“Still exciting!” Kiki said. “Want to come over, borrow that red dress? I decided to go with the jumpsuit for Marj’s thing like you suggested. If I’m showing up on a woman’s arm, I’m going to go full throttle.”
He’d said casual. The red dress definitely said date more than it said business meeting.
“If it was fancy enough to be a contender for Marj’s holiday party, it’s definitely too much for this,” she said. “I’d look ridiculous.”
Kiki shook her head. “You’ll look sexy, promise. Stop by your place first, and see if you have a strapless bra you could wear. Preferably not one of those scary bridesmaid ones. Even better if it’s part of a matching set.”
“I’m going to dinner at his mother’s house,” Lauren said. “Who just happens to be my boss. There is no need for special underwear.”
Kiki waggled her eyebrows. “That’s the beauty of special underwear,” she said. “You never know when it will be called into service.”
Maybe in Kiki’s life—not in Lauren’s. But she found herself considering it all the same. She already had at least a workup of a report for Daniel, projecting maintenance costs for a winter sports complex like the one he envisioned. She could run home, spend an hour or so at Kiki’s house, then come back to Cold World in time to add any finishing touches and print it out. The offices were normally closed after five, but as long as the main building was open to the public, she’d be able to get back in. And she already knew that Asa was working the closing shift, so she wouldn’t have to worry about running into him at his house.
She logged out of her computer and gathered up her stuff. “I’ll be there in half an hour.”
* * *
? ? ?
It was closer to forty-five minutes, which she hoped wasn’t rude after Kiki had been kind enough to offer to help her get ready. But it had taken longer than she’d expected to locate her black lace strapless bra, and underwear that was at least also black, if not an exact match. She still thought it was a bit silly to put that much care into items of clothing that Daniel would never see, but Kiki also seemed much better at this kind of thing, so Lauren figured she’d trust whatever she said. Maybe sexy underwear beneath her clothes would give her more outer confidence. Worth a try.
Before she’d left Cold World, she’d seen Asa briefly. He’d been walking with Marcus, explaining something that involved a lot of hand gestures. His gaze had slid to hers, so quickly his head didn’t even move, and then they’d walked right by. She wished she had slow-motion footage of the moment, just so she could see how he might feel toward her. Still angry? Disgusted? Or completely indifferent?
“Come in, come in,” Kiki said now, ushering her inside their house. Elliot was seated at the dining room table, typing on a laptop, and they lifted a hand in greeting.
“Hi, Lauren,” they said. If they felt any lingering weirdness over the way she’d left the beach outing, they didn’t show it.
“Hey,” she said. “What are you working on?”
“An analysis of every Carly Rae Jepsen song in order of worst to best,” they said. “Worst being relative, of course.”
“Hard-hitting journalism,” Kiki said, and then held up her hand when Elliot seemed primed to launch into an argument. “You know I’ll read it and enumerate every ranking you got wrong. But my girl’s on a timetable right now, and we need to get down to business. Lauren, follow me.”
The red dress was hanging up from the doorframe to Kiki’s en suite bathroom, and Kiki pulled it down and shooed Lauren in to get changed.
Closed inside the bathroom, Lauren started unbuttoning her sweater. “It must be really fun to live here,” she called through the door. “Just because of all the conversations you get to have.”
“I guess,” Kiki said. “This Carly Rae thing started because Elliot said her version of ‘Last Christmas’ was the best one, which Asa took as sacrilege because he’s a Wham! purist. John tried to make a case for Jimmy Eat World, but if he has to lean on phrases like guitar tone he has to know he’s already lost.”
“But that’s what I mean,” Lauren said, pulling her shirt over her head. “You have people you can debate that kind of stuff with. Which version did you vote for?”
“I,” Kiki said, “do not care. Christmas music is annoying. It’s bad enough we have to listen to it at work. But also, Arlo Parks’ cover is the best and anyone who disagrees has no taste.”