15. Alexis
Alexis left the apartment a little flustered. She’d been so used to Levi treating her with contempt that she didn’t know how to react when he was being nice.
Admittedly, she did kind of save his life today, and her arm was a painful reminder. It still ached, and she wondered if she had fractured her elbow. Her arm in a sling was the last thing she needed. She would tough it out for a few days and only get an X-ray if she thought it was getting worse.
She let herself into Evelyn’s penthouse five minutes before seven. It was strange having a curfew at her age, but she kind of understood. She was getting free luxury accommodation, so there should be some restrictions put on the arrangement.
And tonight, she was glad. The emotions swirling around inside her when she’d said goodbye to Levi just now could have led to some dangerous behaviour. She hadn’t been able to stop looking at his lips as he farewelled her.
But he’d made it pretty clear before tonight what he thought of her, and he didn’t seem like the kind of person who would tolerate a partner who didn’t pull their weight financially. For a split second, Alexis wished she still had an active legal career and the perks of living at her family home. It was annoying that society functioned in a way that meant those with impressive resumes were allowed to have more confidence than those who didn’t.
She went in search of Tofu, who Alexis had been unable to coax out of the laundry for more than five minutes at a time. But the cat had reluctantly sat on her lap for the previous video call, and Alexis figured not telling Evelyn where her prized possession was ninety-nine percent of the time wasn’t hurting anyone.
She settled on the couch with Tofu to await the call. Snippets of the earlier conversation she’d had with Levi circled her brain.
Of course she’d thought about her mother a million times over the years. And she had imagined looking for her almost as many times, but something always stopped her. The combination of fear at being rejected and the anger her father displayed every time she mentioned her name was enough to deter her from ever pursuing it seriously.
Jack insisted his wife had abandoned them both, and she didn’t deserve any of Alexis’ energy.
Alexis wasn’t a parent, so she didn’t know how easily or willingly a mother would leave her kid. There had to be at least a little angst associated with the decision, right?
Now that she was no longer in touch with Jack, she wondered if perhaps she should track her mother down. If Jack had treated her the same way he’d treated Alexis, she couldn’t blame her for leaving. And she’d heard enough stories about abusive husbands using their kids as leverage to allow the tiniest bit of understanding for why her mother might have abandoned her.
The phone rang, thankfully snapping Alexis out of her dark reverie.
Evelyn’s screen was off, but Alexis knew she’d be expected to leave hers on.
‘Hi, dear. I didn’t want to scare you with my hideous bruising, so I’ve left my side black tonight. But it’s lovely to see my darling Tofu. Can you put her on the screen?’
Alexis obliged, lowering the phone to fully capture the cat.
‘There’s my beautiful baby. How are you doing without Mummy?’
Tofu ignored her owner’s voice, but Evelyn didn’t seem to mind.
‘There’s a good kitty. You’re so beautiful. I’m sorry I had to leave you in Australia, but the country has some very confusing quarantine rules, and I was worried you’d be trapped in a terrible government facility for too long if I took you to Korea with me. At least this way, you can stay home and enjoy the view.’
The view of the washing machine, Alexis thought dryly. But if it wasn’t for Tofu, she’d probably be homeless right now.
‘How are you feeling?’ Alexis asked politely.
‘Dreadful, but also marvellous. I’m going to look twenty years younger once I’ve recovered, so don’t worry about me. I hope my son hasn’t been causing you any further trouble?’
‘Uh, no. He’s fine. Thanks for checking.’
‘Oh, I think the nurse has arrived early for her evening rounds, so I’ll hang up now. But I’ll see you both tomorrow?’
‘Sure. Take care.’ Alexis waved at the screen and hung up.
Well, that was easy. It almost wasn’t worth returning to the apartment on time.
She looked at her phone and noticed she’d missed a text during the call. It was from Sarah.
Sarah:
Do you want a blind date?
Alexis crinkled her nose. What?
She quickly typed back.
Alexis:
Why are you suddenly interested in my love life?
Sarah:
I just thought since you’re stuck at that penthouse all on your own and your only company is a cat, you might appreciate it.
Alexis:
Really?
Sarah:
OK, no. Sorry. I should be honest. I have this lovely regular client who mentioned she has a son, and she’s worried he’s too shy to date. She showed me a photo, and he’s super hot.
Alexis:
Why don’t you date him then?
Sarah:
I’ve just started seeing someone else.
Alexis:
Since when? And why didn’t you tell me before now?
Sarah:
I’ll explain when we catch up, but I do think you might enjoy the date. My client is loaded, so that means her son would be too.
Alexis:
I’ll think about it.
Sarah:
I’ll check in with you again in a couple of days to confirm.
Alexis shook her head. Sarah had never tried to set her up with anyone before, which was surprising really, since her job as a hair stylist allowed her a very active social life. She wondered if she should take Sarah up on the offer. It was a bit strange though, the idea of going out with a complete stranger.
But there was no hurry to make a decision now.
Tofu hopped down from Alexis’ lap and wandered back to the laundry. Alexis watched her go and noted that the recycling was starting to pile up. She hadn’t yet figured out where to dispose of it, but a quick check of the building’s website revealed a chute on the floor below. Apparently, they hadn’t designed one for the penthouse floor.
Favouring her elbow, she gingerly gathered up a box of bottles and empty containers and headed for the floor below.
She stepped out of the elevator, and made her way up the hall, looking for the chute.
Was that it over there?
She was so focused on the opposite wall that she didn’t see the door opening in front of her until it was too late.
She stumbled backwards, managing not to fall this time, but in an effort to protect her elbow, the box of recycling went flying. One of the empty red wine bottles shattered all over the floor.
She stood there, stunned. What just happened?
A man in his eighties emerged from the open door and glared at her. ‘What the hell are you doing?’ he demanded.
Alexis snorted. ‘I could ask you the same question. Don’t you look before barging into people?’
His eyes widened. ‘Excuse me?’
‘You just rammed into me, and you expect me to apologise?’
The guy had clearly never been spoken to that way because he suddenly seemed lost for words.
Another door nearby opened, and Alexis silently groaned.
‘What’s going on out here?’
Levi took a moment to absorb the scene of broken glass and the man standing beside her.
‘You okay, Ralph?’ he asked.
Alexis frowned. ‘You’re asking him if he’s okay?’
‘We all know you’re a walking disaster, so I suspect Ralph is the victim here.’
Alexis gaped. ‘I really hope I heard you wrong just now.’
Ralph nodded adamantly. ‘This crazy woman just accused me of assaulting her.’
‘No, I didn’t! But you should have been watching where you were going.’
Ralph pointed at her. ‘See? Who is she anyway?’ He looked her up and down scathingly. ‘Is she a cleaner? I might have to have a word with management. We can’t be letting just any old person into the building. Especially after dark.’
‘Oh my God.’ Alexis couldn’t believe the gall of the man. She looked at Levi as if to say, ‘Is he serious?’
‘You should clean up that mess and leave before you make things worse,’ Levi said quietly.
She laughed loudly. ‘Uh, no. That won’t be happening.’ She dumped the box at the older guy’s feet and stalked down the hall, taking the fire stairs to avoid waiting for the elevator.
How could she have ever thought Levi was nice?
The guy was a grade-A arsehole.
And she’d be happy if she never saw him ever again.