Page 60 of Finding Lord Landry

Nan’s face lit up when she spotted me. “Kenji, you look wonderful, dear. How are you feeling?”

Landry’s luminous blue-green eyes glanced up at me, but his face remained expressionless.

My breaths came a little quicker than before… because I’d just walked down the stairs.Obviously.

“I’m fine,” I replied belatedly. “Thank you.”

Cora moved her laptop out of the way and pointed to the seat next to her. She set a Starbucks cup in front of it. “Sit here. Landry got you a coffee.”

I glanced at Landry to thank him, but he’d already turned his attention back to his phone.

“Thanks,” I murmured anyway.

“Mph,” he grunted back.

I closed my eyes and inhaled. This wasn’t going to work.

Cora pulled her laptop closer. “Okay, I’m writing up some profiles for our media kit. Kenji, I have all of your education and work history. Can you give me some interests outside of work?”

I opened my eyes and blinked at her. “What, like hobbies?”

She nodded. “Yes. Like… gardening, hiking, reading, crossword puzzles, swing dancing lessons… you know, that kind of thing. What do you like to do for fun?”

“I’m kind of a workaholic. I don’t have hobbies.”

“We need something to put here. Surely you have some kind of interests? Are there any shows you like to watch or charities you volunteer with?”

I thought of the charity runs I did every holiday season, but they seemed too silly to include. “I took a shodo class once. It’s like Japanese calligraphy.”

Landry didn’t look up from his phone. “It’s a type of Zen practice. He also practices mindfulness and meditation, specifically following the wisdom of Chaska Inira, who believes that fostering peace and understanding can create a world of greater connectedness.”

I stared at him. “Yes,” I breathed.

Cora typed into her laptop. “That’s good. I like that.”

Landry took a sip of coffee. “He also raises money for LGBTQ military groups by doing virtual 5Ks during the months of October, November, and December, but he donates anonymously. And he volunteers at a youth suicide hotline, but he’s not going to let you write that down. And he sends strongly worded letters every quarter to a particular senator, but that obviously can’t be included. He’s an incredible chess player who was once ranked, even though he won’t say how high, and he rarely plays anymore. Oh, and he also sends strongly worded letters to the company that makes the copy paper we used to use in our corporate office, even though they already changed their policy on?—”

“I take pictures of sunsets,” I blurted. “And I make birthday cake kits for a local food bank.”

Cora typed happily into her laptop as I let out a breath and took a sip of my coffee. After a moment, I could swear I felt Landry’s eyes on me, but when I looked up, he was focused on his own cup.

“I also house-sit for friends,” I admitted, watching him. “I swing by their place when they’re out of town and do their laundry, change their sheets, grab a few grocery essentials before they come home. That kind of thing. And sometimes I… I go into their Netflix and click around in it until their suggestions are full of things I think they’d like.”

Landry’s eyes slowly lifted from his cup to meet mine. My heart skipped erratically like it was going to wing itself off the nearest overpass.

Cora made a dismissive sound in her throat. “No offense, Kenji, but that last part sounds a little OTT.”

She was probably right. Thankfully, Reg distracted me by setting a plate full of food in front of me. “The full English. Cora said you’ve got a busy day ahead.”

I murmured my thanks out of habit before remembering our morning “date.”

“Aren’t we eating breakfast out?”

Cora waved a dismissive hand in the air. “You won’t be able to eat much, and you have to order specific menu items that you may not like.”

Landry took another sip of his coffee, which was no help at all.

“Specific menu items?” I prompted.

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