Kiki's Millionaire (8 page)

“Kiki!”

She turned her attention to him and pushed a strand of
hair off her forehead. “Yeah?”

“Why are you packing? Why do you need to get out by
the first? You said on the phone that you’d gotten the job at Wildwood.”

“Yeah, I did. But it doesn’t start until August.
That’s three months from now. I can’t pay my rent. I can’t stay here and cheat
Mrs. Steddenhoffer out of her rent money.”

Honor was a good thing; he couldn’t fault her for
that. “Okay. Where are you going?”

“Does it matter?”

His temper rose a notch. “Yes, it does.”

“Look, Jim. We had one more date planned. I’m sorry it
can’t be tonight—you can see why. But the rest of my life doesn’t concern
you.”

She was avoiding his question and that worried him. “I
care about you, Kiki.”

Her eyes closed for a moment, then opened again,
resolve in the tightness around her mouth. “We’re friends, okay? But—“

“No buts. Are you moving in with Maddie?”

The other girl squeaked and dropped a book.

“No. Maddie lives with her sister and they don’t have
room for me. I’m putting my stuff in storage, and staying somewhere else.”

Jim took her arm again. He wanted to shake her, but
resisted. “Where, damnit!”

She had the grace to look uncomfortable. “The Union
Mission Women’s Shelter.”

A homeless shelter? His Kiki? He dropped her arm and
took a step back, both mentally and physically, as he tried to look at the
situation rationally. It was true that homeless shelters did great work. He donated
to several charities which provided shelters. And, he didn’t think the people
who used those shelters were inferior, just people down on their luck. But he
would never, ever let a friend of his fall into such straits. Kiki was not down
on her luck; she had him!

“No.”

“What do you mean, ‘no’?” She frowned at him and
straightened her shoulders. “I can’t stay here. It’s a perfectly good
solution.”

“No.”

“Look, Jim, you can say no all you want, but that’s
not going to change my mind.” She picked up a pile of books again and started
arranging them in a box.

Frustration welled up in him like a dust devil on
parched soil. “Let me put you up in a hotel. Or, I’ll loan you the money to
stay here until August.”

“Now it’s my turn to say no.”

“Just a loan, Kiki. You can pay me back when you’re on
your feet again.” He stepped closer, then felt guilty for trying to use his
size to intimidate her into cooperating. He rubbed a hand over his face, the
stubble there making a gritty sound. She wasn’t intimidated anyway.

“I don’t borrow money from friends.” She looked up
from her box. “Not even rich friends.”

Maddie chose that moment to speak up. “Kiki, you know
it might be a good idea—“

“No!”

The other girl dropped her eyes and emptied her
armload into a box, then turned and went to the cupboard for whatever was still
there.

“Maddie’s right, Kiki. It’s a good idea to take what
I’m offering. No strings attached.”

“You always attach strings, Jim. That’s how we’ve gone
on all our dates.”

She got him on that one. But this was different. “I
mean it, Kiki. After our one remaining date, I won’t ask you again. If there
are more dates, it’ll only be because you ask for them. I just want to help
you.”

She worried her lower lip, thinking. “That’s a kind
offer, Jim, but even if you didn’t ask for payment, I’d still have to say no. I
don’t want to be beholden to you. I don’t want to owe anyone anything.”

“Argh! Kiki, you’re being unreasonable!”

Kneeling down on the floor, she began to arrange the
books in the box, not meeting his eyes, her shoulders squared and a stubborn
set to her jaw.

It was hopeless. He began to take off his suit coat.
He wanted to throttle her, to shake some sense into her, to spank the livin’
daylights out of her and teach her not to be stubborn to her own detriment. But
he couldn’t spank her with her friend there. He didn’t want to humiliate her.
So, he lost this battle. The war had not ceased, however.

Jim began to stack up the boxes full of books in a
corner.

“What are you doing?”

“Helping, Kiki. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”

“Oh. You don’t have to-”

His look cut her off and for that he was grateful.
He’d had enough struggles for one day.

“When are the movers going to arrive?”

“You’re looking at ‘em.”

Jim was incredulous. These two little women intended
to move all these fifty-pound boxes of books all on their own? It was so Kiki.
“I suppose you won’t let me get you a moving company to do this.”

It was her turn to give him a look.

“I thought as much. Well, did you borrow a pick-up
truck or something?”

“Maddie has a mini-van.”

“Kiki, at that rate, you’ll be at this for days. I
have a pickup truck. A big one. Would you let me offer you that at least?”

She looked at the many boxes scattered all over the
floor, then shot a look at Maddie whose big eyes were practically pleading.
“Yeah, okay. Thank you.”

Jim grabbed his suit coat and headed for the door.
“I’ll be back in half an hour.”

* * *

When Jim returned, he also had his man-servant with
him. The two made quick work of putting the boxes into his big, black truck. It
was a short ride to the storage lot.

Kiki was loathe to admit it, but having his help made
things go a lot more smoothly. They were done by ten p.m. She offered pizza and
beer, and for once, Jim didn’t argue.

He looked exhausted. She didn’t know what kind of
business meetings he’d had, but she did know that they had sapped the snap out
of his eyes, and made the shallow ridges around his mouth a bit more
pronounced. He looked a little older, and although she didn’t want to admit it to
herself, her heart went out to him. Oh yeah, she had it bad. Valentines and
cupids.

She wanted to friggin’ kick herself. It was, perhaps,
the least practical situation she’d ever found herself in. He was a nice guy,
but so out of her league. Even though he seemed to care, it had to be just his
natural chivalry. Maybe he just liked slumming now and then.

They sat on the floor of her empty apartment; only her
three suitcases sat by the door. Jim was leaning back against the wall, his
expensive suit pants dusty, jacket gathering carpet lint on the floor in the
corner. Ernie and Maddie were conversing quietly, neither of them drinking
beer.

“Tomorrow night, Kiki.”

“What, Jim?” She reached out to gather up the empty
pizza box and he grabbed her wrist, his grip implacable but not harmful.

“Our date. Tomorrow night.”

“Oh…”

“You promised.” His hand dropped from her wrist.

She didn’t want to think about their next date, their
last date. But the sooner she got the pain over with, the sooner she could
settle back and lick her wounds. “Okay. You know where the shelter is?”

“I’ll find it.” He stood up and picked up his jacket.
Ernie stood as well. “Seven o’clock.”

“What did you have in mind?”

He smiled, getting a little twinkle back in his eyes.
“I’ll surprise you.”

That’s what she was afraid of.

Jim considered taking his Hummer out, but decided on
the Mustang again. She seemed to like that car and he didn’t want an argument
from her. He expected his plan for the evening was going to create enough
resistance.

The shelter was on a busy corner in a poor part of
town. He hated to think of Kiki, or any woman, walking in that neighborhood
alone. Kiki didn’t even have the benefit of a car to protect her. It was an old
house, perhaps built in the 1960s, with a clapboard exterior and shake roof. It
wasn’t run-down, but wasn’t particularly well-maintained either. The paint was
peeling in spots around the window frames, and the screen door had a hole near
the handle. He pressed the doorbell and waited. There was no sound from inside,
so he poked it again. No stirring, nor the sound of the bell or buzzer.
Finally, he opened the screen and knocked firmly on the door.

Apparently, the doorbell wasn’t working, because
immediately he heard running feet. A little person—about six years
old—opened the door a few feet. “Who are you?”

Jim hunkered down to face the little boy and smiled.
“I’m Jim Chesterfield. Is your mommy at home?”

“Naw. She’s at work. She’s a curtsey clerk.”

“A courtesy clerk? Wow, that’s a big job. All those
people needing help. And your mommy does that?”

The little towhead nodded proudly.

“Well, my man, I need to talk to whomever is—“

A fair-haired woman hurried over and put her hand on
the boy’s head. “Jack-, um, honey why don’t you go inside and play. Maryanne
got the Legos out.”

“Legos! My favorite! Bye, Mr. Jim!”

“Bye,” Jim said to his little friend’s retreating
back. He stood up to his full height and the woman’s eyes got bigger as she
closed the door down somewhat. “Hello, ma’am. I’m looking for Kiki Mackenzie.”

“Kiki? Who are you?” Her lips were tight, and her
fingers were white-knuckled on the door. She seemed inclined to slam it closed.
Jim supposed he couldn’t blame her. He was a big guy and this was a women’s
shelter in a bad neighborhood.

He offered his hand and smiled his most reassuring
smile. “I’m Jim Chesterfield. She’s expecting me.”

“Oh.” She looked at his hand, but kept her grip on the
door. “Okay. I’ll get her.” The door shut firmly in his face, and he heard the
lock snick in place.

Jim waited a minute, then turned away from the door to
watch the activity on the street. He watched a panhandler accepting a few coins
from a jogger, and a drug dealer slink out from an alley and make a deal with a
fellow in a hooded sweatshirt. Jim considered calling the police, but by the
time they got there, the guy would be long gone. He had to get Kiki out of
here.

He heard the door creak open and Kiki’s soft voice.
“Hi, Jim.”

He turned back with a smile and was once again struck
by the curve of her hips and the bright gleam in her gray eyes. Her smile made
his heart beat faster. “Hey, Kiki.”

She took a step out and closed the door behind her.
“I’d invite you in, but men aren’t really welcome here.”

It was a sad testament. “I understand.” He let his eyes
travel over her. She wore a green floral dress and her strappy sandals. Her
luxurious brown hair was pulled back with a green plastic headband. She looked
younger than her twenty-six years would attest. How he wished that he could
just blurt out his feelings for her, but he knew she wouldn’t welcome his
admission. She didn’t want to feel obligated toward him; she’d made that
abundantly clear.

“Let’s go. I want to show you something.” He offered
his hand and she took it. Her fingers felt small and graceful in his big fist.

* * *

They drove out of East San Jose and down toward
Almaden Lake. Jim offered to put the convertible top down, but Kiki declined.
It was, perhaps, a little foolish to be concerned with her hair getting
mussed—it wasn’t like a bad impression was going to prevent any further
dates, more dates were already off the menu—but she was just vain enough
to want to look her best. She didn’t know where they might be going.

The houses got more and more fancy and farther apart
as they traveled off the freeway. Eventually, they turned up a narrow street
sheltered by trees and hedges. It turned out to be a driveway—a long
driveway—leading to a big mansion. The shrubs in the front yard were lit
up with gentle spotlights, and the house itself had many windows, most of which
were bright with light. Damn, but this really separates the sheep from the
goats.

“This is your house, isn’t it?”

“Yep. I’ve lived here about ten years. It’s not as
ostentatious inside as outside. I don’t like all those Waterford crystal
frou-frous. If my guests can’t deal with comfortable rather than chic, they
don’t have to come visit.”

“It’s impressive. I feel kind of under-dressed and out
of place. Maybe you should just take me back to the shelter.” Her hands felt
clammy in her lap.

“No way. I want you to see my place.” He patted her
thigh. “Let me share it with you a little, Kiki.”

She thought about it for a moment. His open expression
suggested that he wasn’t trying to be smug or insensitive. He truly wanted to
share his good fortune with her. How could she turn that down? “Alright.”

They parked in the wide driveway, and Jim came around
and opened the car door for her. He took her hand and hurried them toward the
door. His enthusiasm was infectious and Kiki couldn’t hold back a giggle.

The door opened before they got to it and Ernie stood
holding it wide as they walked in. The foyer had a cathedral-style ceiling with
potted spotlights. The floor was some sort of opaque glass tiles. A wooden
staircase led from the back of the foyer up to the second floor. There were a
pair of small tables against the walls, and an umbrella and coat stand not far
from the door. An archway led off to the right and Kiki glimpsed overstuffed
sofas and chairs and the corner of a pool table. Closed double-doors led off to
the left.

Jim stood there and beamed. “You like?”

She nodded. “Very nice.”

“Would you like a glass of wine before dinner?”

She needed a glass of wine. Kiki’s shoulder muscles
hurt, she was so keyed up. “Damn right…ur…yes, please.”

He metronomed a finger at her, but his grin said he’d
let the slip go…this time. Jim took her hand again and led her through the
archway. It was a generously-sized room with a large fireplace on one wall. A
pool table took up a portion of the space, with bistro tables and bar stools
set at a distance from it. There was a giant TV on the wall by the billiard
table. Jim led her toward the cushy seating area and pushed her toward a seat
on a puffy suede couch.