“She was into physics! It was meaningful.” He stands.
“Hey, you leaving for the night?” I ask, gathering my things.
“Yeah, I’ll walk with you.”
At the wall of elevators, I push the down button.
“You nervous?” Rishi asks.
I shrug, but my chest is tight. “A little.”
“She’d be crazy to say no. You’re the full package—smart, hot, tall, gainfully employed.”
“Don’t forget emotionally repressed and a tad smug.”
The elevator dings.
“Obviously. That’s your edge.”
The doors open and Jackson steps out.
Speaking of smug.
“Yo, Rhodes,” he calls, casually tucking his phone into his navy pinstripe suit jacket. “Ditching early?”
“Client happy hour,” I lie, stepping inside the elevator. Rishi follows. “Kenyon Group.” I push the button to the lobby. “You?”
“Meeting a friend.” His tone is smooth, his smile relaxed. There’s a weird beat of silence between us.
“Okay, well, have fun,” I say evenly.
“Definitely.”
The elevator closes.
Rishi slides his hands in his pockets. “That guy make your skin crawl, like he does mine?”
I don’t answer. But I smile, despite my gut churning. I tell myself it’s nerves.
Outside, I wait for my driver, Alan, to pull around while Rishi hails a cab. “Good luck tonight, man. I’m happy for you.”
I nod feebly. “Thanks, see you tomorrow.”
The city scurries around me, alive with a restless energy only New York can conjure. The sun’s starting to dip behind the buildings, bleeding gold over glass and steel.
And the air feels full of possibility.
The quaint little florist on Fifth smells like a bottled summer when I walk inside.
“Looking for anything specific?” the florist asks.
“I need timeless. Elegant. Understated, but still says everything.”
She smiles. “Got it.”
I pay for the flowers and head to the market. Garlic, lemons, asparagus, cream for the potatoes Chloe pretends to hate. Her favorite wine is already chilling in her fridge. I even stashed a couple of steaks from Muncan’s behind the wine for my domestic surprise attack.
And if anyone would clock a surprise down to the last detail, it’s Chloe.
