After the Fall Ch. 02

"Hi, Nate." Mariah gave him a little wave, thinking of the rather unfortunate first impression she must have made. "I apologize if I hit, kicked, bit or swore at you yesterday, and promise to be nicer in the future."

This time, she was positive that she saw a glimmer of humor in Nate's eye, but he remained stoic. "Not at all, Ms. Williams. We were pleased to be of assistance."

"It was much appreciated," Mariah lied, "but please, call me Mariah."

Michael was ready to move the tour along. "I'm just showing Mariah around the house. We'll try to get together with everyone in the next few days. She's working on a project with me, and we'll need your input." Before they left, Mariah introduced Henry, who surprised her by having the sense to recognize that he was in the presence of people who were not exactly "dog people."

After they left the security office, Michael asked, "Was that Henry's best behavior?"

"It must be. That's the first time I've seen it."

Michael walked her through the rest of the east wing. The northeast corner was dominated by a large file room, newly useful after the demise of the paperless office. The rest of the space consisted of eight unused offices. Michael suggested they could be used by some of the people they hoped to bring in soon.

In the last office, Michael pulled her to him for a kiss. His chest felt warm and comfortable, and she realized that she was relaxing against him. Was it too early to blame it on Stockholm syndrome?

"Let's get going, sweetheart. I'm looking forward to just relaxing once you've met everyone, and I know you're tired."

The first-floor tour didn't take long because Mariah had seen most of it before. The house's main entrance opened onto a large foyer that wrapped around the staircase and led back to the formal living room, where she first met Michael. The west wing included the dining room, kitchen, breakfast bar, supply room and sunroom.

They stopped in the kitchen to see Marcus. "Thank you for the picnic lunch, Marcus. We really enjoyed it," Mariah told him.

Michael clapped him on the shoulder, "You thought of everything. Thanks for making me look good!"

"I'm glad you liked it," Marcus beamed.

He stopped them when they turned to leave. "Do you have a moment to talk about dinner? I'm making pad thai."

Mariah's face lit up, and Michael couldn't help laughing at her.

"Don't laugh at me! We don't all have kitchen wizards. I haven't had Thai food in a decade."

Marcus looked pleased. "Will you be eating down here, or would you like me to bring some upstairs?"

"Would you mind plating some up for us?" Michael asked, "I'll come pick it up if you give me a call when it's ready. I owe you a picnic basket, too."

"Of course."

Poor Henry was disappointed when they left the kitchen empty-handed. Michael patted his head consolingly. "Don't worry, old man. I have a feeling you get handouts."

They walked back through the foyer to reach the east wing. They passed an entertainment room on the way to the gym in the northeast corner of the house. That's where they found the twins. Somehow, they had managed to turn their elliptical track programs into a race, and they were egging each other on. When they saw Michael and Mariah, they dismounted and staggered over, panting.

"They're a bit competitive," Michael remarked.

The twins looked like male and female versions of the same design. They both had fantastically, brilliantly red hair. Amy had brown eyes and Daniel had green eyes, but their features were so similar that the difference in eye color was easy to overlook. Their skin was normally quite fair, but they were both red in the face from exertion.

They were still bent over with their hands braced on their knees when they started introducing themselves. "I'm Daniel," Daniel said at the same time Amy said, "I'm Amy."

"Nice to meet you," Mariah greeted them. "I think you probably met Henry already, right?" Henry was beside himself with excitement. He met the twins earlier when they were installing the door, and they were his kind of people.

Amy and Daniel gathered around Henry as soon as they caught their breath. They spent the next two minutes telling Henry what a good boy he was, how handsome he was, how brave he was, and what a fabulous specimen of dog he was. The words, "goodshie-woodshie baby boyshie" were thrown around, as was, "dogshie-wogshie." Even Henry's carpentry skills were complimented, as it seemed that they had made him their official apprentice during the door installation.

Mariah smiled at Henry's fan club. "Thank you for putting in the door, guys. Henry is going to enjoy running back and forth."

"He's the best!" Daniel proclaimed.

"We adore him!" Amy added.

Mariah grinned. "I adore people who adore Henry."

"What about me? Am I chopped liver?" Michael feigned dismay.

"Henry would love chopped liver!" the Henry-besotted twins answered in nearly perfect unison.

"He's going to have to settle for Thai. That's what Marcus is making for dinner." Michael said. "We're going to take ours upstairs," he added quickly. "It's been a long day."

When they left the gym, Marcus pointed out the library at the furthest end of the wing. "You remember the library, of course." Mariah's cheeks colored. She remembered the library vividly.

Back in the elevator, Michael pulled her to him again. He kissed the top of her head. "You've met everyone now, sweetheart. Time to get you back to my lair."

Mariah yawned. "It's not even dark outside and I'm sleepy."

"Let's head for the lounge. The furniture in there is great for naps," Michael suggested.

"I'll meet you in there as soon as I check on the cats and feed everyone."

When Mariah joined Michael in the lounge, he was stretched out on the chaise lounge portion of the sectional. When she started to sit beside him, he pulled her into his lap instead. "You're grabby," she complained.

"Mmhmm," he agreed, stroking her hair.

She yawned again. "Stop that. You're making me yawn."

Michael kept stroking her hair. "You must have worn yourself out somehow."

"And I suppose you had nothing to do with that?" Mariah looked back at him with an arched brow.

"I have an alibi. I was with a smokin' hot babe all day long. She was insatiable."

"A likely story."

Michael turned the television on. All the entertainment centers in the house were connected to a huge digital library. He selected an episode of a Japanese animated sci-fi about space-faring bounty hunters. "How about this?" he asked Mariah.

"Sure, I remember that show." His arm was wrapped over her stomach, and laying back against his chest was much too comfortable. It didn't feel like she only met Michael yesterday. Maybe it was because he kept acting like she was his long-time girlfriend. Maybe it was because she was just too tired to perceive things properly. A few minutes later, she was asleep. The sound of her slow, even breathing was making Michael sleepy, too. He wanted to stay awake, but it was hypnotic.

They both woke with a start when the house phone on the end table rang. It was Marcus, telling him that their dinner was ready. Mariah was curling into the corner of the sectional when he went downstairs. He hoped he would be able to wake her up enough to eat.

Marcus placed their dinner on a rolling cart that Michael didn't even know they had. He felt a little sheepish rolling it to the elevator like a hotel waiter, but it was better than making multiple trips. When he got back upstairs, he was surprised to find Mariah not only awake, but holding the door to the private wing open for him. "I thought you'd have your hands full," she told him.

"Our kitchen wizard found this cart somewhere. Do you want to eat in the kitchenette or in the lounge?"

Mariah was in favor of eating in the lounge. As with the picnic, Marcus had thought of everything. He even included a chilled bottle of vodka, a bottle of Midori melon liqueur, two martini glasses, and instructions for making Midori martinis written on a napkin. It was a sweet touch.

Mariah was pleased to find chopsticks. She tried unsuccessfully to convince Michael that the noodles were easier to eat with chopsticks because of their tendency to slither off the fork. Michael was amused to see that Henry was adept at taking handouts delicately from chopsticks without touching the utensils, but the beggar certainly did not spurn the bites he cadged from Michael.

After they ate, they passed the time with poker and innocuous conversation. Mariah was a truly terrible poker player, but the more she lost, the more interested she became in the game. Michael found it entertaining to watch her refine and shift strategies. He could almost see her thought process. Before long, they were both yawning, and Michael declared an early bedtime.

Mariah hadn't managed to pirate one of Michael's tee shirts yet, and she was unwilling to ask, so she had to make do with another of the skimpy little sleep sets in her closet. She really wanted to sleep in her own bed, but she was sure that Michael would want to join her there. The last thing she wanted was for him to make a habit of sleeping in her bed. At least sleeping in his bed left the option to leave and return to her own.

Mariah was still scheming about how to achieve Michael-free sleep when he came through the adjoining door. "Why do you look so guilty?" he asked. Without waiting for an answer, he took her hand and led her to his bed. She curled up on her side of the bed, but he drew her close to him. She planned to move back to her own side once he fell asleep, but soon she was enjoying his warmth and was asleep before he was.

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Chapter 3 is written and will be submitted once it's edited. I have also submitted an illustration of the layout of the Kincaid house under Illustrated Stories. Hopefully, it will be accepted in that category.

I appreciate the feedback I received from Chapter 1. Some of you have some very interesting ideas! As I write additional chapters, it will be very helpful to know what readers are interested in hearing more about (or less about.) Please let me know what worked for you and what didn't. If something annoys or confuses you, let me know. Your feedback will guide future submissions. I would really appreciate it if you vote for this story. It's the only way I'll know how this story is being received and whether there is a demand for more chapters.

Thanks for reading!