Leroy eventually pulled over at the front of an apartment block and turned around to us. ‘One Hudson Yards. Ladies,’ he said with a wink. ‘Signed, sealed and delivered.’
My jaw almost scraped the ground. We were at a mountain of glass teetering into the sky.
‘Our apartment is here?’ I asked. ‘In this building?’
Leroy laughed. ‘Yes, ma’am. Mr Jimmy owns the building. He likes his guests to travel and live comfortably.’
‘Jesus Christ,’ Zola snorted, scrambling to get out of the car for a better look.
‘Is Mr Jimmy single?’ Katy joked under her breath, taking it all in.
‘You girls get yourselves to the reception, and I’ll have the concierge bring up your bags,’ Leroy said, sensing our impatience.
‘Thanks, Leroy,’ Katy said.
Together, we headed into the apartment block, the doors opening for us as two men dressed in maroon suits stood by.
‘Welcome to Hudson Yards,’ they greeted us.
‘I willneverget over how cool the accent is,’ Zola whispered as we approached the reception desk.
‘Zola, Katy and Ella, I’m guessing?’ the bubbly young receptionist said, handing us a small envelope. ‘You’re on the thirty-first floor. Here are your key cards. Someone will be on the desk twenty-four-seven if you need anything.’
‘Amazing, thank you,’ I replied.
‘Your elevator is just on the right,’ she added.
I turned to see Zola and Katy bumping into one another as they bolted towards it. I followed, stepping inside and pressing the button for the thirty-first floor. The doors closed over, and we all stared at one another in anticipation. My stomach swooped as the elevator rose, climbing higher and higher. I’d never been in a building with so many floors before.
‘How is this happening to us?’ I asked, completely at a loss for any other words.
‘Because we are badass bitches who deserve it?’ Zola tutted.
‘Yep, so we better be badass business bitches,’ I said. ‘I tweaked the pitch on the plane, and revamped the slideshow, so we have to go over everything tonight. Make sure it’s perfect for tomorrow.’
The lift pinged and Katy ran out as soon as the doors parted enough to let her through. I was expecting to step out into a corridor of identical doors; instead, our feet met the floor of a huge, immaculate apartment.
‘Wait, this lift is literally inside an apartment,’ Katy said. ‘Does that mean .?.?.’
‘This is our fucking gaff!’ I screeched.
Vast walls of white and gold marble filled the space. An open-plan kitchen and living room stretched across the floor, and light flooded in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, showcasing a stunning view of the Hudson River.
‘What the fuck!’ Zola’s jaw was still hanging wide.
‘I bags this as my room!’ Katy’s voice echoed as I followed her happy yelps of delight and found her bouncing on a huge bed. I turned the corner to find two more bedrooms.
‘I’ll take this one,’ I said, smiling as I took in the view of the skyline. Everything seemed so perfect, almost like we were in a film. I took out my phone and snapped a picture, then felt a stabbing pain of sadness, realising I couldn’t share this moment with the one person I wanted to. I wondered if Philip had thought about reaching out, if he missed me.
Zola suddenly yelled out. ‘I got a walk-in wardrobe, bitches!’ she boasted, and we ran in to see.
Flabbergasted and exhausted but ecstatic, we slumped down on the floor of Zola’s pristine walk-in wardrobe.
‘Should we order in food and load up the PowerPoint for tomorrow?’ I suggested.
Zola nodded. ‘If we nail this pitch, God knows how many times we’ll get to come back to this place.’
Katy’s phone pinged from her back pocket and she lifted it out, smiling at the screen.
