I opened up my bag lunch, very aware of the fact that Tannerhad probably made Nigel make it so I wouldn’t leave the office today. Not likethat mattered. Poppy had waltzed into MAC International undetected before. Certainlya hitwoman could do the same.
There was a folded note on top of the food:
Mr. Caldwell,
I’m so elated that you’ll be staying with us for theforeseeable future. It is my job to make sure you are comfortable and happyduring the duration of your visit. So please let me know if there’s anythingyou need me to acquire. At your convenience, my number is below and I’ll go outand fetch everything you require today. Or if you need me to get items fromyour home, I’m happy to do that as well.
Have a good and prosperous day at work. Remember to smile andbe kind to others. And use your words not your fists.
Yours,
-Nigel
XOXO
P.S. I hope you like meat!
Gross. Well, the note was gross. The turkey sandwichpiled high with lettuce and tomato on rye bread looked excellent. I took a biteand it practically melted in my mouth. What kind of cheese was that? Gruyere?
I looked at the note again. That was too many X’s and O’s fromone man to another. And the meat comment could have been innocent. But when itcame to Nigel, I had no idea. I wondered how he’d take it if I texted him thatall I required was privacy. Probably not well. And then he’d also have my number.I couldn’t let that happen. And what was all that weird stuff about fightingand being kind? Did he think I was a petulant child? I pushed the note to theside and tried to enjoy my sandwich.
Tanner said that Nigel didn’t try to dress and bathe him. Somaybe Nigel just had a weird crush on me. It wouldn’t be the first time a guyhad hit on me. It was flattering. But very much unreciprocated. If he wasgiving me attention for that reason, I needed to make sure he knew I wasstraight. Was it rude to just tell him flat out?
There was a knock on my door.
“Not now!” Hm. Be kind and smile. Maybe that was adviceI needed to remember. “I mean, yes?” I called in a more upbeat voice.
My receptionist, Mary, walked in. “I’m sorry to bother you,but do you know a Ms. Cannavaro?”
Poppy Cannavaro. I swallowed down a chunk of too muchturkey and cleared my throat. “Why?” Please let there be news that she died inan explosion or something and that this wasn’t about her being outside myoffice right now. One can hope.
“I input all your meetings myself. And for the life of me Ican’t remember setting one with her. I honestly don’t even remember seeing itthis morning when I double checked today’s schedule. But I just got an alertsaying you have a 1 o’clock with her. And sure enough, I looked and there theappointment is in the system.” She shook her head. “Maybe she set it up a longtime ago and I just don’t remember?”
I doubted that. It was a lot more likely that Poppy hadsomeone hack into our system. Damn it. I looked down at my watch. Poppywould be here any minute.
“Do you want me to cancel?”
As appealing as that sounded, canceling on Poppy wouldn’tmake her go away. She was a pest that just kept showing up. I needed to seewhat she wanted now and try to squash it. “That won’t be necessary. I’ll handleit.”
“I’m very sorry, Matthew.”
“It’s not your fault. I’m sure it was just a glitch.”
“Yeah. Maybe.” She smiled. “You look well-rested today. Didthe chamomile tea work?”
More like the magical green juice. Hell, maybe chamomile wasthe secret ingredient. Regardless, I wanted to make Mary smile today. “It musthave.”
“That’s wonderful. Let me know if you’d like me to bring youa cup before work ends today. And I’ll ring you when Ms. Cannavaro arrives.”
I nodded and looked down at my sandwich as Mary closed thedoor. I suddenly wasn’t hungry anymore. What if Poppy wasn’t stopping by totalk? I swallowed hard. Was this it? Was Poppy going to walk in here with a gunand pull the trigger? Would someone find this weird note on my desk and think Iwas having a gay affair with Nigel? Would my murder make the late night news? Howwould I be remembered?”
Fuck. James. The last words I’d said to him. I knewbetter than that. I knew better than anyone that life could be cut short. I didn’twant those to be my last words to him. I pulled out my phone. But there weresuddenly a million things I wanted to do. I needed to finally call my mom back.I didn’t care that she always pestered me this time of year. I needed to tellher that I loved her. And thank Mason for always looking out for me. And Istupidly even wanted to call Rob and make sure he knew he was my best friendtoo. And Tanner for the same reason. It was okay to have two best friends, andI wasn’t sure why the hell this was the last thing I was thinking about beforeI died.
But I didn’t have any time to call a soul, because my intercombutton was blinking. I hit the light.
“Ms. Cannavaro has arrived,” Mary’s voice said through thespeaker.
“Let her in.”
Mary opened the door and I held my breath.
But I slowly exhaled when Poppy walked in. Because she wasn’tholding a gun. She was holding a toddler in her arms.
The first thing I thought of was Scarlett. But there was nocute little “Hi, Uncle Matt.” And the little girl wasn’t a redhead. She wasbrunette.
“Let me know if you need anything,” Mary said and closed thedoor behind us.
As soon as the door was closed I stood up. “Did you stealthat child?”
Poppy laughed. “No.”
“I swear to God, Poppy,
