Page 10 of Ms Perfectly Fine
“Changing the locks.” Elijah grinned, almost giddy. He couldn’t wait for Autumn to get home.She thinks she’s won, and now she’ll have to grovel.
“Why?” Francis asked.
Elijah closed the door behind his friend. “One of the locks was broken, so I figured I might as well change them.”
“I get the feeling that’s not the whole reason,” Francis said, pulling off his tan coat and hanging it on the coat hook in the hall.
“The woman I’m sharing the house with neglected to give me the alarm code, which is why I couldn’t make the meeting and had to make you come here,” Elijah admitted.
“And doessheknow you’re changing the locks?”
“No, but she will.” Elijah smirked, and Francis shook his head.
“This is her?” Francis asked, looking at a picture on the wall. Autumn in front of her piano, with an orchestra behind her.
Elijah nodded.
“She’s pretty, and she’s done a great job on the house,” Francis said. He loved interior decorating. Elijah figured it was the creative in him.
“Oh, she’s beautiful, but hostile as hell. Tim has been renting the house to her for the past few years. I thought he cleared my living here with Autumn, but he didn’t,” Elijah said, leading him to the kitchen. “Now I’m the arsehole who invaded her home.”
Francis chuckled. “You’re locking her out? I’m curious, but if I’m witnessing a crime, then I don’t want to know more. I can’t believe you missed the meeting with Nirosoft just so you could wind up your new housemate!”
“I wouldn’t have missed it if Autumn had given me the alarm code,” Elijah muttered, but he was distracted by the burritos Francis produced from the brown paper bag in his hand. “Please tell me you remembered the vegan cheese?” He was starving, having neglected breakfast in all the chaos.
“I wouldn’t bring such an offering just to torment you. Since you couldn’t make it to the breakfast meeting, I figured you hadn’t eaten yet,” Francis said, taking a bite of his own while Elijah made coffee.
“How did the meeting go?” Elijah asked hesitantly when Francis wouldn’t meet his eye.
“Nirosoft wants to see a demo by the end of the month before they consider purchasing the game for their online stores,” Francis informed him.
A sinking feeling settled in his gut as he opened the fridge. Unfortunately, Autumn only had dairy milk, though she seemed to have every flavour—strawberry, banana, the collection went on.
“Twoweeksto fix the rest of the bugs? I didn’t consider they might screw us on the timeline. We have a contract!” Taking out the regular milk for Francis, Elijah closed the fridge door. He hadn’t unpacked his own mugs, so he looked for Autumn’s. Opening one of the pale pink cabinets, he found a colour-coordinated medicine cabinet. He didn’t get a look at what was in the baskets, but it troubled him.
Is she sick? Maybe that’s why she’s so opposed to me living here?He closed the door before Francis saw what it contained. He already felt like he had stepped too far over the line.
One cabinet over, amongst an impressive collection, he noticed two mugs: one with a preppy panda and another with a lazy lizard. At least she has a sense of humour,he thought, wondering which one she used the most. Judging from the faded cartoons, they both got a lot of use.
“Could have used your charm at the meeting. I just do the drawing; I shouldn’t be negotiating anything. Clearly, the locks were more important than the meeting,” Francis said into his coffee.
“They’re only chancing their arm. We can get it done.”
“You’re the boss,” Francis said as they ate. “But you should have been at the meeting. We can’t risk any hiccups this late in the game.”
Elijah finished his burrito. “There wouldn’t have been a hiccup if it hadn’t been for Autumn,” he insisted with his mouth full. “If I left and Autumn got home before me, my stuff would be on the street, including our work, and I’d be locked out!”
“I like her already. A woman who can resist the Wells smile? Can’t wait to meet her. Hearing your charms have been resisted will make Aiden’s day. Todd isn’t sleeping much.”
Elijah grinned, suddenly delighted he was sharing the house with Autumn and not a two-year-old. Aiden liked anyone who gave as good as they got. Elijah still wondered how he and Francis had ended up together; they were polar opposites. Francis was a mixed-race atheist with a splash of anarchy to his personality. Aiden had been a good Catholic boy in the closet who’d never stepped a foot out of line—that was, until he fell in love. When he’d been a rookie officer, he had arrested Francis for graffiti.Who knew an arrest could lead to love?Ten years later, Aiden was a detective and Francis had traded his graffiti for game graphics.
“Delighted I can provide some entertainment. Now, less talk abouther,please,” he pleaded.
“Okay, but I have to ask—what are you going to do when she comes home and finds she’s locked out? I don’t think she’ll be any more lenient to your cause.”
“I’ll share the codeandkey when she gets back from rehearsals,” Elijah said airily. Francis didn’t look convinced. “Show me the new sketches. Did you add the longer tentacles to the sea monster?” Elijah looked at the folder tucked under his friend’s arm.
“I struggled to try and make it original. I worry it might look too much like a kraken,” Francis said, opening his folder.
