her paperwork. “I’m here to speak to a Leonardo, Orlando, or Nine?”
“I’m Orlando,” he said, walking toward her, and reached out his hand.
“Oh?” She smiled big, and Danica didn’t miss the way her eyes swept over Orlando from top to bottom as they widened in obvious appreciation. “I’m Lisa Portillo.” She reached out and shook his hand, swinging her hair back over her shoulder a bit dramatically. “I’m with OSHA here to do the evaluation for the construction work you’ll be doing.”
“Yeah, we’ve been expecting you,” Orlando said. “They told me they’d get someone out here soon, but that was weeks ago.”
“We’ve been terribly busy. But I’m here now.” The smile was a bit overdone, but the batting lashes were just ridiculous. “I’ll now be at your beck and call, Orlando. You just show me the way.”
“What is it you need from me?” Orlando asked.
“Well, first, is there somewhere we can sit so we can go over the paperwork?”
Ms. Portillo explained what she needed to see: the construction plans, a list of employees, and where they’d be working while the construction was going on.
“Yeah, up there.” He motioned to the apartment door then turned to Danica. “That paperwork we went over the other day. Can you get it together for me and bring it up to us? Oh, and, unless it’s an emergency, I don’t want any interruptions, please.”
“Ooh la la, I feel so important.” Ms. Idiot laughed a little too obnoxiously.
“We get pretty busy around here,” Orlando explained as Danica got the paperwork together and they started up the stairs. “But this is something we’re anxious to get going, so I wanna be sure we get this taken care of so we can get started already.”
“Oh, I’ll take care of you, Orlando,” she practically purred. “Don’t you worry about it.”
Feeling the heat rise up the back of her neck, Danica rolled her eyes as she glanced up at the still smiling too big, flirty wench. They walked into the apartment as Danica hurried to gather up the construction and employee paperwork. Putting it all together in a folder, she grabbed it and headed up the stairs with conviction.
She didn’t even bother knocking, just walked in, immediately irritated by Lisa’s laughter. “Really?” Lisa was asking. “Well, this was convenient, right? You can’t ask for a better commute than walking down the stairs to work. Especially in Los Angeles. How far are you from work now?”
Danica didn’t know much about OSHA and their occupational regulations, but this nosey inquiry didn’t sound like it had anything to do with it. She walked into the kitchen where Lisa was sitting at the table as Orlando handed her a small bottle of Coke. “Can I get a glass or cup, honey? I don’t usually suck from the bottle.” She tossed her hair aside again. “Not very ladylike.”
Orlando smiled at Danica as he reached for a glass to hand Lisa. He explained where he lived now before handing the glass to Lisa, and she set it next to her fancy purse and began pouring the soda in it. “Oh my gosh, what a small world. We’re neighbors, Orlando. I live in that area, too. I’m surprised we’ve never met.”
“I haven’t been there long.” Orlando went on to explain how it’d only been a few months since he moved into that house as he took the papers from Danica and handed them to Lisa.
“This is all of it, right?” Orlando asked Danica. She had just begun nodding when Lisa looked up from the folder.
“I don’t see the employee list here.”
“It’s there,” Danica said, pointing at the folder.
Lisa flipped through the paperwork. “Don’t see it.” Her eyes widened as she flipped through another sheet of paper. “Oh my God, Orlando Cruz. How crazy! That’s one of my sister’s married names, and the other one’s married name is De La Cruz.” She turned up and smirked playfully at Orlando. “Wouldn’t it be crazy if I ended up with a similar last name?”
“I know the list is there,” Danica said before Orlando could even respond to her outrageous comment. Ignoring how Orlando peered at her, Danica leaned into the folder to show Lisa.
“I don’t think so,” Lisa said, noticeably annoyed by Danica’s interruption.
Danica flipped through the paperwork. “Here.” She pulled the sheet out a little too eagerly, knocking over Lisa’s glass of soda.
It spilled onto her fancy purse as Lisa jerked back to avoid it spilling onto her skirt.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry,” Danica said, reaching for the