Page 24 of Catch a Kiwi
“Your motives,” Esther said flatly.
“My sexual motives,” I admitted. Was this a squirm-worthy conversation to have with my assistant? Yes. She’d found my divorce attorney. She’d also arranged for him to come back the next time. She’d collected and delivered paperwork without, apparently, even glancing at it. She’d never asked a single question.
She didn’t answer, and I realized how that had sounded. “Not because she has any reason to question them,” I said. “Perfect gentleman.”
Esther said, “This isn’t my business, but I’ll say it. It sounds to me like you don’t want her getting ideas about your money and how it might become hers, and that’s why you’re looking to offload this. I’ve assumed you’re careful about that, that that’s why you never have them move in unless you’re marrying them.”
The woman knew too much. I said, “She’s not interested in my money. Or me.”
“You’re sure.”
“Yes,” I said. “Look, she’s extremely beautiful. Extraordinarily beautiful. If she wanted a rich bloke to shower her with luxury, she could have it. She doesn’t want it, and I reckon she has reason not to trust men. That’s why I thought a woman?—”
“Have I ever shared my personal life with you?” Esther asked.
“No.”
“And I’m not doing it now. Or my personal space. Would you like me to book a hotel room for them? Hire a car? It’s done. Just give me a price range.”
“Never mind. I’ll take care of it.”
“Good,” Esther said. “Anything else?”
I thought about asking her to hire cleaners for the house. Equipment. Whatever. If I didn’t get the water out of it pretty smartly, I’d get mold. I could practically feel the spores growing now.
I didn’t ask, because I’d had another idea. A mad one. I said, “One thing.”
Once I’d explained, she said, “I’ll see you on Monday, then. Dunedin all week?”
“Probably. And get Dane sorted, please. Office, salary, all that. I’ll send you the details.”
“Already begun,” she said, and rang off.
Summer
“No,” I said.
Roman said, “Would women please stop telling me no?” Looking big, dark, muddy, and exasperated.
“I don’t know,” I said, keeping on with the rake. “I won’t, anyway.” My hand and knees throbbed, I had a headache, my legs were going a little shaky, and my body felt in general like it had been stuffed in a sack and beaten with hammers.You can rest tonight,I told myself.You’ll have a hotel room tonight, now that you have your wallet back.And kept on raking. I’d found a good half of the clothes, and Delilah’s phone, too, once I’d had the bright idea to ask Roman to ring her number. Unfortunately, that hadn’t worked with mine. Delilah’s still worked. Waterproof. Mine, apparently …
Well, we could manage with one phone. I was also missing one trainer, and I needed the other one. One more shoe, and my phone if I could find it, just in case it was salvageable, and I’d quit. I’d …
Clean Roman’s car. Mop his floors.
You can always do more than you think. One step at a time.But it felt like I’d been stepping so long.
Stop whining. You can do this. It’s one day.
Oh. Roman. Still glowering. I said carefully, “Look. It’s a very kind offer. I just don’t think?—”
“It’s not a bloody kind offer!” He’d raised his voice, and I hauled myself upright and glared at him. He lowered his voice, though his face didn’t look any less thunderous. “It’s a perfectly reasonable exchange, and I won’t even be here. I’ve got things to see to in Dunedin, and in the North Island, too. I can’t do this, and I don’t have time to supervise it.”
“Yeah, right,” I said. “A perfectly reasonable exchange for living in your house, which would rent for a thousand dollars a night minimum.”
“How do you know?”
“I know about fancy houses, and there isn’t enough cleaning in the world to pay for that.”
