“It’s ordered by the courts, Mr. LeBlanc. Or are you not familiar with the nuances of immigration law? Oh, never mind. Why would you be? All you need to know is if you don’t let me in, Cat’s visa will be automatically terminated.”
I took a deep breath and swallowed. I wanted to settle this the old-fashioned way. But of course, this wasn’t the wild west.
“If you have nothing to hide, why would this be a problem?” he asked.
“Well then,” I said. “Come on in, Mr. Winterborne.”
It took all the self-control I had not to call him by his nickname.
CHAPTER 27
DUSTIN
“So,tell me, who wakes up first?” Mr. Winterborne asked as he walked slowly around the apartment.
I wasn’t sure at all if this was standard procedure. It certainly didn’t feel like it. But I guessed I had to put up with it.
“Well, that all depends. If I have an early morning flight, I will. And sometimes if Cat is on call, she’ll have to go in late.”
He shot me a serious glance. “Interesting.”
“How is that interesting? Just normal couple stuff.”
“Of course.”
I couldn’t tell if he was messing with me or what. I prayed Cat would get back here quickly. I contemplated calling her and keeping her on speakerphone, with her end muted so she could hear any conversation between Mr. Winterborne and me where I answered questions. I was concerned I might answer a question differently than she would. But there was no way to call her right now, so I would just have to roll with this.
“So, do you want some dinner? Or is this just like a drop in, drop out kind of thing?”
“I would love some dinner. That would allow me to see you two interacting in your normal habitat.”
I squinted, and at that point, I realized I was certainly dealing with an odd man here.
“Cat should be home ...” I glanced at my watch. “Any minute now. And we can start.”
“Excellent. That will give me some solo time with you.”
Again, this guy didn’t get how creepy he sounded. But he had mentioned the individual interview at our first appointment.
“What do you want to know?” I said, walking in front of him. “The guest bathroom is this way,” I pointed.
“I know. I’m just curious what your bedroom looks like.”
“Mr. Winterborne, is this really standard procedure for the immigration office?”
“Look, if you have any issue with our staff directives, feel free to issue a complaint. I’m out here just trying to do my job. The complaint list is a mile long, by the way, so fat chance it gets addressed.”
“Well, when you put it that way ...”
“I don’t appreciate the attitude, Mr. LeBlanc,” he said, jotting something down on his notepad.
I relented and let him into the master bedroom. “And which side of the closet is yours?” he asked.
I don’t know why I didn’t just tell him that I get all of my laundry done by the Tigers (true) and that the majority of my clothes were still back in Chicago (also true).
Instead, I noticed a separate closet door, a smaller one all the way to the left of Cat’s big, sliding closet and pointed to it. “That’s mine.”
I regretted saying it as soon as the words came out of my mouth.
