Page 46 of Vicious
I suppose that means there will be more negotiation in the future.
That’s all right. I’m very, very good at negotiating.
“By the way,” I ask once May is sipping her coffee again. “Did Mrs. Hong just assume you were my girlfriend, or was that something you told her?”
May nearly chokes on her coffee and glares at me. “What? No, I didn’t tell her that. She just thought it because I was, you know, in your house at the ass-crack of dawn looking for food. I thought it’d be easier if I didn’t correct her.”
“Maybe I should be telling everybody I have a girlfriend now,” I respond, smiling. “We can host a dinner party for all my friends.”
She tenses, shaking her head quickly. “Oh, no. No, no, and no. I already told you, I don’t want to meet your friends. They’re probably all sadistic assholes like you.”
“No, this sounds like a great idea.” I motion down the long table. “There’s plenty of space, and I should be using all of this. We’ll make it a costume party.” Now that I’ve verbalized the idea, I really want to do it. I meet her gaze. “Let’s say it’s part of our contract terms. I’ll text my friends to see when they’re available.”
She sputters. “What? Contract terms for what? Me letting you trap me in two rooms instead of one?”
“For me helping you move your sewing machine out to the main area. And you can give me a list of more supplies you want.” I finish my coffee and stand up while she huffs, but she reluctantly nods. “All right. It’s high time I did my morning swim. Why don’t we do your lesson too, and you can lounge in the pool room while I do my laps. Unless you want to go back down already?”
May quickly shakes her head. “No! No. I want to look at your plants.”
I smirk. “That’s what I thought.”
My amusement only grows when she glowers at me.
CHAPTER 12
Chase
After the lovely weekend with May, this week of work has been hell. I honestly thought I’d be able to cut work short and get home early today, but of course a crisis emerges at the last second, and I end up having to wine and dine somebody in order to get a favor that will have the case going my clients’ way.
Part of me is ready to just collapse in bed when I get home, but of course May is probably starving too. I get changed and drag myself downstairs to heat up the food Mrs. Hong left.
There’s a note from Mrs. Hong, in Chinese, attached to one of the plates.
Your poor Xiao Mei is too skinny! I made extra so you can get some meat on her bones.
I snort at that. I’m sure May wouldn’t appreciate being called Little May, but it’s a nice sentiment. I grab the warmed-up plate and head downstairs.
May is at her sewing machine, feeding cloth through it quickly and efficiently even while her eyes keep going to the anime playing on the TV. She pauses when she sees me, though, reaching for the remote to pause her show. “About time. I was starting to think you really were going to starve me to death.”
“Yeah, you and me both.” I set her food down on the coffee table and collapse onto the couch with a long groan. “I am going to strangle the intern when I see him next, though. It’s his fault I couldn’t get away from work.”
“You should tell him you need to be home to feed and torture your sex slave,” May says, deadpan. “I’m sure that’d get him to sort out his bullshit.”
“Not unless it magically makes him remember to fucking double-check the files like I always tell him to.” I rub my eyes and wonder if I can risk falling asleep down here again. She hadn’t run off last weekend, but maybe she’s just biding her time.
“You could always offer me to him as a reward,” she mocks, her expression unreadable.
I shake my head. “He has a boyfriend, I think. A big, burly dude, so I don’t think you’d be much of a substitute.”
“Oh, good.” Relief flits across her expression, and I realize she actually does think I’d lend her out to other men. She goes for her food, humming with approval as she starts to eat. She opts to stand rather than try to slot onto the couch with me.
As if I would share May with anybody from work. Fuck, I can barely stand those people when we’re working on the same project. I don’t want them anywhere near my private life.
I’m already planning to invite the only people I’d want here.
“What were you making today?” I ask, glancing over at the sewing machine. There’s a swath of blue fabric draped over the table.
“I’m trying to make an adaptation of the costume from this anime,” she says between bites of food, gesturing to the TV screen. “I’ll show you.” She grabs the remote again and hits play, and it’s only a few frames before a character shows up in an outfit with blue fabric of a similar hue. She pauses it there, looking between the sewing machine and the TV with a shrug before going back to eat. “I could use some silver thread, if you happen to be shopping for things for me.”