, through the shopping district at the Country Club Plaza, past the art museum & into the winding, narrower streets of Warrington.
"It's right up ahead," she said, pointing. "That big Mediterranean style house with the pink tile roof; the new room is around the back, but since the house is on a corner…"
Willis apparently wasn't listening. He was leaning forward & was staring at Jun Motomiya's house. Mimi circled the block, driving slowly & watching Willis as ell as taking a look at the house herself. It changed an amazing amount in the two days since she last saw it; the roof tile was in place &…was that a new skylight?
She took a second look at Willis. He was hardly blinking because he was staring so hard.
"That's the one," he said. "That's the house I want to buy."
AN: Looks like Mimi's work just got worse. Can she convince Willis that Jun's house is not for sale? How will she deal with this situation? Stay tuned to find out!
Chapter 12 will be up soon! Don't forget to review! lol
