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She laughed awkwardly but didn’t answer the question. “So, have you been looking for a new job?”
“Not really,” I lied. But was it really lying when I spent just five minutes looking and then the next half hour checking out greenhouses and plants and daydreaming of Gunnar?
“Why not?”
I took a moment to think about why she would possibly be asking this question. If she really was helping Dr. Shen gather intel, then saying I was looking for a job would be suspicious, especially since he thought I was in it with Gunnar for the good life he could give me.
“Because I don’t need to.” I looked at my computer screen with all the images of the greenhouse I’d saved and the half-drafted reply I’d planned on sending to the lady inquiring about the cutting. “Myhusbandsays I can take however long I want to figure out what I want to do. And if I want to do nothing, that’s fine by him, too.”
Okay, I was gloating a bit, but she totally deserved it.
Then, for good measure, I tossed in, “Maybe I’ll wait until after the first baby to decide.”
“I see,” was her reply.
I was purposefully vague there, making sure I didn’t actually say anything concrete. Let her talk. Let them all talk. I really didn’t care anymore.
“Thank you for calling to check up on me,” I said in my sweetest voice ever. “I’m kind of glad all this pushed Gunnar and me into getting married sooner. It was the right choice. He makes me very happy.” I was saying the words hoping she’d repeat them to Dr. Shen, but then I realized that they were the absolute truth.
“Lucky you,” she said, sounding more than a little pissed off. “Well, anyway, my break’s over.”
“Say hi to everyone there for me.”
“Sure will,” she said, totally not meaning it, and hung up.
Well, that was interesting. If all went well, she’d tell Dr. Shen that she thought I was maybe pregnant, or at least trying to get pregnant, and that would hopefully be enough to convince him we were in it for real and for the long haul.
Now, onto my plants, which were a lot more exciting. Armed with Iris’ number, I approached my plant babies, who were all happily growing by Gunnar’s giant west-facing windows.
They really did love this place much more than my old apartment. They had more room to stretch and grow, and had all the light they wanted here. I hadn’t even needed to set up the grow lights.
I checked to make sure they all had water in their reservoirs, then realized I still had the big tray sitting directly on the floor and made a mental note to look online for a shelf for the smaller plants. That would be a lot more fun than browsing job openings.
You know what? I was glad I hadn’t found any jobs I wanted to apply for yet. If I had, and The White Claws found out, it wouldn’t fit my story very well.
Satisfied that all my plant babies were happy, I called Iris, who picked up with a jovial, “What’s up, witch bitch?”
It made me laugh. She was fun.
I told her my dilemma and how I now needed a rooted cutting as soon as possible.
“Oh, that’s easy peasy lemon squeezy. Plants want to grow around us anyway. I’ll walk you through it. I’d start with something easy, like a pothos or a monstera. Something you don’t mind dumping the cuttings of, because you might end up with some weird ones.”
“Weird ones?”
“They get over-enthusiastic sometimes, and you get all vines with no leaves, or one giant leaf. Or if you’re trying one of those new-fangled hybrids with a lot of pink and white, you get all pink and white leaves that start dying the moment the magic is gone since they can’t photosynthesize by themselves.”
“That makes sense.” I turned back and surveyed my army of tropicals. “All right, everyone,” I said. “I need a volunteer.”
Chapter 24
Gunnar
Icheckedmyphoneagain before stepping from our private parking area into the elevator up to the penthouse. Nothing yet. I’d messaged Lillian, asking what she wanted for dinner, but hadn’t gotten a reply. Odd, but she was probably busy getting her life together. She’d gone through such a huge change recently, and must feel somewhat out of control.
When I opened the door to my suite I was immediately greeted by a very green, very shocking sight.
Her plants had taken over my home. The climbers had latched onto my walls and were racing up them like they owned the place. One of the specimens was sprawled all over the floor, sending up an oversized leaf every few feet. There were vines hanging everywhere. And in the center of it all was a very panicked-looking Lillian with a humorously small pair of garden snips, trying to control it all.
