“No trouble at all,” Indira assures me. “I only came in on a Saturday because I forgot my phone charger last night. I’ll grab it real quick and be back in a sec,” she adds, and then disappears through the wide metal and glass doors opposite to my office.
Two minutes later, she joins Tegan and me in moving boxes, chairs, and filing cabinets.
“Seems like today is the official move-in day for half the building, uh?” Indira says between runs.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Another guy down in the lobby is hauling in a bunch of boxes. He was waiting for the elevator, too, I think.”
My heart sinks. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that horrible man must’ve rented a space in this building. All the dots line up. That basket case wanted my office, and Lee is his real estate agent. Plus, what else would he be doing here with an ill-parked moving truck?
I eye the middle door suspiciously. Let’s hope he’s at least on another floor.
I’ve just carried the last box out of the elevator when my unspoken wish is crushed, as Mr. Impractical comes up the stairs with a carton box in his hands. Our eyes meet across the landing, and he gives me the stare of death. I glare right back at him, waiting until he drops his gaze.
Men, I’ve found, can be a lot like wolves; you have to show them who the alpha is right away.
Mr. Blue Eyes struggles to get his keys out of his pants pocket while holding the box in his hands, until after a few long seconds, he comes to the obvious conclusion that he should drop the box first, and then open the door. He’s finally turning the key in the lock when Tegan shuffles out of my new office, calling, “Are we done yet, Mom?”
The man’s hand stops mid-motion, and I witness the usual reaction take place on his face as he turns to me. His eyes and mouth widen in surprise at finding out I have a teenage daughter, and then a small frown appears as he no doubt starts making calculations.
She must’ve been barely eighteen when she had her, I can practically hear him thinking.
Nineteen, for your information, I silently snap inside my head.
To his credit, he’s quicker than most to hide the shock and compose his features back to normal.
Indira comes out of my new office next, defusing whatever unspoken tension has passed between me and that man. “You’re on this floor, too!” she says to him with a wide smile. “We’re finally a complete family. Great, we were getting lonely all by ourselves here on third.” She points at her office.
The man finishes unlocking his door and then moves closer to us, offering his hand to Indira.
“Dr. Lucas Keller,” he says.
What a tame name for someone with such a bad temper.
They shake hands, and he does the same with Tegan next. When my turn comes, he pointedly drops the friendly hand to his side.
Both Indira and Tegan stare at us questioningly, so I explain, “We’ve met already.”
Lucas nods, acknowledging our mutual dislike once again with the downturn of his mouth.
“I’d better get a move on.” He waves politely at the other two and goes back to his box, bending ninety degrees to pick it up and regaling the three of us with a view of white men’s boxer shorts peeking through a tear in the backside of his pants.
Indira is the quickest to recover. “Hey, Luke, not sure if you know, but you’ve ripped your pants. We can see the whole jolly family from over here.”
Lucas’ first reaction is to stand up abruptly and ridiculously turn in half circles while trying to catch sight of his bum and failing miserably. The next step, however, is to glare at me.
Oh, I’d like to see how he’s going to blame this on me.
Lucas promptly explains, “I must’ve ripped them while exiting my van through the window because someone refused to move her truck and let me get out the normal way.”
All sugar and sweetness, I say, “Perhaps you ought to learn how to park before you rent a truck.” I give his preposterous suit a quick once-over. “Or wear more practical clothes when engaging in manual labor.”
Dr. Keller just stands there gaping at me, rage simmering in those strikingly blue eyes.
“Come on, Tegan,” I quickly add, before this can turn into another heated argument. “Let’s go get that ice cream.”
I lock my door and call for the elevator that has wandered to some other floor in the meantime. Tegan and Indira wait by my side.
“It was nice to meet you,” Lucas says, addressing his remark to them, and then disappears inside his hole.
Why, of all the possible office neighbors, did I have to end up next to a grumpy ogre? By the time I come into work on Monday, he’ll probably have riddled the landing with wooden “Stay Out” and “Beware Ogre” signs like Shrek. I imagine his face all green and laugh to myself as I enter the elevator and push the ground floor button. Lucas Keller might look nothing like an ogre, but he sure behaves like one. Maybe he’s a reverse Shrek: handsome on the outside and ugly on the inside.
“The new neighbor is pretty easy on the eyes,” Indira comments.
Ah, she’s noticed. Good thing I’ve had an early show of his awful personality and can’t be fooled by the handsome face.
I shrug at the comment, indifferent.
But Indira insists, “Maybe a bit too old for me; I steer clear of anyone above thirty.” And she eyes me suggestively.
How did she guess I’m single? Is it written on my forehead in big letters?
“I’m not looking for a relationship,” I say.
Especially not with entitled egomaniacs, I add in my head. But there’s no need to share my opinion on the man in question, since Indira has already ruled him out due to old age.
Aha. Bite the bullet,
