Once I took a few extra days off work, I considered my options. As Wayne had business operations in Manhattan as well as Long Island, I headed to Central Park, found a place to park near a cafe, and made use of a nearby hotel’s phone to call Wayne.
“Hello?” Wayne answered, his tone puzzled.
“It’s Joyce. As I don’t have a cell phone, I am calling you from a hotel. Can you meet me at Central Park? It’s a nice day, and I had an appointment in Manhattan today. I’m done with my morning work, so I have a few hours before I have to go back to work.”
“Where in the park?”
“Are you going to drive or take a cab?” I asked.
“I’m going to cab, as I would rather not give myself a stroke dealing with traffic today. I’ll pay someone to deal with the traffic for me.”
Excellent. “Meet me near the Met. We can walk to a cafe to talk or walk into the park.”
“I didn’t take you to be the outdoorsy type,” Wayne confessed.
“That’s because you take me to be the workaholic type. In good news, while I’m the workaholic type, I’m also the outdoorsy type.” My virus demanded time outdoors, and she got pissy when life became all work and no play.
After an entire morning without the perfume, she was ready to romp, and Wayne’s voice alone tripped her trigger and made her want to banner her tail and play coy with him.
If I let her have her way, I’d be negotiating for the man rather than for an apartment. I waited for Wayne’s answer, smiling at the odd turn my life had taken.
The next three days would be fun, although I expected I’d make an enemy of him before it was over.
“This is true. I’ll meet you at the Met. Have you been through it before?”
“No,” I admitted.
“What time do you have to be at your job?”
“It depends on the client, but not until late. I might be able to reschedule.” In reality, he was my client, I’d be keeping him as late as I wanted, and my virus couldn’t be happier about the situation. “I’ll take care of it if you want to have extra time.”
“The Met makes a good place to talk business, and then we can, if you’re interested, potentially sign the paperwork?”
“You can bring the paperwork, and I’ll even consider signing it.”
“Excellent. It’ll take me an hour to get there.”
“There’s a cafe in the Met, right?” I asked.
“Yes, but there’s a better one across the street and down the road. It’s called Wanderlust Coffee and Tea. It’s also licensed to sell pixie dust.”
“I’ll meet you there, and I will order you a drink,” I announced. “What do you want?”
“Are you going to laugh at my order?”
“Only if you tell it to me in a funny voice.”
Wayne chuckled. “Caramel macchiato, and I wouldn’t say no to a hit of pixie dust if you’re feeling generous.”
Well, that would make my life a lot easier, especially as I had a card in my wallet permitting me to have the little vials of pixie dust and neutralizer if I accidentally exposed myself to the top-grade dust. “We’ll see about the pixie dust, but I don’t see what’s funny about the order. I might even try that myself. I enjoy caramel.”
“I’ll see you in an hour, and I will make certain I am not late, as I wouldn’t want my coffee to get cold.”
“I’ll see you then.” I returned the phone to the lady at the desk and smiled at her. “Thank you very much.”
“You’re welcome, ma’am. If you need to get a cell phone, there’s a good shop right down the street, and they can get you in and out within twenty minutes.”
Today seemed a good day to get a phone to memorialize the day I kidnapped some stupidly rich lycanthrope out to build a skyscraper worth over a billion. I thanked her for the advice and headed to the cell phone store on foot, strolling in and telling the employee I’d buy the most expensive phone in the store if he got me out of there within thirty minutes. Fifteen minutes later and out almost two thousand dollars, I had the best of the best and a good plan to go with it. Smiling, I headed for the coffee shop at a brisk walk. After Wayne was properly dosed with pixie dust and influencer, I’d lure him to my car, get him nestled in the front passenger seat, and make off with my prize.
