Page 29 of Idle

I don a practiced smile. “I love kitchens. They allow for some great creativity. How about you?”

“Same. Bo’s super talented with all things cabinetry.”

I bet. He seems quite talented in many arenas, something I might be persuaded to sample if he asks. Yet I wouldn’t be working with Jesse if he were my ex-boyfriend, let alone ex-husband. I gathered that much intel from talking with Bo as he helped me clean up 1626 after the party—which Jesse ordered me to do. Andhedidn’t help. I force my fists to open. I need to work with this man today.

My partner reenters the room and glances at the sofa. “Good luck today,” he offers our competition.

The blonde waves. “You too.”

Nice.Not. “Let’s get going.”

Jesse’s eyebrows raise, but for once, he keeps his mouth shut and follows me out of the ViewPad. While we wait for the elevator, I pull out a lollipop from my bag and unwrap it. If I don’t shove something into my mouth, I worry what might come out of it.

When we reach the sixteenth floor, Jesse allows me to precede him out of the elevator. First sign of manners I’ve seen out of him all day.

Using my lollipop stick, I point to the door, which he unlocks. When the door swings open, I check to make sure he wants me to enter first, then do. Two gentlemanly things in five minutes. Better check his temperature.

Dropping my tote onto the sofa Jesse made, I first focus my attention on the kitchen. Our preliminary plan calls for a six-foot island, but I’m thinking we could go bigger. I return to my tote for a measuring tape while Jesse opens and closes the cabinet doors, then walks behind them.

“Are you aware,” he calls from the back wall. “We have a lot of space back here. This area was used as a laundry room, judging from the hook-ups. We do need laundry in the apartment, but I’m not sure this is the best place for it.”

Using my lollipop stick, I tap on my bottom lip while I process what he’s said. Joining him, I check out the large area available to us if we moved the laundry. “Where could we put it? It shouldn’t be in any of the public areas.”

“I agree.” His eyes light up. “Come with me.”

He races out of the kitchen, toward the bedrooms. Perhaps we could turn one of the bedrooms into a laundry area? But losing a bedroom is never a good idea.

Jesse passes the two extra bedrooms and enters the primary suite. It’s large, but not big enough to move it in here. He checks every corner of the room, then his face falls. “Guess it won’t work.” He passes by me as he returns to the kitchen.

Why did he give up so easily? I’d love to add a pantry to the kitchen, so there has to be somewhere else we can hide the washer-dryer. I repeat Jesse’s actions and come to the same conclusion about this bedroom and follow him back to the kitchen.En route, I pass by the utilities closet and stop. I open the door. We could use this and steal a pinch from the primary bathroom. With stackable machines rather than side-by-sides, this could work. Not perfect, for sure, but it would open up the kitchen tremendously.

“Jesse!” I wait for him to come. Finally, he appears. “Took you long enough,” I mutter.

Ignoring my snark, he asks, “What?”

“We could move it in here.” I swing the door to the utilities closet wider.

His eyes widen, then return to their normal size. “Too small.” He turns on his heel.

“Not if we stole extra square footage from the primary bathroom and used stackables.”

Returning to face the utilities closet, he assesses the space from where he stands. “Who would want to do laundry in a closet? Using stackable machines? Side-by-sides are prerequisites at this price point.” He takes a step away.

“Not for me.”

He cocks his head. “What do you mean?”

“I, uhm, I’ve never used a laundry machine. Neither have Mum and Father. Our maid does our laundry, so it wouldn’t be a deal breaker to us.”

His face registers shock. “You don’t do your own laundry?”

I shake my head. “Don’t you see? Stackables would solve the laundry issue in case someone wanted to do it. Or if their maid did it for them.”

“I can’t believe you’ve never washed any of your clothes.”

Why is he so hung up on such an insignificant thing? “I can always buy more.” However, with Father’s assets being frozen, perhaps I should rethink my way of life? I suppose most normal people don’t buy new underwear on the weekly. But this isn’t about me. “What do you think?”

“It’s not a perfect solution.”

---