Matchmaker - Chapter 24
Tuesday
I hadn’t heard from Penny all day. I’d texted her this morning to see if we were still on for dinner.
But she hadn’t responded. I’d texted her again an hour ago asking if she had gotten my first text, and immediately wished I could have unsent it.
Obviously she had gotten my other text and was just not responding.
I opened up my bag lunch, very aware of the fact that Tanner had probably made Nigel make it so I wouldn’t leave the office today. Not like that mattered. Poppy had waltzed into MAC International undetected before. Certainly a hitwoman could do the same.
There was a folded note on top of the food:
Mr. Caldwell,
I’m so elated that you’ll be staying with us for the foreseeable future.
It is my job to make sure you are comfortable and happy during the duration of your visit.
So please let me know if there’s anything you need me to acquire.
At your convenience, my number is below and I’ll go out and fetch everything you require today.
Or if you need me to get items from your home, I’m happy to do that as well.
Have a good and prosperous day at work. Remember to smile and be kind to others. And use your words not your fists.
Yours,
-Nigel
XOXO
P.S. I hope you like meat!
Gross. Well, the note was gross. The turkey sandwich piled high with lettuce and tomato on rye bread looked excellent. I took a bite and it practically melted in my mouth. What kind of cheese was that? Gruyere?
I looked at the note again. That was too many X’s and O’s from one man to another.
And the meat comment could have been innocent.
But when it came to Nigel, I had no idea.
I wondered how he’d take it if I texted him that all I required was privacy.
Probably not well. And then he’d also have my number.
I couldn’t let that happen. And what was all that weird stuff about fighting and being kind?
Did he think I was a petulant child? I pushed the note to the side and tried to enjoy my sandwich.
Tanner said that Nigel didn’t try to dress and bathe him.
So maybe Nigel just had a weird crush on me.
It wouldn’t be the first time a guy had hit on me.
It was flattering. But very much unreciprocated.
If he was giving me attention for that reason, I needed to make sure he knew I was straight. Was it rude to just tell him flat out?
There was a knock on my door.
“Not now!” Hm. Be kind and smile. Maybe that was advice I needed to remember. “I mean, yes?” I called in a more upbeat voice.
My receptionist, Mary, walked in. “I’m sorry to bother you, but do you know a Ms. Cannavaro?”
Poppy Cannavaro. I swallowed down a chunk of too much turkey and cleared my throat. “Why?” Please let there be news that she died in an explosion or something and that this wasn’t about her being outside my office right now. One can hope.
“I input all your meetings myself. And for the life of me I can’t remember setting one with her.
I honestly don’t even remember seeing it this morning when I double checked today’s schedule.
But I just got an alert saying you have a 1 o’clock with her.
And sure enough, I looked and there the appointment is in the system.
” She shook her head. “Maybe she set it up a long time ago and I just don’t remember? ”
I doubted that. It was a lot more likely that Poppy had someone hack into our system. Damn it. I looked down at my watch. Poppy would be here any minute.
“Do you want me to cancel?”
As appealing as that sounded, canceling on Poppy wouldn’t make her go away. She was a pest that just kept showing up. I needed to see what she wanted now and try to squash it. “That won’t be necessary. I’ll handle it.”
“I’m very sorry, Matthew.”
“It’s not your fault. I’m sure it was just a glitch.”
“Yeah. Maybe.” She smiled. “You look well-rested today. Did the chamomile tea work?”
More like the magical green juice. Hell, maybe chamomile was the secret ingredient. Regardless, I wanted to make Mary smile today. “It must have.”
“That’s wonderful. Let me know if you’d like me to bring you a cup before work ends today. And I’ll ring you when Ms. Cannavaro arrives.”
I nodded and looked down at my sandwich as Mary closed the door.
I suddenly wasn’t hungry anymore. What if Poppy wasn’t stopping by to talk?
I swallowed hard. Was this it? Was Poppy going to walk in here with a gun and pull the trigger?
Would someone find this weird note on my desk and think I was having a gay affair with Nigel?
Would my murder make the late night news? How would I be remembered?”
Fuck. James. The last words I’d said to him.
I knew better than that. I knew better than anyone that life could be cut short.
I didn’t want those to be my last words to him.
I pulled out my phone. But there were suddenly a million things I wanted to do.
I needed to finally call my mom back. I didn’t care that she always pestered me this time of year.
I needed to tell her that I loved her. And thank Mason for always looking out for me.
And I stupidly even wanted to call Rob and make sure he knew he was my best friend too.
And Tanner for the same reason. It was okay to have two best friends, and I wasn’t sure why the hell this was the last thing I was thinking about before I died.
But I didn’t have any time to call a soul, because my intercom button was blinking. I hit the light.
“Ms. Cannavaro has arrived,” Mary’s voice said through the speaker.
“Let her in.”
Mary opened the door and I held my breath.
But I slowly exhaled when Poppy walked in. Because she wasn’t holding a gun. She was holding a toddler in her arms.
The first thing I thought of was Scarlett. But there was no cute little “Hi, Uncle Matt.” And the little girl wasn’t a redhead. She was brunette.
“Let me know if you need anything,” Mary said and closed the door behind us.
As soon as the door was closed I stood up. “Did you steal that child?”
Poppy laughed. “No.”
“I swear to God, Poppy, if you…”
“She’s mine.”
“Yours?” I looked down at the little girl and then back at her mother.
The resemblance was uncanny. The little girl was even holding her nose slightly in the air like she was looking down at me even though she literally had to look up at me.
“You have a… kid?” I couldn’t imagine Poppy being a mom.
A mobster? Sure. A mother? It didn’t quite fit.
But the little mini-her scowling back at me begged to differ.
“Funny,” Poppy said. “I know everything about you and you know nothing about me. It’s good that I’m here so we can rectify that.” She put the child down on the ground. “Go play,” she said and gestured toward my shelves that held nothing to play with. And then Poppy sat down without being invited.
I watched the little girl walk over to one of my shelves and inspect some of the framed pictures. Why did I have a feeling that she was somehow trained in surveillance even though she couldn’t be older than Scarlett? The way she examined the people in the picture sent a chill down my spine.
Poppy cleared her throat. “I heard about your eventful evening.” She started straightening a few things on my desk.
I just stared at her.
“Uncle Richard’s angry with me. So I’m here to apologize.”
I leaned forward, resting my hands on my desk. “It doesn’t matter what you say. I don’t believe a word that comes out of your mouth.”
It was like she didn’t even hear me. She just blinked and continued on with whatever she’d planned to say. “Obviously I’m not going to hurt a child. As a mother, I would never.”
“So you brought your kid here as a prop?”
“I brought her here to show you that I’m a caring mother.”
Well, it wasn’t working. She’d barely even looked at her daughter this whole time.
“I didn’t know that you were married.” I wasn’t sure why the hell that was what came out of my mouth.
I didn’t care if this woman was married.
For all I knew the little girl in the corner who looked like she was about to smash a paperweight was just an actress.
Poppy raised one of her penciled-in eyebrows. “Divorced, actually. I’m very much single, Matthew. For the record. But I have a feeling that’s about to change.”
I wasn’t sure which was worse. Nigel or Poppy hitting on me.
Just as I expected, I watched as the little girl dropped the paperweight onto the ground. It shattered and for just a second a smile spread across her face.
Poppy snapped her fingers. “Behave, Gigi. Children are to be seen and not heard. How many times do I need to give you simple instructions?”
Gigi’s smile immediately disappeared and she had her lips trained in a thin line, showing no shock or guilt or anything. Like a weird little demon child.
“Do we understand?” Poppy asked.
“Yes, Mother.”
“Now apologize to the gentleman.”
“Sorry, sir.” Gigi curtseyed and then just stood there staring at the floor.
I knew she’d deliberately smashed it. But I still felt bad for her. Her mom was Poppy. Wasn’t that punishment enough? She didn’t need to be reprimanded any more by me. “It’s alright. Just be more careful. You can keep playing.”
Her eyes lit up and she turned around to touch more expensive things.
I cringed.
“So where were we?” Poppy asked. “Oh, yes, I don’t hurt children. So as long as you understand, I’ll just let Uncle Richard know you and I are on good terms and we can move forward from this hiccup of a misunderstanding.”
“You swear you’re not going to hurt Scarlett?”
“I don’t recall ever saying I would hurt her. You’re putting words in my mouth.”
“Poppy.”
“What I implied was more of a kidnapping situation, but alas. I won’t do that either. Because I’m a mother and all that. You have my word.”
“That’s the whole problem. I don’t trust your word.”