25. Quentin
I held the car door open for Rei, and she took my hand, using me for leverage as she climbed onto the door runner and into the SUV. Her foot rested on the line where the door would meet the doormat, and I reached down, palming her calf to scoot it over.
God, I loved the feel of her. She was solid and incredibly sexy. More than that, touching her was a reminder that this was real.
She graced me with a smile. “So chivalrous,” she teased.
What else was I supposed to be? I wondered as I shut the door and walked around to the driver’s side. Inside, I made sure the dials were adjusted to keep Rei warm and that the music was turned to a station she liked.
“Can you give me your address to program in?” I asked.
She glanced over at me, nervously chewing her cheek. “You promise you won’t judge?”
I set my phone in the console and turned to face her. “Look, Rei, I know I have a lot. But I didn’t always.” I nodded toward the big house where we’d just enjoyed a meal. “I didn’t grow up like this.”
She raised her eyebrows, inviting me to continue.
“Mom raised us in a two-bedroom house near the school. She worked in the front office so she could get to as many of our games as possible and still bring in an income. Then she met Pops when we were in middle school. They got married when I was a freshman, but he was a coach and science teacher–didn’t make much money.
All of this came later.” I gestured toward the house.
That didn’t seem to set her at ease though, so I added, “Look, if we’re going to get married, we have to be honest with each other. That starts here.”
Finally, she nodded and then whispered out an address.
I typed it in and then looked at the location. It was one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the metro. “Here?” I asked, turning the phone toward her to make sure I’d entered it correctly.
She nodded.
“Do you live with your parents?” I asked. Maybe that’s why she was being cagey about her house.
“I own my own home,” she replied, just enough pride in her tone for me to notice.
Curiosity nagged at the edge of my mind as I pulled out of the drive and followed the directions to Rei’s home. There was so much about her I didn’t know, so much I longed to discover. So I started with this question: “Were you telling the truth? About talking to your teddy bears?”
She seemed taken aback, her spine stiffening a little defensively. “Why would I lie about that?”
“I didn’t know you were adopted,” I said. All of it had been news to me.
She breathed deeply, loud enough to be heard over the softly playing music. “I don’t remember much before I came here with my parents, just what I was told.”
I imagined Rei as a little girl being taken from one world to another without the ability to understand what was happening to her. “That must have been scary, moving to an entirely different country. I remembered how terrified I’d been to go to school, and that was with my parents in the building.”
Rei looked down at her hands, picking at her short nails. “They said it took me months to talk at all. The first person I spoke to was a Chinese woman from church who knew Mandarin. I wouldn't talk to my parents until I’d been with them for months. It caused... issues.”
The way she said it caused my chest to constrict. I pictured her young and afraid, which made me want to go back in time and protect her with everything I could. Since all I had was here and now, I reached over and squeezed her hand.
She didn’t pull away, letting me hold her for a minute before taking a breath and saying, “I think my mom had this dream of having a daughter... you know, the one you could dress up and wear matching outfits with. She wanted to bond over hair and makeup and dolls and baking, but by the time I could really communicate with her, I was too old to be interested in that and too stubborn to go along with what she wanted. Mom was already hurt and disappointed. I acted out a lot, I think because I knew deep down I wasn’t living up to what she wanted, but that made her even sadder. It was a vicious cycle.”
I squeezed her hand tighter. “Your dad?” It was almost a prayer. A wish. That she’d had someone in the home who had cherished her as she was and not as they wanted her to be.
“He didn’t know what to do with a girl and was busy with my brother.” She shrugged, making my hand move a little bit with hers. “Dennis played a lot of sports, so when Dad wasn’t working, he was taking him to games.”
“You must have been lonely,” I said over the lump in my throat as we pulled to a stoplight.
Her eyes slid shut, and she nodded. “I was.” The red of the light caught a tear sliding down her cheek, and she quickly swiped it away.
I wondered if that loneliness led her to become so social, always talking in an attempt to find the connection she never truly received at home.
She squeezed my hand and then drew hers back. “Sorry, I don’t mean to complain. I know life would be harder if I’d stayed in the orphanage.”
I shook my head. “Don’t apologize. Not to me.” The light changed, and I took off again.
We rode in silence for a moment until the navigation pointed me down a residential road and told me my destination was on the right.
I stared at the building—it had to be at least three thousand square feet, with a facade of whitewashed stone and wood, large glass windows reflecting the orangish evening light.
Small lights lined the driveway and sidewalk to the front door.
“You can park in the driveway,” Rei said before I could ask if this was really her home.
I did as she asked, still in disbelief.
Rei got out without waiting for me to open her door and said, “Come in. There’s something I need to tell you.”
My stomach knotted at the words. Was she about to tell me she still lived with her ex? That she’d done something illegal to earn extra money on top of her regular job? That she’d divorced a rich and powerful man who would retaliate for my association with her?
I steeled myself for any of the above and followed her to the front door, where she tapped in a code that let us inside.
All around us, lights automatically flicked on, showing an open-concept living and dining room with a giant stonework fireplace reflective of the facade that stretched all the way up to twenty-foot ceilings.
There was a railing higher up, showing the walkway of the second story.
Rei dropped her keys on the perfectly clean kitchen island and said, “Can I get you something to drink?”
“I... uh, yeah,” I said. My throat did feel dry.
“Sit on the couch... I’ll join you.”
My legs moved mechanically to the plush white sectional couch that wrapped around the living area like a warm scarf. My hip protested as I lowered myself onto the soft material, cushions wrapping around me like they wanted me to stay.
Rei came to the couch, holding two glasses of water in her hands. She set one on the pale wood coffee table and held on to the other as she sat near me. Her knees didn’t touch mine, but I swore I could feel the heat radiating from her.
“You want to know how I afford this house,” she said.
I nodded.
She looked down at our knees, like she was bracing herself. Maybe I should have been too.
“You know the company that does The Tower’s cleaning?” she began.
“The one you work for?” I clarified.
Her lips tugged back for a moment before she said, “It’s mine.”
My eyes widened. “Yours?”
“I own it.” There was a hint of pride in her voice that matched her squared shoulders. “Radiant Cleaning... Rei Li... Rei… diant. C… Li… ning. Get it?” She chuckled softly at her own joke.
My lips opened and closed as I thought of Rei doing back-breaking labor every day, emptying out trash cans, scrubbing the floor in a worn jumpsuit, all while owning the company. The name had to be a coincidence.
But we were sitting in her house. And I remembered her expensive-looking clothes and the high-priced car she drove to our first date. The diamonds that studded her ears at this very moment and dripped down her neck. It didn’t make sense.
“But I’ve only ever dealt with Conrad,” I said. “Any time we’ve had contract issues, I’ve negotiated with him.”
“He’s the CEO,” she explained. “That’s his role.”
“And your role is?” I asked. “Janitor?” I found it hard to believe. She could command a boardroom just as well as Conrad could. That guy would be better working on a used-car lot with his perfectly done hair and oily drive to gain sales.
“Quality Assurance Manager,” she corrected. “And I like my job. It’s honest work, and it makes a difference.”
I could see what she was trying to say, but I still didn’t understand. “So you don't want to be CEO?”
“I could be.” She shrugged, but I felt like there was more to her answer. She added, “If I was in the office, how could I make sure everyone’s doing a good job?”
I laughed. “Quality Control...” I breathed, taking it all in.
“What are you thinking?” she asked me with guarded eyes.
I’m thinking you might be perfect for me.
But I’d never get those words off my tongue.
Instead, I spoke a different truth. “You’re nothing like I expected.”
“Is that a bad thing?” she asked, seeming shy for the first time.
I reached out, running my fingertip over a scar on her thigh. The shimmery patch of skin had been drawing my attention all day. It bubbled up, forming a ridge on her perfectly smooth skin. “I’ve wanted to know you for so long. Everything I learn feels like a gift.”
She covered my hand with hers, but behind her smile, there was something more. An expression I didn’t understand.
She’d let me in, told me more about herself, but I still felt concerned. If Rei had so effortlessly kept a secret like this... could she be hiding more?
I shoved the thought away. Just because I’d been betrayed in the past didn’t mean Rei would do the same. “Are you free tomorrow?” I asked her.
“I can be. What did you have in mind?”