I park the car and dash into the building without waiting for her, but Lois catches up with me outside the elevator, and we head up to the fifth floor together in silence.
I fling open the front door. “Cart?”
“Honey, I’m home!” He simpers.
I can see his head poking over the back of the couch, and as soon as he spies Lois standing behind me, he waves.
“Sorry, I stole your line.” He beams at her.
“I don’t think so.”
I make a beeline for the sink and pour myself some water, looking at Lois over my glass.
“I’m gonna make a smoothie. Want one?” she asks while opening the fridge.
“Sure, why not?”
“Carter?” she calls out. “Detox smoothie?”
“Beer!”
Lois is bent over shoulder-deep in the crisper, and I avert my eyes immediately. She sticks out an arm to thrust a beer at me. I grab it and stroll over to Carter, who’s busy wiggling his eyebrows.
“What?”
“Pretty sweet deal you got going on here,” he says, nodding over to the kitchen where Lois’s butt is sticking out from behind the fridge door.
Lord save me.Time to change the subject.
I fall back into the couch. “Show me what you’ve got.”
With a snicker, he starts spreading sheets of paper across the coffee table, all covered with notes.
“So I got the green light—we need to wrap up the big scenes as soon as we can. I just wired the first chunk of money over to your account, the second will drop as soon as we’re done.”
“Amazing.”
He starts talking me through the first scene, but we’re interrupted by the sound of the blender.
“You nearly done back there, Lois? We’re trying to work.”
The only reply I get is the sound of the blender roaring into action—once, twice, and then a third time.
“Ta-da!” She pours the green sludge into a tumbler and shakes it in my face. “There you go, buddy.”
“Don’t smoothies usually involve fruit?” I ask, eyeing it dubiously. “Why is it green?”
She sucks on her straw, ignoring me. “What are you working on?”
“A new movie,” Carter explains.
“A movie?”
“Didn’t Lane tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“We’re cowriters. We write movies together.”
