Annihilate Me by Christina Ross Page A

it’s just so wrong,” Blackwell said.
    “What’s
so wrong?”
    “That
happy look on your face.   I just
went through a wretched divorce, and there you are smiling down at a smart
phone with hooded eyes.   It makes me
want to vomit.”
    “Shall
I share that with Alex?”
    “You
can spoon feed it to him.   He knows
what I went through.   He knows how I
am.   And he loves me despite all of
it.”
    “Actually,
I do, too.”
    “Oh,
Maine, puh-lease.”
    “You
think you’re tough, but you’re actually a push-over.”
    “I
am human Draino.   I will eat through
you if I need to.”
    “My
zombies also can do that,” Lisa said.
    “Your
what?”
    “The
undead peeps I write about?”
    “Are
you developing a new language?   ‘Undead peeps.’   Where am
I?   What is that?”
    The
elevator started to slow.
    “Anyway,
I’m a force, Maine.   You have no
idea what you’re dealing with.”   She
fingered a few strands of her black bob away from her face and looked up at the
elevator’s dial as we approached the lobby.   “Though I do appreciate our
excursions.   They’re...   What’s that word I never use?   Fun?   No, too strong.   Enjoyable?   Maybe.   I suppose I can live with that.”
    “I’m
glad you can,” I said.   “How about
if we sign the paperwork and have lunch?   We need to get a burger in you.”
    “Maybe
some mesclun,” she acquiesced.   “Drop of vinegar.   I could
probably do that.   I actually have
the perfect place in mind.   And it’s
my treat since you two weren’t entirely impossible today.”
    As
we passed James in the lobby, she said to him, “It’s a goner.   Meet your new tenants, Jennifer Kent and
Lisa Ward.   They’ll be moving in
immediately.   All the paperwork will
be signed by day’s end.   Toodles,
James.   My sweet, sweet James.   Toodles, toodles.   Love, love, love.   We’re off for some roughage.”

 
 
 
 
    CHAPTER NINE

 
    When
I left work that night, it was odd and felt kind of lonely not to find Alex
waiting outside for me.   I stepped
onto the sidewalk, saw his limousine idling at the curbside, and watched his
driver pop out to open the rear door for me.   Alex said he’d send a driver to make
sure I got home safe, and, true to his promise, here was my ride home.
    Or
did I even want to go home?  
    A
thought crossed my mind.   I
considered it as I stepped into the back of the limousine, and by the time the
driver got back inside, I asked him to take me to Wenn.
    “To
Wenn?” the man asked.
    “Please,”
I said.   “I know Alex won’t be
there, but that’s fine.”
    “Of
course.”
    It
was fine because Alex had given me a key to his apartment, which I had in my
purse and which the driver likely knew about.   And so we drove to Wenn.   When we arrived, the driver opened my
door and I asked him that when he did pick up Alex to please not mention that I
was here.
    “I
want to surprise him,” I said.
    “Your
secret’s safe with me, Ms. Kent.”
    I
thanked him, and stepped into the building.   As I entered, the security guards at the
front desk greeted me by name.   I
went over and asked them not to tell Alex that I was here when he arrived.   They said they wouldn’t.
    “I
appreciate that,” I said.
    “No
problem, Ms. Kent.”
    “It’s
Jennifer,” I said.   “Please call me
Jennifer.”
    “Of
course, Ms. Kent.”
    I
smiled at them, and walked behind their desk to Alex’s private elevator.   I slid my key into the slot, the doors
opened, and I stepped in.   The
elevator lifted, and I sent a quick text to Lisa letting her know where I
was.   When I reached Alex’s
apartment, I pushed the button for the lobby before stepping out as the doors
shut.   I listened to the elevator
plummet.   Alex would expect the car
to be waiting for him in the lobby when he slipped his key into the slot.   Otherwise, he’d know that someone had
used it, and he’d suspect that something was up.   I wasn’t