I could understand. “And what would you study?”
“Who knows? I don’t really know right now,” Alix replied. “I mean, business, real estate, general studies, all of those sound interesting to me. Do they have a business school?”
“A good one,” I replied. “Also a respected course on urban planning and development, which should be real estate heavy. I’ll be honest though, I’m not an expert on PSU.”
“That’s okay,” Alix said as she finished the last of her curry. “Thank you, Kade.”
“For what?” I asked, curious. “You paid for the curry, remember?”
“For everything, I guess. For not slamming the door in my face when I came in today. For being a pretty awesome guy that I can trust. I know, I know, you’ve got a dark side, you’ve got secrets, yada yada yada. We all do, I’m pretty sure. Still . . . I trust you.”
“You shouldn’t,” I warned her, but I could see in her eyes that she did. And despite it all, despite my misgivings about it, that look warmed me inside.
“Kade, I hate to just eat and run, but I have an early day tomorrow. I should go. When are you heading back to Portland?”
“Tomorrow,” I said. “I’ve got paperwork piling up for me, and a secretary and paralegal that need a boss. It’s actually one of the strangest things about my work right now. Most of my clients and both of my employees are older than I am.”
“Yet they respect you,” Alix commented as she got up, gathering her takeout dishes and putting them in the plastic bag. I went to take it from her, and she shook her head. “No, it’s okay. Let me serve you tonight.”
I couldn’t help it, seeing that angel smiling down at me and saying those words. I shivered, wondering if Alix knew what she was saying to me, but decided that she didn’t. There was no way my little stepsister could know what she was saying to a man like me. Still, I enjoyed the fantasy and smiled back. “Okay. Despite the frustrations and missteps, this has been the best couple of days I’ve spent with you in a long time, Alix.”
“You too, Kade. You too.”
Chapter 9
Alix
I hadn’t told Kade the total truth. I didn’t really have a lot to do the next day. However, when I went to get the delivery from the front door, I found Rita’s note sitting on my bag. I tucked the paper deeper into my bag just in case, and through all of dinner I thought about what she’d told me. I was thrilled at the things she said, and I had to admit it made me warm inside to think of being able to make Kade happy.
On more mundane matters though, I wanted to take care of Sydney’s bribe. I thought there might be a way I could ensure I could get the files back, but I didn’t know for certain. Still, it was worth a try, and I had to make preparations.
The next morning, the first thing I did was go to an electronics store. I found what I wanted at the third store I tried, which actually didn’t involve buying anything at all. Instead, by downloading an app to my phone, I could then with a simple tap of a button record a dialogue and upload it to the Internet as a file that I could then access later. The only challenge was that I had to keep my phone out of sight. Thankfully, the guy at the electronics store showed me a Bluetooth headset that I could get that would allow me to tap a button on the headset and it would set up the microphone. Best of all, it was small enough that if I wore my hair over my ear, Sydney wouldn’t see it at all.
My new device set up and checked out, I gave Rita a call. “Hello?”
“Hello Rita, it’s Alix Nova. Uhm, I know it’s the middle of the morning and you’re probably at work, but I was kind of hoping that you might be able to find time to talk.”
“Sure,” Rita said, and I could hear real surprise as well as happiness in her voice. “I work from home, actually. I’ll text you the address. When can I expect you?”
“How about an hour? Unless you live out in Ventura County or something.”
Rita chuckled. “Nope, I live in Torrance, actually. You should be familiar with the neighborhood, right? It’s the fashion district and all for Los Angeles, I think.”
“I sure am. I’ll be there,” I said, hanging up after she’d given me the address. The drive to Torrance was easy, and I parked in front of the little fourplex that Rita lived in. I went up to the second floor, looking for apartment 2B.
Rita answered me only a few seconds after I knocked, looking vastly different than she had the night before. First of all, her hair was black. Secondly, she was wearing the ridiculous combination of a business suit top and basketball shorts. “Hey, good to see you,” she said, inviting me in. “Guess you’re wondering where the blonde hair went.”