Free Kiki's Millionaire by Patricia Green

pickup truck. A big one. Would you let me offer you that at least?”
    She looked at the many boxes scattered all over the
floor, then shot a look at Maddie whose big eyes were practically pleading.
“Yeah, okay. Thank you.”
    Jim grabbed his suit coat and headed for the door.
“I’ll be back in half an hour.”
     
    * * *
     
    When Jim returned, he also had his man-servant with
him. The two made quick work of putting the boxes into his big, black truck. It
was a short ride to the storage lot.
    Kiki was loathe to admit it, but having his help made
things go a lot more smoothly. They were done by ten p.m. She offered pizza and
beer, and for once, Jim didn’t argue.
    He looked exhausted. She didn’t know what kind of
business meetings he’d had, but she did know that they had sapped the snap out
of his eyes, and made the shallow ridges around his mouth a bit more
pronounced. He looked a little older, and although she didn’t want to admit it to
herself, her heart went out to him. Oh yeah, she had it bad. Valentines and
cupids.
    She wanted to friggin’ kick herself. It was, perhaps,
the least practical situation she’d ever found herself in. He was a nice guy,
but so out of her league. Even though he seemed to care, it had to be just his
natural chivalry. Maybe he just liked slumming now and then.
    They sat on the floor of her empty apartment; only her
three suitcases sat by the door. Jim was leaning back against the wall, his
expensive suit pants dusty, jacket gathering carpet lint on the floor in the
corner. Ernie and Maddie were conversing quietly, neither of them drinking
beer.
    “Tomorrow night, Kiki.”
    “What, Jim?” She reached out to gather up the empty
pizza box and he grabbed her wrist, his grip implacable but not harmful.
    “Our date. Tomorrow night.”
    “Oh…”
    “You promised.” His hand dropped from her wrist.
    She didn’t want to think about their next date, their
last date. But the sooner she got the pain over with, the sooner she could
settle back and lick her wounds. “Okay. You know where the shelter is?”
    “I’ll find it.” He stood up and picked up his jacket.
Ernie stood as well. “Seven o’clock.”
    “What did you have in mind?”
    He smiled, getting a little twinkle back in his eyes.
“I’ll surprise you.”
    That’s what she was afraid of.
     

Chapter 5
     
     
    Jim considered taking his Hummer out, but decided on
the Mustang again. She seemed to like that car and he didn’t want an argument
from her. He expected his plan for the evening was going to create enough
resistance.
    The shelter was on a busy corner in a poor part of
town. He hated to think of Kiki, or any woman, walking in that neighborhood
alone. Kiki didn’t even have the benefit of a car to protect her. It was an old
house, perhaps built in the 1960s, with a clapboard exterior and shake roof. It
wasn’t run-down, but wasn’t particularly well-maintained either. The paint was
peeling in spots around the window frames, and the screen door had a hole near
the handle. He pressed the doorbell and waited. There was no sound from inside,
so he poked it again. No stirring, nor the sound of the bell or buzzer.
Finally, he opened the screen and knocked firmly on the door.
    Apparently, the doorbell wasn’t working, because
immediately he heard running feet. A little person—about six years
old—opened the door a few feet. “Who are you?”
    Jim hunkered down to face the little boy and smiled.
“I’m Jim Chesterfield. Is your mommy at home?”
    “Naw. She’s at work. She’s a curtsey clerk.”
    “A courtesy clerk? Wow, that’s a big job. All those
people needing help. And your mommy does that?”
    The little towhead nodded proudly.
    “Well, my man, I need to talk to whomever is—“
    A fair-haired woman hurried over and put her hand on
the boy’s head. “Jack-, um, honey why don’t you go inside and play. Maryanne
got the Legos out.”
    “Legos! My favorite! Bye, Mr. Jim!”
    “Bye,” Jim said