The Trouble With Snowmen (7 page)

Chapter 14

“Don’t do that,” Brenda whispered from across the table.

“What?” Larry said, confused for a second but then remembered smelling his bite of Eggs Benedict. “You don’t think it’s adorable?” He winked at her.

“This is a four-star restaurant. Please don’t smell your food. You’re going to insult the chef.” She was dressed as her lawyer-self this morning. Hair up, glasses on her nose, dark-gray power suit.

He dabbed the sides of his mouth with his napkin and in his best uptight butler voice, he said, “I apologize, madam, for my obscenely rude breakfast manners.”

She stared at him, unblinking, not kidding.

Larry frowned. Did she really have no sense of humor? She used to, didn’t she? When they were in college?

But then she sat back and smiled. “Oh, I’m just kidding. Look at you. You can get by with anything.”

“Well, I don’t know about anything. You’d be surprised.”

“Speaking of surprises, I have one for you.”

“A surprise?” He had begun to feel like a kept man. She drove him around, paid for everything. “What is it?”

“A surprise. I can’t tell you. Not yet, after breakfast.”

“Well, you do have my curiosity stirred,” he mumbled.

Her phone rang but she managed to say, “Excellent,” before answering it. She spoke with authority on the phone, and Larry zoned out of the conversation as he thought about their evening.

The climax had been pleasurable enough, but up until that moment, it had all been routine. Brenda was the only woman he’d ever been with that just wanted to get down to business, which he usually appreciated, but last night it had all seemed a bit colder. And she’d seemed a bit frail and fragile. He couldn’t really blame that one on Brenda because he knew he was comparing her to Haley. Then, seconds later, he had finished comparing and only thought about Haley. Every time his mind eased into the memory of the movement of her body against his, an explosion of feelings roused every inch of his body and mind. Making love to Haley had been— Wait! What? Had he ever used that word before to describe sex? Love. Where the hell had that come from?

“Larry!”

“What?”

Brenda narrowed her eyes at him. “Wow, where were you?”

“Sorry. You know, book stuff. I have that signing on the fifteenth.”

“Oh. Don’t worry, I’ll be there. Are you finished eating? I’ve got to meet with a client.”

“It’s Saturday.”

“I know,” she said as if she talked to a two-year-old. “I know, I promised to spend the day with you but this is an emergency. But I do have time to take you to your surprise first.”

“You sure? It can wait. I’m a big boy.” He actually needed some time to himself. He had to stop worrying about if he sat up straight or used the right freaking fork. Their relationship had taken a strange turn, even before the sex last night. Usually it was just a one-night thing. It almost felt as if they were dating, and that made him a bit uncomfortable.

She smiled. “No, it can’t. You are going to love it.”

But everything was cool because he planned on going home today. At least they were on the same page when it came to work. She would understand. And after he went home, they would text, he would escort her to a party or two, maybe even answer a couple of ‘let’s have sex’ calls, and soon they would be back to the same relationship they’d had for years.

Thirty minutes later, they arrived at the multiplex where Larry had attended the séance a week earlier. The place where he’d met Haley. He stared at it for a minute, and then he questioned Brenda as to why they were there.

“Come on,” she said, getting out without answering his question and left him sitting in the car.

Brenda wandered up the path to the house and stood on the front porch, her phone up to her ear.

Larry wondered what in the world kind of surprise she would have for him in there. He loosened his tie and pulled it over his head. As he exited the car, he unbuttoned the top couple of buttons of his shirt.

Larry met Brenda on the porch as the front door opened. He immediately recognized the lady from the séance, the one who’d talked about the dead guy owing her rent money. She held out her hand. “Hi, nice to meet y’all. I’m Regina Rogers. Come in.”

They shook hands and followed her inside.

“I haven’t told him about the big surprise yet,” Brenda said.

Larry scratched his head. He didn’t remember telling Brenda where this house was even located, but it most likely had been during one of those awkward moments when she asked what he was thinking. During those times, he found himself rambling, trying to tell her anything except the truth. The truth being he’d been thinking about Haley.

“This is my present to you. I bought it for you.”

“Excuse me?”

“This house is all he’s been talking about,” Brenda told Regina. “I’ve heard nothing but ‘the house is so awesome, like right out of the twenties, and it has a haunted room. What ambiance, what a great setting for a murder.’ I told you he’s a horror writer, right? Larry White.”

“You did,” Regina said, turning her attention to Larry. “I’ve read everything of yours. I’m a huge fan. Miss Fisher told me you were here the other night, but I’m sorry, I really don’t remember seeing you. It was dark, and there were a lot of people.”

“No, no, that’s okay. I was just doing a little research.” He turned to Brenda. “Now, what did you say? You bought this house?”

Brenda nodded. “I did. I bought it for you. I searched online the other day, thinking that if you had your own place out this way, we would be able to spend more time together. I know it’s difficult for you to work with distractions. And I saw this place for sale and remembered how much you loved it and thought what a great place for you to write.”

Larry clenched his jaw. What was Brenda trying to do? Keep him under her thumb? He swallowed his anger and looked around the wide hallway with wooden floors, high ceiling, and old-fashioned candelabras. It did have a wonderful atmosphere, but what the hell did she expect for such a big gift? “Thanks, but it’s too much.”

“Nonsense. It will practically pay for itself. There are already two renters. Besides, it’s in my name, so if you ever don’t want it anymore, I’ll sell it and get my money back.”

“Huh,” Larry mumbled.

“I did tell her about the haunted apartment,” Regina said.

Brenda wrapped her arm in Larry’s. “I figured that would be the apartment you would want to write in, and we could rent out Regina’s apartment.”

“You did agree that I could stay for a few days, until I moved out of the country, right?” Regina asked.

“If it’s okay with Larry.”

“Of course,” Larry said, trying to process everything. “But I already have a house. My house. Where I live. I don’t need a house.”

“I know. I’m not an idiot. I don’t expect you to
move
, this gives you an extra place to write. Maybe you’ll be able to finish your novel. You’ve been so reluctant to go home, I figured you were at odds with yourself and not wanting to leave me. I wanted you to have everything—a place to write and me.”

Did she really think that? Did she really think he’d been reluctant to leave her? He might have made it seem that way. “Right.”

“Do you hate it? You hate it, don’t you?”

He remembered the night of the séance the way the apartment felt so right, and he had met Haley. For some reason being here again gave him his first bit of happiness since Haley had left. “No, I don’t hate it.”

Regina said, “The house has been in my family since 1925. I’m a third generation Houstonian. I renovated it into these apartments about ten years ago. I replaced all the appliances about two years ago. There is a laundry room, but I had to convert an attached building out back. So it’s a little inconvenient. Here, let me take you on a quick tour.”

Brenda wrapped her arm in Larry’s as they followed Regina down the hallway.

“As y’all know,” Regina continued, “there are four separate apartments. We’re a little family here, and I really hate selling . . . hate leaving. You see, my boyfriend asked me to move away with him, and I said yes. Gosh, I hope it stays a family around here.” She sighed. “Anyways, I’m going to show you Maximilian’s apartment first. Miss Fisher said y’all know each other? That’s neat.”

Larry nodded, not believing how much he’d rambled on to Brenda without even thinking about it.

They bypassed the apartment where he’d attended the séance and went to Apartment Three. She poked her head in. “Hey Maximilian! You around?” She closed the door. “I guess he’s not here. We’ll go to another apartment, and I’ll text him,” she said, getting out her phone, “and see what’s up.”

Regina typed on her phone and kept talking as they headed back down the hall toward the entrance. “We’ll take a look at Apartment Four, the so-called haunted apartment. I know you’ve already seen this one, but there have been a few changes.” She opened the door and entered first.

As Larry stepped inside the apartment, he was taken aback. It looked completely different than it had the other night. The curtains were open behind a large, shiny, dark-brown desk. In the living room to the right, matching black leather furniture sat on an oriental rug.

“Surprise!” Brenda gleamed. “This is all for you. It’s like you, manly and professional.”

Heat rose from Larry’s neck and set his face on fire. “When did you do all this?”

“Yesterday,” Brenda said. “I’ve been dying to tell you. The bedroom stuff will arrive later today.” She bounced her eyebrows suggestively. All Larry could think was love shack for her mistress.

“There’s something wrong.” Brenda’s face fell. “Do you want different furniture?”

He wanted to shout, “There’s a helluva lot wrong with the situation.” But he couldn’t tell her right then, with Regina standing right there and with Brenda so excited with the gift she had given him. He didn’t want to decline the gift and humiliate her all at the same time. Besides, maybe it would be a great place to write for a little while. Brenda was not a clingy woman. As soon as he told her it wasn’t working out, she’d probably say something like “It wasn’t working out for me first.”

“It’s fine,” Larry said. “I mean, awesome. Thank you.”

“And I didn’t forget my keys this morning. I went back to get this.”

She opened a satchel, which he just now realized she’d carried, and took out his laptop, and set it on the desk. Then she revealed his wallet.

“I had your little assistant—Neal, is it?—drop it off at my office yesterday.”

He’d never heard anyone call Neal
little
before. “What about my car?”

“I figured I’d have it towed if you really need it right away.”

“You thought of everything,” he said.

“Of course.” Brenda gave Larry his wallet and smiled, locking her arm in his. “Okay, Regina, if we could go ahead and peek at the other two apartments quickly, I have an appointment.”

“Sure, sure,” she said and led them back out into the hallway. “This one here belongs to Haley. I’m going to go in for a second and see if she’s up to company. I just let her know a few minutes ago about the sale. I’ve been so busy.”

Larry’s heart pounded. Haley again? That couldn’t be who she’d said. It just couldn’t be. Not everyone’s name was Haley. Maybe she had said Bailey or Daily . . . something else.

But then Brenda mumbled, “Haley, huh,” right as the door opened.

Chapter 15

Larry and Brenda stepped inside an airy, fresh apartment. A white and blue striped linen couch with lots of different shades of blue pillows sat in front of antique-looking white cabinet. Huge, framed black-and-white photographs covered the walls.

A couple of seconds later, a sunny vision walked toward them from down the hall. A wide, greeting smile puffed out pink cheeks. She wore a pale-yellow dress tied at the waist with a ribbon and brown cowboy boots, which stopped mid-calf on long legs that Larry would know anywhere.

“Haley?”

She stopped. A frown replaced the smile as recognition seemed to flutter to her eyes. “Larry?” she whispered.

“Haley?”

“Brenda?”

“Larry? How do you know Haley?”

“How do you know my boss?”

Brenda asked, “You two know each other?”

Larry glanced at Brenda. “The shoes,” he said without thinking.

Brenda’s mouth opened wide in disbelief as she turned to Haley. “What? You’re a hooker?”

“What?” Haley squeaked.

“No wonder you’re never available in the evenings!”

“What? No! Why would you call me that?”

“Did you have sex with my boyfriend?”

“Your boyfriend?” Haley asked. “Who’s your boyfriend?”

“Larry!” Brenda pointed to Larry.

“Larry is your boyfriend. I, uhh, Larry? What are you doing here?”

Larry’s head swooned. Haley stood in front of him looking like a beautiful spring day and, wait, had Brenda called him her boyfriend?

Brenda took a step toward Haley. “I bought the house for him. Not that it is any of your business, Miss Monroe, if that is even your real name. Now, you didn’t answer my question. Did you have sex with Larry in my apartment?”

“That was your apartment?”

“Oh my goodness, Haley,” Regina said. “You snowmanned Larry White?”

“What is that?’ Brenda asked. “Some kind of sex reference? How vulgar. You’re disgusting!”

“What are you talking about?” Haley asked. “Larry, how do you know my boss? I thought you said we were at a friend’s house.”

Larry opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He closed it again and cleared his throat. All eyes were on him, waiting for an explanation. “Well, I . . . she is a friend. Look, I’m sorry. I had no idea you had a day job too. I didn’t know you were Brenda’s assistant. I told her about your
other
job.”

“Bartender? You told her I was a bartender?”

“Bartender? No, you know, about you being a, you know.” He whispered, “A pro.”

Haley’s eyes widened. “You told her I was a what? A pro? Do you mean prostitute?”

“That’s it,” Brenda said. “You’re fired. I’ve been meaning to fire you because of your incompetence for a while, but I can’t have sluts working on my team.”

“I’m not a slut. Well, I’m not a hooker!”

“She’s not,” Regina confirmed. “She’s not a hooker. I’ve never known her to do any hooking.”

“You’re not?” Larry asked, and a smile burst free.

“Larry! Let’s go.” Brenda grabbed hold of his arm. “By the way, I threw away those skanky shoes.”

Larry’s heart pounded and his smiled locked on his face. She’s not a prostitute, she’s not a prostitute, repeated in his head. He didn’t realized Brenda had ahold of him until he found himself out in the hallway.

Slam!
Brenda shut the door.

“She’s not a prostitute,” Larry said.

“You don’t believe that, do you?” Brenda asked as they headed toward the entrance. “She was trying to save her job. That’s not going to happen.” She adjusted her skirt and took a breath. “Are you ready?”

“I thought you were in a hurry. I can stay here. I have everything I need. Thanks to you.” He smiled.

She glanced over to Haley’s door. “Okay. Try and get some writing done before the rest of the furniture is delivered. And stay away from her. I’m going to see about her lease.” She opened the front door but turned back and kissed him, lingering longer than she usually did for a casual goodbye.

After Brenda had left and shut the door behind her, Larry smiled and said, “She’s not a prostitute.” But then realized he had called her one and gotten her fired from her job. And Brenda thought they were dating. He guessed technically they were. “Great job, Lar, you’re screwed.