I am so sorry about the cliffy on chapter 13. I do hope you liked it, despite the cliffhanger at the end. And sorry for not updating sooner!
Crescentmoon-cat – that's great to hear. Thanks! Riven – ahh, I see you're here again! You're so great! Thanks! Koumi – yeah, I think I've heard the group before. Dark's Assassin – well, let's see what happens. I still got some tricks left up on my sleeves. Pink-writer – hi, great to have you here! Keep R&R! BetterDeadThanAlone – hehehe! Girl, you're so funny. Your reviews make me laugh! Kaye – just stick around, gurl. There's only a couple more chapters left. Just4reviews – I'm really really REALLY glad to know that you like it so much! Thanks!
Chapter Fourteen
He tasted like coffee, freshly brewed & very tasty, with caffeine-like jolt that went straight to Mimi's brain. But instead of sharpening her perceptions, this coffee made everything grow fuzzy. She didn't even know how long he kissed her before a wolf-like whistle from one of the carpet-delivery guys drew his attention, and Matt slowly raised his head & let her go.
Not long, she thought, because her blood vessels couldn't have stood the pressure. A soft pat on her butt made Mimi jump & wheel around…but it was only Ella, quietly objecting to the fact that no one was paying attention to her at the moment. The baby grinned & held up her arms, begging to be picked up.
"I probably shouldn't have done that," Matt said. He leaned over to Nikko & released the safety harness to take him out of the stroller.
Mimi, feeling a little shaky, steadied herself against the SUV for a moment before she lifted Ella. "Why not?" She was proud of herself. Her voice was lower than usual, but it didn't crack. "It was no big deal. And if your goal is to keep Jun Motomiya off balance, I'd say that probably did it." It certainly made me off balance.
"I must say I like having Jun worried about me," Matt mused. "As long as she thinks you're trying to snag me, as she so elegantly phrased it…"
"She's less likely to be bugging you about walls." Mimi nodded. "Right, so was that enough of a show, or do you want to wait five minutes till the carpet-delivery guy has spread the gossip through the entire construction site & then do a second act?"
Matt paused & tipped his head to one side, contemplating. "If you think it's a good idea, I'm willing to play along."
No, not a good idea at all. The very idea made her brain feel a little hazy. Of course, Mimi told herself, she should have known he'd call that bluff…just as certainly as she knew that he was bluffing right not, himself. If she challenged him, he'd just laugh. So that was exactly what she should do…dare him to kiss her again…& that would be the end of the game.
Wouldn't it? Surely he wouldn't think she wanted him to kiss her…Confused, she waited just an instant too long to speak up.
Matt put Nikko into his car seat & turned back to her with a smile. "Are you trying to think about it, Mimi?" He murmured. "That's interesting."
"Think about what?" Mimi tried to sound unconcerned. His smile widened.
She handed Ella to him & tried to fold the stroller up, with minimal success. "How on earth does Sora manage this on her own?"
"Are you changing the subject?" Matt asked. "Here, I'll get it."
But he didn't push the matter. He let it drop & talked about other things on the drive from Warrington to his office, which only confirmed, Mimi told herself, that she'd been right in the first place. He just wanted to amuse himself.
She'd better keep a close eye on him. As far as she knew, he'd gone four days without so much as a glimpse of a tall skinny model. The man was going to start feeling desperate soon, & then there was no predicting what he might do.
"Penny for your thoughts," Matt said.
Mimi jumped. "Why?" Too late, she realized she sounded panicky.
"Because we've been here in the parking lot for over a minute & you haven't noticed yet…so whatever's occupying your mind must be far more interesting."
"Oh, no…I was just…this is where your office is?" She never had any reason to wonder where his business was located & the sight of the sprawling two-story warehouse startled her.
"You probably thought I operated in a storage shed somewhere."
That was true enough, not that she'd admit it. "I had no idea you'd need so much room."
"I probably don't, but it's central and easy to get in & out of, and we can park all the construction trailers inside at once if we need to."
"All of them?" she asked blankly. "How many crews do you have working?"
"In the average week, six."
"You mentioned a kitchen in Mission Hills, but I thought…"
"That I probably couldn't handle more than a couple of jobs at a time, & that's why Jun Motomiya's been frustrating me so much." It wasn't a question.
"Sorry," Mimi said.
"That reminds me, though. I haven't checked on the Mission Hills job in almost a week. I need to see it in one of these days."
"Do whatever you need to. We're just along for the ride. I must say it's nice to have a chauffer, though. Having these two tag along in the supermarket yesterday…& carrying all the bags…was quite a trick."
"It'll be nice when they're walking," Matt said as he carried the twins out of the SUV.
"Oh, really? I already know what I'm getting Sora for their birthday."
"Wet suits so she can just run them through the car wash after they eat?"
"Matt, that's totally barbaric! I was thinking more of a pair of leashes."
"Good idea, I'll get the rhinestone-studded collars."
"I wasn't talking about dog leashes, for heaven's sake." Mimi saw him grin & bit her tongue.
Inside the office, a gray-haired woman was running envelopes through a postage machine. Mimi was a little bit surprised at the sight. If she expected Matt to have a secretary at all, she would have expected someone young, curvy & gorgeous, not a woman who was definitely past middle age. But then perhaps Matt figured out that stunning models made better girlfriends than secretaries.
"Nora's my office manager," Matt said.
Nora was staring at the twins. "Either I'm seeing double or there are two of them today."
"Better get your eyes checked, Nora. This is Mimi. I've been teaching her some practical things this morning." Matt smiled at Mimi.
Mimi blinked in surprise. Surely he wasn't talking about that ridiculous kiss…She could feel her face heating up. Then it dawned on her that he was just quoting the young couple at her office this morning. That's how Mimi knows all the practical things about houses…They assumed she learned it from associating with Matt. She felt like sticking her tongue out at him.
"Nora, would you dig out those rough floor plans for the Motomiya house? Mimi wants to look at them."
Nora handed him a stack of messages & swiveled her chair around to a file cabinet behind her desk.
Matt looked through the notes. "There are a couple of things I need to deal with here, Mimi. It wouldn't take that long. There's a table through there to spread the plans out on, but watch out for Nikko, okay? He likes to eat them." He shifted Ella on his shoulder like a bag of rice & strode of toward his office.
"I'd offer to help out," Nora said as she flipped through the files, "but the little guy doesn't seem to like me."
Indeed, Mimi could feel Nikko's fingers digging into her shoulders. He might be tiny, but he was incredibly strong. He was peeking out at Nora, keeping a steady eye on her, as if he expected her to jump up & grab him away. "So that's how Matt got the scratches on his neck."
"You thought he'd been playing around with a woman?"
Now Mimi's face felt hot. "Of course not, I mean…it wouldn't be any of my business if he did."
Nora turned around with a pile of papers in her hand. She didn't comment, but she looked skeptical. He's not irresistible, you know, Mimi wanted to say. I've been resisting him quite efficiently. Except that it wasn't quite true. That kiss this morning had been an eye-opener. It would be no wonder, really, if women lined up to let Matt walk on them.
She took the plans & went into the conference room. Matt said they weren't actually blueprints, only rough drawings of the house…so she expected sketches that he made on the site as he walked through, or perhaps something that he'd quickly drawn from memory. Instead, these were careful, analytical drawings, with every room labeled, every element in precise proportion, & every significant measurement marked. From these drawings, she could almost rebuild Jun Motomiya's house…if she had the necessary construction skills.
She pulled a chair up & began to study the layout. The rooms were nicely sized & Matt was right about the kitchen…it was huge…and there was a formal dining room & a library near the front door which would serve beautifully as an office.
In short, it had just about everything Willis Harrison was looking for. "Damn," she said.
Nikko waved his arms & complained at being held and after a quick glance around to be sure there were nothing that could change him, Mimi set him on the floor & turned her attention back to the plans.
She didn't hear Matt until he was standing beside her. "How are the drawings?"
"Terrible."
"Really? I thought they were pretty clear, myself." He put Ella down on the floor with Nikko.
"Oh, they're clear, all right. You've got a very good draftsman."
"Thanks."
There was something about the tone of his voice which made her look at him closely. "You did this yourself?"
"It's a dobby of mine. Have you found the flaw yet?"
"In the house? No," Mimi said slowly. "What have I missed?"
"Heck if I know. You told me you could find one so Willis wouldn't want the house."
"That was the goal," Mimi said gloomily. "But judging by the peek I got this morning & the floor plan…I'm afraid he'll love it."
"I suppose you could tell him that Jun set an outrageous price."
"That wouldn't be ethical." She planted both elbows on the drawing & looked again, hoping to find something she overlooked before."
"Plus you're afraid that no matter how expensive it was, he'd agree to pay it, & then you'd really be in trouble."
Mimi nodded. "I'll be on thin ice if I take him to see it without telling Jun why." She folded up the drawings. "Thanks for letting me look. At least I know what I'm up against."
"You have till Sunday night to form a plan. So let's take your mind off it for a while. Let's see…we could go to the zoo."
"You're joking."
"Don't you think the kids are up for a stroll to look at the animals?'
"Probably…but I know darn well I'm not. It's not even lunchtime yet & I'm exhausted. I was thinking more about a nap this afternoon." She heard a distinct sniff from the outer office, which left no doubt that Nora, had put her personal interpretation on that comment. Before Matt could add his own spin, Mimi went on calmly, "Anyway, I thought you needed to go check on your job in Mission Hills."
"If you don't mind."
"I'd like to see it."
"With kids in tow? Some other day would do."
Some other day. It was casual & careless…as if there would be many other times for her to see his work. And why not, Mimi asked herself. If they were going to be friends after all this was over, then of course she'd be recommending him to clients & maybe visiting job sites to see how things were going.
If that was a good thing, why did it leave her feeling just a little bit empty? But she didn't have time to think about it. From the corner of her eye, she could see Nikko start to pull himself up next to a stainless steel cart in the corner of the room. His little hand stretched up toward the shiny coffee urn on top of the stand, & her heart almost stopped. She checked the floor before she put him down, but it didn't occur to her to survey every piece of furniture in the room.
Mimi moved so fast that her chair went flying. She stepped over Ella, who was on her way to join her twin, & before Nikko could touch the hot urn, she caught him under her arms & scooped him up out of danger.
He giggled, but looked longingly over her shoulder. "Hot," Mimi told him. "Your fingers will hurt if you touch it."
Matt picked up her chair & set it back in place by the conference table. "Good catch, are you finished with the plans?"
In the main room, Nora had gone back to stamping envelopes. "You know, boss," she said mildly, "if the number of kids you bring to work with you keeps doubling every couple of days like this, we're going to be knee-deep in babies by the end of next week. Won't that be fun?"
"You can start a day-care in the back room," Matt said over his shoulder & held the door for Mimi. "You'd really take inspecting a kitchen over going to the zoo?"
"If those are the choices, yes. Oh…can we stop in the Plaza? It's almost on the way."
"Sure, where do you need to go?"
"I just need to pay my bills at the Liv-Royale store. It'll just take a minute, if you want to drop me off & drive around the block."
But despite the popularity of the open air shopping district, there was a parking place just down the street from the huge department store, directly across the carriage-ride concession.
"Look, there are a couple of carriages out," Matt said. "I thought they only ran on weekends at this time of year."
Nikko bounced in his seat, pointed at the nearest horse & announced, "Dog!"
Matt looked at him in the rearview mirror. "I suggest you not even consider applying to veterinarian school, champ."
Mimi laughed & Nikko frowned as if his feelings were hurt. "I'm sorry, darling," she said.
"Quite all right," Matt said lightly.
"I wasn't apologizing to you," Mimi pointed out. "I'll be right back."
"Don't hurry."
When she came back, he carried the twins across the street to look at the horses. Mimi went to join them.
"You're out of breath," Matt said.
"I took the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator.'
"Didn't want to miss this, hmm? It's not quite as electrifying as the zoo, but it'll do. How about a ride?"
Nikko protested at being removed from nose-patting distance, while Ella seemed relieved to be away from the huge animal. Mimi climbed into the old-fashioned black carriage, & Matt handed the twins up to her before getting in himself. The carriage started with a jolt & settled into a plodding pace.
"You know, I don't remember ever seeing that fountain," Mimi said, pointing to a statue in a reflecting pool on the corner. "Is it new?"
Matt shook his head. "It's been here since about the time the Plaza was built. But when you drive through here, you're generally thinking about traffic & not the sights." He settled Ella comfortably on his knee.
He was right, Mimi thought. "Sometimes, I've been irritated at the carriages for holding things up," she admitted.
Matt smiled at her. "There's nothing wrong with slowing the pace a little now & then."
With a half-conscious sigh, she settled back into the corner of the carriage to enjoy the ride. It was a beautiful summer day, warm & sunny, and the slow movement of the carriage created just a slight cooling breeze.
Nikko waved energetically & said, "Damn!"
Mimi stared at the baby in shock. "Did he just say what I think I heard? I've been talking to him all week…how could he possibly pick out the one word that he's not supposed to repeat?"
"Maybe because you saying it reinforced the fact that he heard it while I was working on the dishwasher."
"But the child's entire vocabulary consists of six words."
"Really, he talks that much?"
"So why does the one that comes out sounding clear have to be the one…"
"Give it up, Mimi. The more you try to stop it, the more delighted he'll be to show off & say it."
She sighed & relaxed again. People on the sidewalk noticed the twins, & Nikko happily waved bye-bye. "You are such a flirt," Mimi accused. She looked over his head at the crowd, blinked, & looked again. Could it be?"
"What's the matter?" Matt said.
Mimi turned her head away & sat Nikko up a little higher on her lap. "Nothing, I just saw someone I know."
Matt cast an eye over the crowd. "You mean Joe Kudo?"
She was startled. "You know him, too?"
"Sure, contractors spend almost as much time at the bank as real-estate people do. If I'm not borrowing money to start a job, I'm helping my customer get a home-equity loan to pay for it."
"I hadn't thought of that."
"So, why are you hiding from Joe? Do you owe him money, too?" His tone was lazy.
"I'm not hiding from him."
Matt's eyes narrowed. "It certainly looks like it. You're using Nikko as a shield. What's the matter, Mimi?"
"Nothing, really. I'd rather not have Joe asking questions right now."
"Why? Don't tell me you're ashamed to tell him why you've got possession of two babies."
"Of course not, just…"
"Oh, I see, he's the banker you're dating."
The banker I used to be dating, she almost said. But she stopped herself in time. She wasn't about to explain that Joe was annoyed at her for not returning his calls & she was annoyed with him for thinking that he had the right to know where she was all the time. She wasn't sure yet exactly how much she was going to tell Joe, but one thing was dead certain…whatever she did, it was none of Matt's concern.
But somehow, just seeing Joe…being reminded of that particular piece of unfinished business…had taken the edge off her joy in the ride.
AN: I was actually planning on making this a cliffy chapter, but I didn't want to disappoint you, guys. Anyways, Mimi's having major problems right now. First there was Jun's house, next was Willis Harrison, & then there was Joe, & she's still confused about her feelings for Matt. Will she ever get out of this mess? Stay tuned to fins out.
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