With her clothes taken care of, Josie took her coffee to the kitchen for a warm-up. She wished her balcony had a better view. Josie loved to sit outside, but she didn’t want to stare at the couple across the way, who always sat outside on Saturday mornings. It wasn’t that she was jealous. Okay. She was. Josie thought she’d be married and settled by now. It wasn’t for lack of trying. Josie went on dates, but she never found the one she meshed with. The man who could put up with her rambling when she was nervous. Or the way she liked to dress. Or the long hours she put in at the office. Her one long-term boyfriend had been wonderful in the beginning, but he eventually got tired of coming second to her job. He tried to get her to quit. To find a firm who appreciated her talents. When Josie refused, he broke up with her.
She planned to get all that out in the open with Malakai. Well, maybe not on the first date, but if the night went well, and he asked her out again, she would give him the rundown of who she was. If he was still interested, she’d give it a go.
Instead of going outside, Josie sat down on her couch and turned on the TV for background noise. She hadn’t slept well the night before. Scattered dreams of Presley catching Josie out with Kai and yelling at them both had her waking in a panic. She finished her coffee and set the mug on the end table. Josie closed her eyes, promising she was just going to rest for a few minutes.
The phone ringing woke Josie, and she dreaded looking at the caller ID. Her first notion was that Malakai was calling to cancel. When she saw who it was, it was worse than that, and she almost didn’t answer. But Presley would come pounding on the door if Josie ignored her.
“Hello?”
“Where’s the Baxter file?”
“I have it.” Josie knew what was coming next.
“Well, I need it. I’ll stop by later to get it.” Presley didn’t work on the weekends. She would get the file, and it would sit in her car until Monday, and Josie wouldn’t be able to do anything with it. She preferred to do her work on the computer, but both her father and sister liked paper files.
“I won’t be here later. I have a date.”
“With whom?” Presley’s tone indicated she didn’t believe Josie.
“Nobody you know. I’ll bring the file by tomorrow.”
“I need it tonight. Have your date bring you by my condo on your way out.”
“Not going to happen.” It wouldn’t matter if her date was someone other than Malakai. Josie wouldn’t ask someone to chauffer her around at her sister’s beckoning. “I’ll bring it by tomorrow, or you can come get it now. Your choice.”
“I’ll be there in a few.” Presley hung up without saying goodbye.
Josie looked at the clock. It was only half past noon, so she had several hours before she needed to get ready. Presley had plenty of time to come get the file and be gone before Malakai arrived for their date. Josie took her dirty mug to the dishwasher and opened the fridge to see what she had to eat. Yes, it was her fridge. Yes, she bought the groceries. It wasn’t like food was going to magically appear without her knowing. Still, she perused the shelves in search of something to eat. Nope, nothing new.
When nothing she saw looked appetizing, Josie opted for a bowl of cereal. That would tide her over until she had dinner later with Malakai. Goosebumps broke out on her skin as she thought about him. She stood leaning against the counter, munching on the oat and marshmallow goodness. When all the cereal was gone, Josie turned the bowl up and drank the sweet milk. Before she could rinse the bowl, someone was pounding on her door. Josie squared her shoulders and went to let her sister in.
Josie barely had the locks undone before Presley pushed past her. As she always did with her sister, Josie bit her tongue. She walked over to the table and picked up the file, handing it over.
“Is this everything?” Presley asked, flipping through the notes.
“Yep.” Josie turned her back, taking her bowl to the sink. When she didn’t hear the door opening, she looked over her shoulder. Presley was staring at her. “What? I said it’s all there.”
“Who’s your date?”
Josie turned from the sink, drying her hands. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business. You’ve never been interested in my dates before now. You’ve never been interested in any part of my life if it doesn’t have to do with my job. You can show yourself out. I need to get ready.” Josie still had a couple hours, but Presley didn’t need to know that.
“You’ve never hidden who you dated before. Just makes me curious, but keep your secrets. I’ll find out who he is.”
Josie was getting pissed. “Who I go out with is no concern of yours. Nothing I do outside the office concerns you. I don’t ask about your conquests because who you screw means nothing to me.”
Presley’s face turned red. “Right. You’ve never once asked how a date’s gone. You don’t care about me other than what I can do for you at work.” She waved her hand at the room. “All this is because of me, but you don’t appreciate any of it. I’m just your boss, not your sister.”
“Are you fucking kidding me right now? You’ve never treated me like a sister. Never.
