Page 30 of Rival for Rent
“I highly doubt the guy getting two million dollars to build this place is also trying to sabotage it,” he said dryly. “And if someone else I work with is behind this, the last thing I should do is let them know they’re rattling me.”
“So you’re willing to admit that, at least,” I said. I had to force myself not to reach for him, to stand there with my arms crossed like I wasn’t two seconds away from grabbing him and shaking him. “If you can admit you’re scared—”
“I didn’t say I was scared.”
“—Then why wouldn’t you call another service?”
“Because what if that makes it worse?” he shouted.
He winced the second the words left his mouth, eyes darting around to check who’d heard. His cheeks flushed pink. A few workers looked our way, but nobody stopped. Kai glared at me like I’d made him yell, then spun on his heel and stalked off.
I rolled my eyes and followed. He didn’t acknowledge me, just stomped over to the rickety stairs by the elevator and marched up them. The stairs wobbled underfoot, but he didn’t seem to notice. The second floor was quieter, only a few workers scattered around. A couple of them were dealing with piping along the wall, and two other people stood in the far corner.
Kai didn’t speak, didn’t slow down. But when he caught sight of the woman standing near the northeast corner, his expression softened. He smiled, the first one I’d seen from him all day. He headed over to her, and I followed like some sad stray dog. I hated how accurate that comparison felt. All I needed was a missing leg and that Sarah McLachlan song playing behind me.
If I could get him to agree to call another service, I could leave. Be done with him. I’d have done my duty, gone above and beyond. My conscience could shut the hell up.
Or maybe not. Because when I thought about walking away, I felt a weird ache in my chest. But I shoved it down. It wasn’t important.
“Hey, Ed. Hey, Amber,” Kai said, smiling as he reached the pair in the corner. “I didn’t know you were here today too.”
He pulled the woman into a quick hug, and I felt that same weird pang again. Probably indigestion. Maybe I should’ve finished my sandwich.
“I popped in on my way home from some shopping,” she said as he let her go. “We’ve been running low on gender-affirming swimsuits, and now that summer’s coming, it seemed like a good time to restock. Ed here was walking me through the set-up for the new space.”
“Smart,” Kai said, nodding.
The woman looked from Kai to me, and when Kai didn’t say anything, she stuck her hand out to me. “Hi. I’m Amber Harrison, director of Wardrobes for the Win here in DC.”
“Mason Clark,” I said, shaking her hand. “I’m a friend of Kai’s. What’s Wardrobes for the Win?”
She glanced at Kai, a flicker of confusion crossing her face—probably wondering how close a friend I could really be if I didn’t know that already. Fair enough. But I planned to ask as many questions as I needed to get the full picture here. Someone had to figure things out, especially if Kai and the cops weren’t going to.
“We’re a philanthropic organization supporting trans kids and their families,” she said. “We provide clothing and haircuts forkids who want to socially transition, so their families don’t have to foot the bill of a whole new wardrobe on their own.”
“Wow,” I said. “That sounds great.”
“It is,” she replied, her smile widening. “And it was all Kai’s idea. He helped open the first Wardrobe here in DC five years ago, and he’s the reason we’ve been able to spread to other cities all over the United States.”
I blinked and turned to look at Kai. We locked eyes for a second before he looked away.
“It wasn’t all my idea,” he said. “I just helped with the infrastructure.”
Amber laughed. “He’s being modest. Next thing, he’ll tell you he had nothing to do with the plans for the Butterfly Center, when the whole thing is actually his brainchild.”
Kai rolled his eyes. “I try to help out where I can.”
“That’s really cool,” I said, hoping to catch his gaze again. He avoided me, so I turned my smile back to Amber.
“It is. So cool, in fact,” she went on, “that Wardrobes for the Win is going to move our operation over here to the center. We’ll be able to expand our reach this way too—and stock more of the clothes that kids need. You wouldn’t believe how fast some of the teenagers grow.”
“I can finish showing you the designs for the closets,” the man—Ed—said in a gruff voice.
“That sounds wonderful,” Amber said. She waved at both of us and followed Ed to a table in the corner, where he began pointing at something on a paper spread across the surface.
Kai watched them go, then turned and walked over to the windows on the back wall—what would eventually be windows, anyway. For now, they were floor-to-ceiling holes in the building’s brick exterior. He leaned against one of the posts and stared down at the patio under construction.
“I meant what I said,” I told him. “The center really does sound like a great idea.”
