close to biting a contractor’s head off on a few occasions, but she’d never treat a client disrespectfully. How did the guy respond?”
“Let’s just say he didn’t look pleased and they took off a few minutes later. I had to fight the urge to grab the woman by the ankles and restrain her from leaving. I need projects so I don’t end up downsized out of there. But two hours later, the wife called and announced that Mavis could spend what she wanted on the drapes.”
That was the thing with Mavis, Kit thought. She had this way of reading clients and knowing just how far she could take it with her behavior. But she also had family money and could afford to let a client go. For a moment, Kit reflected on her own parents, now living in their tiny condo in Oxford, Maryland.
“But enough about Mavis the Maleficent,” Chuck announced. “Tell me about Florida. How did the trip work out?”
It felt as if she’d been poked in the chest. No matter how hard she tried to avoid it, everything seemed to circle back to Islamorada and to X.
“Lovely,” she said. Again, she felt tempted to spill but caught herself. “A great little hotel. Gorgeous scenery.”
“Did you ever wish Jeremy was there with you?”
Kit sighed.
“No, and I feel guilty admitting that. The poor guy. I kind of wasted a couple of years of his life.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Kit. First of all his apartment looked a billion times better after you helped him with it. I mean, his toilet seat had its own hoodie when you first started dating him.”
“Don’t blame him for that. His mother stuck it on there, and he didn’t want to hurt her feelings by taking it off.”
“He should have incinerated that thing. Beyond that, he just wasn’t right for you.”
“I tell myself I want some totally gutsy guy but isn’t that asking for trouble in the long run?” Kit smiled ruefully, thinking of X. “I mean, can you ever really trust that kind of man? Maybe I should call up the Poppin’ Fresh Doughboy and see if he’s available.”
“Trust me, Kit Kat, I’m no man genius but I know there’s a guy out there who’s perfect for you, who’s in between Poppin’ Fresh and a real bad boy, someone who’s thrilling to be around but isn’t going to knock up the housekeeper or end up with a ton of D.W.I’s.”
The kind of man she’d thought X might be. But so much for that.
“I intend to hold you to that prediction,” she told Chuck. “What about your new honey? Is he a keeper?”
“Not really. He’s like twenty-six and fun to hang with, but he seems kind of clueless. He actually told me that the way to get frozen French fries extra crispy is to set the oven to ‘clean.’ That’s why I’m skeptical he’s home doing his taxes tonight!”
They ordered dinner and chatted for the next two hours about clients, show houses they’d seen recently, and what former colleagues were up to. Kit also gave him a look at the project he’d asked to see.
It was after nine by the time they left. A brisk wind had come up and they both buttoned their coats against it before hugging goodbye. Chuck, who lived in the Village, headed off on foot and Kit grabbed a cab going east. As Manhattan rushed by in a blur, she found her thoughts dragged back to Sasha Glen and the way they’d bumped into each other, seemingly out of the blue. She thought, too, of a comment Detective Molinari had made about coincidences, that there were some she just didn’t like. Had running into Sasha been simply a coincidence? Or could Wainwright and Ungaro have arranged for their employee to keep tabs on her?
The idea pissed her off. She’d told them everything she knew so what would be gained by spying on her? Did they think she knew more than she’d let on?
It had to be coincidental, she reassured herself. Occurrences like that happened, even in a city as big as New York. And if they were going to tail her, they’d hardly put a woman in Louboutins on the case.
Moments later, Kit let herself into her building and rode the elevator to the fifth floor. Talked out from her night with Chuck, she looked forward to crawling into bed with a book and just drifting off to sleep mid-page.
But as she stepped closer to her apartment, she jerked to a halt.