Page 16 of The Missus
‘When was the last time you played a real human?’ Alanna asked.
‘I can’t remember.’
‘There’s your answer. Humans are harder to beat. They’re unpredictable.’
‘Tell me about it,’ Keira said pointedly. She checked the time. ‘Speaking of which, it’s been forty minutes. Let’s go back up.’
They got out of the car and walked across the concrete car park. Alanna yawned. ‘Thank god I don’t have any appointments today. I’d be useless.’
Keira hit the button for the elevator. ‘What do you do?’
The doors opened. ‘Counsellor.’
Keira sounded slightly shocked. ‘I didn’t know that.’ They stepped inside the elevator and hit the button for their floor.
‘What about you? What do you do?’ Alanna asked quickly. She didn’t want a bunch of questions about her job.
‘Novelist,’ Keira said shortly.
‘Really? What kind?’ Alanna asked, interested.
‘What kind?’ Alanna repeated .
Keira coughed and said, ‘Mystery.’
Alanna blinked. And then burst out laughing. ‘You?! You writemysteries?’
‘Something funny about that?’ Keira asked pissily as the elevator shuddered to their floor. Her usually chill demeanour vanishing for a moment.
‘Not at all,’ Alanna replied. But actually, what was funny was that Alanna loved the mystery genre. But she wasn’t looking to get chummy and share interests.
They got out of the elevator and went back to the flat. Keira put a finger to her lips and her ear to the door. She listened for a good half minute before she unlocked the door and opened it—no Kim.
‘OK, get dressed. We’re getting a bed.’
***
Alanna looked at the steel-framed bed on the large shop floor. ‘That’ll do.’
‘You sure you don’t want to look around a bit?’ Keira checked.
‘It’s on sale. That’s all I need to know,’ Alanna said. With the mattress, it was going to cost all the rent money she would have paid Benjamin today. At least it wasn’t an expense she had to worry about now. He hadn’t texted her since she left the flat. She supposed he was probably busy celebrating his independence by scrubbing the bathroom grouting.
Alanna went to the counter and paid up, arranging for the bed to arrive the following day. As they walked out of the shop, Keira said, ‘Right. That’s that. I’m going to the gym. I’ll drop you at home.’
‘Thanks,’ Alanna said. She would be glad for the peace. It had been a very stressful few days, and she needed to decompress from it all. Maybe grab a nap.
They drove back in silence. Alanna was pretty sure Keira was still pissed at her. She couldn’t blame her. Alanna had one job to do in exchange for a roof over her head and she’d screwed the pooch. She was knackered out from trying to get comfy on that couch. Her knees had been hanging over the armrest, and she wasn’t even that tall, only five-six on her tiptoes. It was only one more night, though. That was unless Keira came home from the gym today and told her to pack her shit. It wasn’t impossible.
Keira dropped her at the flat. ‘I’ve got a package coming today. Can you sign for it?’ she asked.
‘Sure. Are you planning to pick anyone up from the gym today?’ Alanna asked, only half joking.
Keira snorted. ‘God no. Not after this morning. The stress isn’t worth it. But we need to work on the system.’
‘So you’re not eighty-sixing me?’ Alanna asked with a nervous laugh.
‘You don’t fire someone on their first day of work for making one mistake,’ Keira said with an easy smile.
