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Harper and Kent decided to crash my little pow-wow with Tomas, who's here on behalf of Julian's uncle. Tomas's mission? To extract from my memory a detailed description of the maintenance guy who thought my apartment was his personal playground.
When Harper first barged in with Kent, I was comforted. Sure, I told Julian I could handle it, but my sweaty armpits beg to differ. Yet, Harper's 'game face' has me feeling less comforted and more like I'm the last pick for dodgeball. And just for the record, I’m as far from an athlete as you can get, so yeah, the pressure? Not a fan.
"Let's give this another go," Tomas suggests, casting a weary glance at Kent and Harper. "Just walk me through what you remember. Anything at all. Eye color, hair, skin tone, tattoos, scars?"
I begin to fiddle with the cardboard sleeve of my now-cold latte, trying to summon details from the haze of that day. "Well, he was definitely male. His face kind of round—no, not like a perfect circle, more oval, I guess," I ramble. My heart is racing so loud I'm surprised it's not echoing off the walls.“He had a hat on, so judging from what I could see of his face, I think I would go with an oval-shaped face."
Tomas doesn’t nod or smile or give me a damn bone. So, I continue to blabber on. “He had eyes.”
“What did they look like? The shape or color would help.” Tomas presses.
“They were round, like ovals.” Oh god, I’ve said oval three times now. “His eyes were the shape of eyes,” I stress, feeling the immense pressure of failure on my shoulders. I didn’t think it would be this hard to describe someone, but Harper and Kent are glaring at me like overzealous parents at a sporting event.
“The color?" I have no idea! "Uh, there were definitely two of them. Maybe darkish in tone. I didn’t get a good look. He had a nose in the middle of his face,” I point to mine, touching the tip. “His lips were…there.” I circle a finger around my own.
His lips were there! Jesus, Poppy, is that the best you could do?
Kent can't help but snicker at this point. I can't say I blame him.
I can’t think when I’m this nervous.
"So, he was a human? Two eyes, a nose, mouth, lips, and a somewhat round head?" Harper interjects, her patience thinning. "Poppy, focus. This guy was in your apartment."
I tighten my grip on the latte cup, feeling a mix of anger and frustration—not at Harper, but at the situation. It's fear, really. Fear of what could've happened had I walked in on that guy. Harper's already run through every worst-case scenario in her head, I'm sure. Her anger isn't at me; it's borne out of love and a fierce protective streak.
Tomas, probably sensing the tension spiraling, sets down his pen. "Maybe it's best if I talk to Poppy alone," he suggests, diplomatic as ever.
Kent leans back, all casual defiance, "And miss this riveting description? No chance. What's next, Poppy? He had five fingers on each hand and walked on two feet?" His laughter fills the room, easing the tension, if only for a moment.
I clench my jaw, meeting Tomas's gaze. "I was just trying to be thorough," I mumble, then smack my palm to my forehead. Did I really just describe basic human features as if they were clues?
"This isn't a test, Poppy," Harper says, her voice finally softening. "Just talk to us like it's just me in the room. What did he look like?"
Okay, just Harper and me. I can do that. I blabber on for the next ten minutes, offering up the snippets of memory I can grasp. It doesn't feel helpful, but Tomas's nods are encouraging. Nods are good, right?
Then I remember the cameras. "The entrance to the apartment has cameras. Maybe they caught something useful?"
Tomas nods, but there's a stiffness to it now, a glance exchanged with Kent that doesn't sit right with me. "You did great, Poppy," Tomas assures, but his sudden rush to leave makes me feel like I've missed something major. "My boss is actually on the way here. He will take over when Julian is out of his meeting."
His boss, as in Julian's uncle. Is that good or bad?
I look down at what I’m wearing. It’s business casual: dark jeans with a tan blazer and a baby pink blouse. Okay, I look the part, but... I feel like my red face and sweaty pits betray me.
Another exchange between Tomas and Kent has me teetering on the edge.
"Okay, what's he not telling me?" I demand, catching the wary look Harper shoots Kent.
Kent sighs a hint of resignation in his voice. "Well, my uncle just let Julian and me know the camera feed from your apartment was wiped clean. But hey, the description of the man with a round head, two eyes, a nose, and a mouth? Stellar start." He tries to laugh it off, but the joke lands flat.
"Wiped?" Panic floods through me. "You can fix that, right, Harper? Tell me you can ‘un-wipe' it."
"Kent and I discovered a few things. Daniel's men wanted to update you on what they found. We're just waiting for Julian to finish his meeting before we tell you everything. We'll get to the bottom of it.” Harper announces, her ocean-blue eyes dodging mine like they're harboring tsunamis of secrets beneath their calm surface.
I thought this meeting would resolve the issue, but it seems to have opened a can of worms.
I fix Harper with a pointed look, my arms crossing defiantly. "Feels like you're in the loop on something that's flown way over my head."
"I usually am," she shoots back, a flicker of mischief lighting up her gaze, though it's shadowed by a seriousness that suggests this is no time for jokes.
