“Excuse me, sir?” Kimmy asked. “So, who can take who else when she does what now?”
“Hey, Stringbean,” I said, ignoring her question. “How’s work?”
“Cole!”
I drew in a deep breath and explained how, in the last twenty-four hours, Lisa went from being my neighbor who was kind of avoiding me to being my tenant and nanny. I left out the part about the quickie we had in her house and the hours of Animal Kingdom sex later on that night.
"You took my tenant?" She laughed, and I was relieved she wasn't upset. Proper sibling protocol would have required me to run it past her first, but when I found out Lisa had lost her job because of CJ and me, it just slipped out. "That's why you were asking all of those questions about the apartment?"
“Yeah,” I sighed. “So, you’re not mad?”
"Of course not. I'd rather have Lisa watching CJ than that other chick you hired. Have you heard from her?"
“Nope.” When Kimberly first told me what Theresa did, I was furious, but given the events she set in motion with her reckless behavior, I couldn’t be too mad at her.
"Anyway, it kind of works out. I'm making a lot more money than I did when she first moved in, and Adam is officially in Barbados for who knows how long. He's still paying rent on his apartment. So, it just makes sense for him to move his stuff into the brownstone."
“Have you talked to him about this?”
“Considering the fact that you just told me that Lisa’s moving out, no.”
“Have you talked to him about moving his stuff to your place?”
"I tried, but he still feels weird about it. I'm trying to be an understanding fiancée. We're planning to spend our lives together, and he's throwing away thousands of dollars a month on an empty apartment over some macho bullshit."
“Listen, Kimmy—”
"Cole, I'm gonna have to let you go. Vittoria's in labor, and I'm at the hospital."
“Why are you at the hospital?”
“Her husband is stuck in Dubai.”
“What the hell is he doing in Dubai?”
“Probably wishing he didn’t go to Dubai when his wife was due to give birth at any second. Listen, I really have to go, but when we vote for the family vacation, you have to pick Barbados. You stole my tenant. You owe me. Love you, bye.”
The call ended.
Every year, the Simmons family went on a nonnegotiable two-week family vacation in the fall. Every family member would pick a place they wanted to visit, and we'd vote on it. RJ usually picked Japan, and as a result, it's the only country we've been to three times. I didn't usually care. I was just excited to go on vacation, although it was my idea to go to Vegas. I knew how much Kimberly missed Adam, and we've never been to Barbados. So, easy enough.
The morning meetingwas uneventful except for when Smith welcomed me back by calling me Mr. Mom.
Susan Charing called to set up a meeting to discuss CJ's case and get DNA tests done. She offered to have them done at the office, which I was grateful for, and she wouldn't discuss payment, which made me nervous.
Dev, back from his trip to India, clapped me hard on my shoulder, making me wince in pain. “Hey, Cole. Didn’t think you’d be here today.” Upon seeing my expression, he added, “What’s up with your shoulder?”
"Nothing. I might have pulled something at the gym," I lied. I wasn't going to tell him that my entire back was covered in welts, scratches, and a few bites.
“So, I heard back from my friends. The ones I gave your mother’s reports to.”
He referred to Crystal as my mother, and I didn't bother to correct him. "So…"
"Well, your mum definitely died from injuries related to the crash. And there was definitely someone else driving that car." He put his hands on his knees and rose to his feet. "And my guy at the NYPD said something was off about the investigation. Couldn't put his finger on it, but everyone he talked to in Missouri was really dodgy about details. He couldn't push too hard because he wasn't really working the case, but…odd, you know. Anyway, ring the detective before too much time passes." He clapped my shoulder again, making me wince and swear. "Shite. Sorry, mate."
I pulled Detective Tan's card out of my desk drawer and was just about to dial when I got a text from Lisa. She'd sent me a video of CJ dancing to Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road," wearing only a diaper and toy cowboy hat. After watching it about ten times, I sent it to Mom and Kimberly. I slipped Detective Tan's card back in my drawer, deciding that it could wait a little longer.
It wasnine o'clock when I got home, and Lisa was sitting on the couch with her hair in a giant messy bun on top of her head, wearing her own clothes and reading on a tablet. I half hoped she'd still be wearing my shirt, but that didn't make any sense.
