John slowly smiled. It was an unpleasant smile, a greasy smile, very much unlike the toothy expressions he’d shown her up to that point. “James Chesterfield.” He seemed to savor the syllables coming out of his mouth. “I’ve always wanted to meet him. How do you know him?”
Now they were getting into personal territory. She could hardly say that they’d met in a coffee shop and had dated and slept together. She could hardly say that she basically traded sex for this opportunity. She tried evasion. “Well, it’s a long story.”
He seemed to take the hint, steepling his fingers in front of his face. He looked at her legs, and after an uncomfortably long time, his gaze traveled up to her face to focus on her lips. Kiki’s skin went hot and she knew she was blushing under his scrutiny.
“We might have something for you here at Wildwood, Kiki.”
How desperate was she? Was he expecting her to sleep with him to get a job? She’d already slept with Jim for favors, although she’d done the sleeping before the favors were offered. The timing was a technicality she chose to overlook.
Kiki clutched her leather portfolio tightly in her lap. “What did you have in mind?” Ack. Wrong question! Too provocative! “I mean, I might be interested. Depending.”
He sat back in his chair, staring at her, looking her over once again. Kiki squeezed her knees tighter together, feeling like he might be trying to look up her skirt. She almost hoped he’d change his mind just so she could get the hell out of there.
“Have you ever taught children?”
Her heart skipped a beat. “Not children. Undergrads for two quarters, yes.”
“We might have an opening for an English teacher for our seventh- and eighth-graders when the Fall semester begins.”
A moment’s consideration made her hopes crash down with a thud. “I don’t have a teaching credential.”
He waved a well-manicured hand. “You don’t need one to teach at a private school.”
“I don’t? Well… Certainly, I’d be interested.”
“I hoped you’d say so, Kiki.” John licked his lips and Kiki thought maybe he was going to proposition her, but he didn’t. “Let me give you some details.”
After twenty minutes of friendly negotiations, Kiki thought maybe she had a job offer. John was looking her over again. “If the particulars are acceptable to you, Kiki, I’d like to extend my invitation for you to join our teaching staff on August first. The semester begins on the fifteenth, but teachers have to start preparations a couple of weeks early.”
“So, not for several months?”
He shook his head. “No. We have a teacher retiring after this Spring semester is over, so there’s nothing sooner than the Fall.”
A bird in the hand… She’d find a way to make ends meet somehow. Maybe she could find a temporary waitressing job. The economy was pretty awful, though. She’d just have to find a way. The opportunity to teach at a prestigious school, to use her education and her interest in children for something worthwhile, well, that was practically too good to be true. From under her eyelashes, she looked at John again, and saw the gleam in his eyes. Maybe it was too good to be true. Maybe he had an ulterior motive. Judging from his posture, the way he considered her, she was almost certain there was more to this job than he was telling her. Her instincts told her to get away. Jim would certainly tell her to wait for something that didn’t make her so uncomfortable.
Jim’s over-protectiveness, however, was not going to sway her. She needed a job, and this would be a wonderful job she could stick with for a long time and really enjoy. She’d manage John Heath and avoid his smarmy looks. She may have gotten a little help getting her foot in this door, but she’d landed the position on her own merits and no one else’s.
“I accept.”
* * *
“I’m packing.”
Jim’s frown was instantaneous. “That’s what it looks like.” He took Kiki’s arm as she bent over a cardboard box. Her friend, to whom Jim had never been introduced, was standing nearby, her eyes wide. “Why are you packing?”
Kiki shrugged out of his grip. “I have to move before the first of May.”
He watched her put another armful of books in the box, and he reached over it to offer the other young woman his hand. “Jim Chesterfield.”
The dark-skinned, dark-eyed woman simply nodded, confirming his assertion, and offered a limp handshake. “I-” she paused to lick her lips, “I’m Madhuja. I mean, Maddie.”
Jim tried to smile a friendly smile, but he was distracted by Kiki’s packing nearby. She wore shorts and a t-shirt, a bandana over her hair. There was a piece of packing tape stuck to her left forearm. “Nice to meet you, Maddie.”
“Kiki,” he said firmly, turning back. “Stop for a minute and tell me why you have to be out by the first.”
She sighed deeply and looked at Maddie. The girl was still standing there, embarrassingly awestruck by Jim. He hated it when people did that, but aside from reassuring smiles, there was little he could do for it.
The day had been full of frustrations. The new hardware division of Rocket Flare was over-budget and pushing its schedule back. His plane hadn’t passed the pilot’s inspection, so there was a delay getting it off the ground. He trusted his pilot, though, so although it was annoying, he had to deal with it patiently. But he didn’t feel inclined to be patient with Kiki. Two days away and all hell had broken loose. She was half-packed already.
“Kiki!”
She turned her attention to him and pushed a strand of hair off her forehead. “Yeah?”
“Why are you packing? Why do you need to get out by the first? You said on the phone that you’d gotten the job at Wildwood.”
“Yeah, I did. But it doesn’t start until August. That’s three months from now. I can’t pay my rent. I can’t stay here and cheat Mrs. Steddenhoffer out of her rent money.”
Honor was a good thing; he couldn’t fault her for that. “Okay. Where are you going?”
“Does it matter?”
His temper rose a notch. “Yes, it does.”
“Look, Jim. We had one more date planned. I’m sorry it can’t be tonight—you can see why. But the rest of my life doesn’t concern you.”
She was avoiding his question and that worried him. “I care about you, Kiki.”
Her eyes closed for a moment, then opened again, resolve in the tightness around her mouth. “We’re friends, okay? But—“
“No buts. Are you moving in with Maddie?”
The other girl squeaked and dropped a book.
“No. Maddie lives with her sister and they don’t have room for me. I’m putting my stuff in storage, and staying somewhere else.”
Jim took her arm again. He wanted to shake her, but resisted. “Where, damnit!”
She had the grace to look uncomfortable. “The Union Mission Women’s Shelter.”
A homeless shelter? His Kiki? He dropped her arm and took a step back, both mentally and physically, as he tried to look at the situation rationally. It was true that homeless shelters did great work. He donated to several charities which provided shelters. And, he didn’t think the people who used those shelters were inferior, just people down on their luck. But he would never, ever let a friend of his fall into such straits. Kiki was not down on her luck; she had him!
“No.”
“What do you mean, ‘no’?” She frowned at him and straightened her shoulders. “I can’t stay here. It’s a perfectly good solution.”
“No.”
“Look, Jim, you can say no all you want, but that’s not going to change my mind.” She picked up a pile of books again and started arranging them in a box.
Frustration welled up in him like a dust devil on parched soil. “Let me put you up in a hotel. Or, I’ll loan you the money to stay here until August.”
“Now it’s my turn to say no.”
“Just a loan, Kiki. You can pay me back when you’re on your feet again.” He stepped closer, then felt guilty for
trying to use his size to intimidate her into cooperating. He rubbed a hand over his face, the stubble there making a gritty sound. She wasn’t intimidated anyway.
“I don’t borrow money from friends.” She looked up from her box. “Not even rich friends.”
Maddie chose that moment to speak up. “Kiki, you know it might be a good idea—“
“No!”
The other girl dropped her eyes and emptied her armload into a box, then turned and went to the cupboard for whatever was still there.
“Maddie’s right, Kiki. It’s a good idea to take what I’m offering. No strings attached.”
“You always attach strings, Jim. That’s how we’ve gone on all our dates.”
She got him on that one. But this was different. “I mean it, Kiki. After our one remaining date, I won’t ask you again. If there are more dates, it’ll only be because you ask for them. I just want to help you.”
She worried her lower lip, thinking. “That’s a kind offer, Jim, but even if you didn’t ask for payment, I’d still have to say no. I don’t want to be beholden to you. I don’t want to owe anyone anything.”
“Argh! Kiki, you’re being unreasonable!”
Kneeling down on the floor, she began to arrange the books in the box, not meeting his eyes, her shoulders squared and a stubborn set to her jaw.
It was hopeless. He began to take off his suit coat. He wanted to throttle her, to shake some sense into her, to spank the livin’ daylights out of her and teach her not to be stubborn to her own detriment. But he couldn’t spank her with her friend there. He didn’t want to humiliate her. So, he lost this battle. The war had not ceased, however.
Jim began to stack up the boxes full of books in a corner.
“What are you doing?”
“Helping, Kiki. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”
“Oh. You don’t have to-”
His look cut her off and for that he was grateful. He’d had enough struggles for one day.
“When are the movers going to arrive?”
“You’re looking at ‘em.”
Jim was incredulous. These two little women intended to move all these fifty-pound boxes of books all on their own? It was so Kiki. “I suppose you won’t let me get you a moving company to do this.”
It was her turn to give him a look.
“I thought as much. Well, did you borrow a pick-up truck or something?”
“Maddie has a mini-van.”
“Kiki, at that rate, you’ll be at this for days. I have a pickup truck. A big one. Would you let me offer you that at least?”
She looked at the many boxes scattered all over the floor, then shot a look at Maddie whose big eyes were practically pleading. “Yeah, okay. Thank you.”
Jim grabbed his suit coat and headed for the door. “I’ll be back in half an hour.”
* * *
When Jim returned, he also had his man-servant with him. The two made quick work of putting the boxes into his big, black truck. It was a short ride to the storage lot.
Kiki was loathe to admit it, but having his help made things go a lot more smoothly. They were done by ten p.m. She offered pizza and beer, and for once, Jim didn’t argue.
He looked exhausted. She didn’t know what kind of business meetings he’d had, but she did know that they had sapped the snap out of his eyes, and made the shallow ridges around his mouth a bit more pronounced. He looked a little older, and although she didn’t want to admit it to herself, her heart went out to him. Oh yeah, she had it bad. Valentines and cupids.
She wanted to friggin’ kick herself. It was, perhaps, the least practical situation she’d ever found herself in. He was a nice guy, but so out of her league. Even though he seemed to care, it had to be just his natural chivalry. Maybe he just liked slumming now and then.
They sat on the floor of her empty apartment; only her three suitcases sat by the door. Jim was leaning back against the wall, his expensive suit pants dusty, jacket gathering carpet lint on the floor in the corner. Ernie and Maddie were conversing quietly, neither of them drinking beer.
“Tomorrow night, Kiki.”
“What, Jim?” She reached out to gather up the empty pizza box and he grabbed her wrist, his grip implacable but not harmful.
“Our date. Tomorrow night.”
“Oh…”
“You promised.” His hand dropped from her wrist.
She didn’t want to think about their next date, their last date. But the sooner she got the pain over with, the sooner she could settle back and lick her wounds. “Okay. You know where the shelter is?”
“I’ll find it.” He stood up and picked up his jacket. Ernie stood as well. “Seven o’clock.”
“What did you have in mind?”
He smiled, getting a little twinkle back in his eyes. “I’ll surprise you.”
That’s what she was afraid of.
Chapter 5
Jim considered taking his Hummer out, but decided on the Mustang again. She seemed to like that car and he didn’t want an argument from her. He expected his plan for the evening was going to create enough resistance.
The shelter was on a busy corner in a poor part of town. He hated to think of Kiki, or any woman, walking in that neighborhood alone. Kiki didn’t even have the benefit of a car to protect her. It was an old house, perhaps built in the 1960s, with a clapboard exterior and shake roof. It wasn’t run-down, but wasn’t particularly well-maintained either. The paint was peeling in spots around the window frames, and the screen door had a hole near the handle. He pressed the doorbell and waited. There was no sound from inside, so he poked it again. No stirring, nor the sound of the bell or buzzer. Finally, he opened the screen and knocked firmly on the door.
Apparently, the doorbell wasn’t working, because immediately he heard running feet. A little person—about six years old—opened the door a few feet. “Who are you?”
Jim hunkered down to face the little boy and smiled. “I’m Jim Chesterfield. Is your mommy at home?”
“Naw. She’s at work. She’s a curtsey clerk.”
“A courtesy clerk? Wow, that’s a big job. All those people needing help. And your mommy does that?”
The little towhead nodded proudly.
“Well, my man, I need to talk to whomever is—“
A fair-haired woman hurried over and put her hand on the boy’s head. “Jack-, um, honey why don’t you go inside and play. Maryanne got the Legos out.”
“Legos! My favorite! Bye, Mr. Jim!”
“Bye,” Jim said to his little friend’s retreating back. He stood up to his full height and the woman’s eyes got bigger as she closed the door down somewhat. “Hello, ma’am. I’m looking for Kiki Mackenzie.”
“Kiki? Who are you?” Her lips were tight, and her fingers were white-knuckled on the door. She seemed inclined to slam it closed. Jim supposed he couldn’t blame her. He was a big guy and this was a women’s shelter in a bad neighborhood.
He offered his hand and smiled his most reassuring smile. “I’m Jim Chesterfield. She’s expecting me.”
“Oh.” She looked at his hand, but kept her grip on the door. “Okay. I’ll get her.” The door shut firmly in his face, and he heard the lock snick in place.
Jim waited a minute, then turned away from the door to watch the activity on the street. He watched a panhandler accepting a few coins from a jogger, and a drug dealer slink out from an alley and make a deal with a fellow in a hooded sweatshirt. Jim considered calling the police, but by the time they got there, the guy would be long gone. He had to get Kiki out of here.
He heard the door creak open and Kiki’s soft voice. “Hi, Jim.”
He turned back with a smile and was once again struck by the curve of her hips and the bright gleam in her gray eyes. Her smile made his heart beat faster. “Hey, Kiki.”
She took a step out and closed the door behind her. “I’d invite you in, but men aren’t really welcome here.”
It was a sad testament. “
I understand.” He let his eyes travel over her. She wore a green floral dress and her strappy sandals. Her luxurious brown hair was pulled back with a green plastic headband. She looked younger than her twenty-six years would attest. How he wished that he could just blurt out his feelings for her, but he knew she wouldn’t welcome his admission. She didn’t want to feel obligated toward him; she’d made that abundantly clear.
“Let’s go. I want to show you something.” He offered his hand and she took it. Her fingers felt small and graceful in his big fist.
* * *
They drove out of East San Jose and down toward Almaden Lake. Jim offered to put the convertible top down, but Kiki declined. It was, perhaps, a little foolish to be concerned with her hair getting mussed—it wasn’t like a bad impression was going to prevent any further dates, more dates were already off the menu—but she was just vain enough to want to look her best. She didn’t know where they might be going.
The houses got more and more fancy and farther apart as they traveled off the freeway. Eventually, they turned up a narrow street sheltered by trees and hedges. It turned out to be a driveway—a long driveway—leading to a big mansion. The shrubs in the front yard were lit up with gentle spotlights, and the house itself had many windows, most of which were bright with light. Damn, but this really separates the sheep from the goats.
“This is your house, isn’t it?”
“Yep. I’ve lived here about ten years. It’s not as ostentatious inside as outside. I don’t like all those Waterford crystal frou-frous. If my guests can’t deal with comfortable rather than chic, they don’t have to come visit.”
“It’s impressive. I feel kind of under-dressed and out of place. Maybe you should just take me back to the shelter.” Her hands felt clammy in her lap.
“No way. I want you to see my place.” He patted her thigh. “Let me share it with you a little, Kiki.”
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