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I decided not to answer that. I grabbed my keys and headed for the door. “Don’t go anywhere.”
Lola laughed weakly and threw her hands up. “The only place I’m going is the toilet. Trust me.”
18
CHRISTIAN
The medicine and drinks seemed to help Lola regain some of her energy by around lunch time. I’d tried to let her dog out several times, but it refused to move from where it was perpetually curled up beside her. Lola was sitting up now on the couch, still wrapped in the kid’s blanket.
She noticed me looking at it and pulled the blanket a little tighter around herself. “Go ahead. Laugh.”
“How are you feeling?” I asked instead. I had on gloves and was scrubbing at the kitchen wall. I’d bought some industrial strength cleaner to try to work out that terrible smell. At first, I’d assumed it must be coming from some central area, but it seemed like the smell had been strong enough to seep into every surface. I’d been keeping myself busy by cleaning aggressively for the last few hours and making sure Lola was still sipping on her sports drink.
“I think I’ve figured it out,” she said. “You’re only being nice because if I die, you’ll have to find someone else to do your weird, top-secret job.”
“Believe it or not, I’d rather not see my employees die of completely treatable illness.”
“So you do this for all your employees?”
I set the towel in my hand down and turned to face her. She looked pathetic on the couch with her blanket up to her neck, big fuzzy yellow socks on her feet, and tired, red-rimmed eyes. Her hair was supposed to be in a ponytail, but most of it hadn’t received the memo and was hanging over her shoulders or curled in odd shapes above her head. “I didn’t know you were living like this.”
Her eyebrows drew together. “The way I’m living isn’t your fault.”
“I didn’t say it was–I…” I clenched my fist tighter around the bottle of cleaning spray. “Do you have debts? I know your first paycheck has come through. I’m sure there are better places you could be staying.”
“Whether I have debts or not isn’t your business, Mr. Stone.”
So we were back to Mr. Stone. Apparently it took a serious state of delirium for her to see me as anything else. “I can pay you the twenty thousand bonus early, if it would help.”
“I don’t want charity. It’s only a few more days, anyway. And this place isn’t so bad. It’s bigger than what I had in Manhattan.”
“It’s also a health hazard,” I snapped. “It’s no wonder you’re sick. Who knows what fumes you’ve been breathing.”
She grinned. “Are you worried about me, Mr. Stone?”
“You’re going to move out of this place as soon as your bonus clears. Do you understand me?”
“Where I live isn’t your decision.”
“Fine.” I stepped outside and pulled out my phone. I made a few calls and then headed back in.
“What was that about? Did you need to step outside to shoot a puppy or two?”
“If you’re going to stubbornly insist on staying here, I’m having the place professionally cleaned. I have a mold and mildew specialist coming to check, carpet cleaners, drywallers who will remove and replace all the walls. A carpenter is going to replace the cabinets and I have a woman who will replace all the fabrics and furniture. And I also ordered you a new filter for your fridge.”
Lola stared. “You’re serious? What if I refuse?”
“I’m going to personally wait here until it’s all done. I don’t care if you refuse.”
She looked like she was trying to decide whether she wanted to throw something at me or shout. But after a few moments of silence, she finally spoke. “You know, if you just didn’t say everything like such an asshole, you could actually be nice.”
“I’m not good with people.”
Lola laughed. “Believe it or not, I discovered that about you pretty quickly.”
“It would make me feel better if you let these people clean up your apartment, okay? I have connections with all of these businesses, so the cost is trivial. It was really only a matter of having one of my assistants make some calls. You’re not in my debt or anything like that.”
She gave a half smile. “That was almost good. Thank you, Christian.”
I cleared my throat. Did I stop being Mr. Stone to her when I was acting more like a normal human? I felt a dangerous little thrum of excitement at the change in her–a sense that I liked being Christian to her and not Mr. Stone. But I also felt an equal share of fear when I realized how close that excitement had me to going down the same path as Hector.
“It has been four hours. You can take more medicine,” I said suddenly, moving to the counter where the plastic bags full of medicine boxes still sat.
