Chapter 16 #3
“You are so hot! This will not do, my poor baby. You must have been so worried and stressed this whole time, but don’t you worry now.
I’ve found you and learned of your condition.
” Janice makes a tutting sound. “In fact, you should have called me from the beginning and not bothered poor Mr. Abbot. I’m sure he has a very heavy workload and not much more time to spare. ”
“She hasn’t bothered me.”
“Yes, well—” Janice squeezes my shoulders. “There is also no need for you to stay. You can leave knowing that I’ll be taking very good care of your employee. It is after all my responsibility and one that I take very seriously.”
“You should release her,” says Luke. “I find if a person is not doing well, they require space.”
“Oh no, but?—”
“Actually, I insist.”
He sounds cold. Not cold like I thought he was when he kicked me out of his office. No, when I compare the tone, it seems like that time still held some warmth, while right now, he’s got absolutely no safe harbor left in his voice. Does Janice hear it too? She must. She lets go of me so quickly.
The sugary smile on her face has dimmed. “Mr. Abbot, you should see the conversations we have when Ms. Singh is well. I know this lack of enthusiasm isn’t her speaking. It is the sickness. Otherwise, she’s usually very excited in my presence.”
I risk rolling my eyes, knowing Janice can’t see me. Unfortunately, Luke can.
“You see, she’s not got a mother,” says Janice.
A combination of fever, shock, and honestly, a healthy amount of loathing shoots through me. How fucking dare she?
“Ms. Singh’s mother died in labor, I’m afraid,” coos Janice.
“Isn’t that the most awful burden of guilt a child can have?
That’s why Ms. Singh has to work extra hard.
She has to make sure her mother’s sacrifice was worth it.
It’s why I give her attention, teaching her about working hard and being a good person because I know that’s all Rita wants.
” Janice touches Luke’s arm. “One could even say, I’m helping you too by encouraging any extra productivity you’ve gotten from Ms. Singh. ”
I try closing my fist before realizing it is already closed. Then I try to say, don’t you dare talk about my mom , but the words can’t seem to come out.
“You think Rita is productive?” says Luke. “Really, she’s been rather ineffective at her job I would say.”
It’s official. I’m living a nightmare, and it seems as if stress is feeding my fever because everywhere, including the back of my eyelids, is now gathering heat.
“Has she?” Janice’s tone rises several octaves. “Tell me more.”
“She is…tardy.”
Based on the gleeful noise she makes, it’s as if he’s told Janice he is Daddy Warbucks, here to solve grievances for all orphans in the world.
“Right, right. You know I was praising her because I didn’t want to influence your opinion.
But I’m also not surprised you have complaints,” says Janice.
“In fact, I’ve said it to her myself. Bad behavior deserves to be punished.
It’s good for the character to repent, and that’s part of my role here in this building. Making sure they repent.”
I don’t know what Luke’s master strategy is, but he has no time to buddy- buddy complain about me to Janice without his reasons. With him, there is always a ploy. Whatever the case, I’ve had enough.
I lift my legs off the bed and swing them around until they find the ground.
Next step is to rise up. If I get up in one big movement, my hand can grip the wall for support.
I’m so focused on my task, the conversation between Luke and Janice starts sounding like a radio channel suffering from static.
“Are you telling me you task chores?—”
“Yes, and?—”
“And every week your tenants?—”
“Yes,” said Janice, “and?—”
“—administered to Rita?”
“ Yes ,” says Janice with enthusiasm, “but I’ve only used my methods because she was?—”
“—so the cleaning was?—”
“Yes—exactly that!”
“I see.”
No, I don’t want Janice to bring up toxic cleaning solution, or scrubbing until your knuckles almost crack, so I stand up?—
And lurch back and forth, my balance way off. An arm catches me at the waist before I fall. Apparently, I exist for Luke again. He helps me into a sitting position on the bed. “Are you okay? Rita?”
“She’s fine,” Janice answers for me. “Looking for attention any moment?—”
“Quiet, Janice.”
“Excuse me?”
“A tenant has the right to reside in their dwelling peacefully without being disturbed by the landlord. Furthermore, the property must be habitable and remain so for the duration of the tenancy. Clearly, this place is not.”
“The owners,” whines Janice. “That is the owner’s responsibility.”
“Mostly, but as a building manager, who is… What did you say…? Like a mother to her tenants? Rest assured, you have culpability.”
“Culpa—what?”
“Responsibility,” says Luke, explaining smoothly. “The kind that a judge will come after you for. Out of curiosity, did you really think you could enforce maintenance chores on your tenants and get away with it? ”
Janice sputters.
“You’ll need your outrage because my lawyers are coming for you.”
There are some scuffling noises that start and stop just as suddenly.
“I wouldn’t dare lay a hand on Ms. Singh if I were you. You don’t touch her. If you want to hit someone, try me. I won’t fight back, and we can add assault to the case.”
Janice shrieks. “You are done for, Ms. Singh! If you think you can use this man to intimidate me, maybe you’ve forgotten there are no male guests allowed in your lease agreement! I won’t have any hussies in my building. I don’t know how she tricked someone like you, Mr. Abbot?—”
“Careful. You don’t talk to her like that.” That’s Luke. He sounds a bit murderous there. “I won’t let you talk to her like that.”
I force my eyes to focus on them.
Janice points to me. “Are you finally up? Great. Get your stuff together and leave right away. I’m evicting you, and you better not be here when I get back!”
A door is slammed shut.
Janice has left. Abruptly. Some might think it’s getting the last word in, but I know she is running to consult the search engine on her computer to look up culpability, building manager rights, and also Luke Abbot himself to see how serious of a threat he is.
I almost smile before I realize that I have, in fact, been immediately evicted.
That fact alone has me collapsing onto my back.
And at some point, I must have drifted off—if only for a few minutes, because almost just as suddenly I woke up to a rush of relief against my forehead.
There is a cold cloth pressed against it.
“I’ve got you.”
Luke is crouched on his knees, a position I haven’t ever seen him in. Our faces are close.
“I’m homeless,” I whisper.
“You are not.”
“How?”
“You’re staying with me.”
“But how long?—”
“You can ask questions or you can focus on getting better. I’d rather you do the latter. ”
“She kicked me out because of you,” I blurt out. “And the other tenants—my friends—I can’t leave them?—”
I catch the flash of guilt across his face before he buries it. “My lawyers will sort it out. They’ll be protected. But in the meantime, if you don’t leave now, she’ll come back and make it worse.”
I gulp down some of my water, trying to keep my hands steady. It’s a hard task since I’m weak and doing mental math at the same time. If I leave this place, there is no way I can afford the rental market in Barcelona. This flat was heavily subsidized, and now it’s gone. Gone .
Luke sees the worry on my face, but misreads it as he says, “What I said earlier about you being unproductive… You should know, it was a lie.”
“I’m aware.”
“Good.”
Neither of us bring up the wealth of information Luke got out of Janice regarding her treatment of me. The chores, water restrictions…my mother dying in labor…
“So,” Luke says after it’s been quiet for a while. “Your building manager is a piece of work. A real manipulator.”
“It takes one to know one?”
He stiffens as if I’ve struck him.
Shit , I didn’t mean that! He’s not like Janice at all.
Before I can take it back, Luke gets up to his feet again. “If it makes it easier to leave this place and come to mine, keep remembering I’m the bastard who kicked you out after you brought me soup. Think of taking up one of my bedrooms as squatter revenge.”
“Listen, I didn’t mean to insinuate Janice and you are?—”
“Let’s not go there,” says Luke, interrupting me.
“Still—”
“Normally, I find your insatiable ability to talk enjoyable to spar with, but I think getting you in front of a doctor is of a slightly higher priority right now, since you’ve basically been in and out of consciousness. Come on, let’s go.”
“How? I can’t leave all my stuff behind.”
“What stuff?” Luke does a round around the room, swiftly due to his long legs and because I live in a human-sized cupboard.
“There’s a closet over there. You can’t see it because it’s being blocked by the door right now.” I wag my finger at the entranceway .
Luke discovers the slim storage space. “I see you’ve escaped the trappings of materialism that most of us suffer from.”
“Shut up. I’ve got more clothes back in Mumbai.”
“Tell me, is there anything else you need other than what’s in this closet?”
“Under my bed is a suitcase. There are already clothes in there, so I would need those too.” I hold my head and press circles into my temples. “Not that I am coming with you.”
He walks back over to me, crouches down and digs out the suitcase, ignoring me. I swat at his arm, trying to stop him. He gently places my hands back into my lap. “Do you have anywhere else to go?”
“No.”
“Do you want to live under Janice?”
“No, but?—”
“Is she the type to let you keep staying here, after I’ve threatened her with legal action?”
No. Never. Not unless she can get away with punishing me without any risk.
“My friends who live here,” I argue. “I can’t leave without knowing if Janice is going to do anything to them.”
Luke stares at me. “You can barely stand up. I doubt you are any help in this condition. But I’ll tell my assistant to come by after we leave. Give me their names and room numbers.”
I rattle them off.
“Okay, then it’s settled,” says Luke. “You can argue later when you feel better. For now, tell me what to do. We are leaving before she comes back.”
And that’s how I eventually order Luke around without lifting a finger, sitting and swaddling in my blanket.
If I had a competence kink, it would’ve flared up watching him pack away all my belongings into the suitcase.
He is so orderly about the whole business, folding everything possible into perfect squares before putting them away.
Heavier fabrics got rolled into tubes, and harder items get padded with clothes for safety.
Thankfully, all undergarments are already put away in their separate bag so Luke can pack that away without being scandalized.
The whole process takes twenty minutes because I really did not bring a lot of stuff to Barcelona.
After that, Luke moves all of my stuff downstairs. Then he comes back and without giving me enough time to react, pulls me into his arms. I’m a trout fallen on land considering how much I wriggle in shock.
He scoffs, unworried.
Eventually, I stop. Then I regret my relaxation because I can’t keep thinking about his arms. The strength and warmth in them.
How nice he smells. That I’ve never been physically bundled away like this.
If he didn’t carry me out, I would have never known the pleasant heat sliding inside me.
I would have never known myself to be grateful for being sick for it led to this moment.
I shut my eyes, hoping it will help.
It doesn’t.