“Hey, uh, if you’re trying to use your phone, there’s a big cell outage,” the cab driver said. “Something about the storm and networks and data. I don’t really know.”
“Thanks.” Brooklyn would have to exercise some patience. Not her strong suit. She probably should have waited to meet him at his place at eleven. But her heart and her gut were saying that she needed to see him. Now. Get a hug. A kiss. Some reassurance that everything would be okay.
She arrived at the studio fifteen minutes after Alec’s big meeting had started. By now, she knew everyone on staff atGood Day, and was sure they’d let her wait until he was finished. As the wind whipped at her cheeks, she hunched up her shoulders to stay warm and rushed inside the building, happy to see Maddie and Jerome at their post.
“Ms. Monroe. Hello. Are you here for Mr. Trakas?” Maddie asked. “Because he’s gone.”
Brooklyn’s heart sank. “Gone? I don’t understand. He had his big meeting.”
Maddie glanced over at Jerome and cleared her throat. “He never made it to his big meeting. But you should probably let him explain.”
“Was the car service taking him home?”
“He was on foot. I told him he was crazy. It’s freezing out there.”
Brooklyn knew what that meant—he walked home when he needed to clear his mind. Apparently even when a blizzard was threatening. Something must have gone wrong. But what? “How long ago did he leave? Do you think I can catch him?”
“Ten minutes,” Jerome said. “He’s got a long stride. I’d take a cab.”
“That won’t work,” Brooklyn said. “He walks down 8thAvenue and it’s one way in the wrong direction. I’d use your phone to call him, but he always turns off his cell when he walks.”
“Plus, there’s almost no service right now,” Maddie said. “I can call a car for you. You can go to his house and wait until he gets there.”
“Yes. Perfect. That would be amazing. Thank you.” Brooklyn wasn’t sure why that solution hadn’t occurred to her, other than the fact that she wasn’t thinking straight. She was grateful as hell for Maddie, who was now busy making the call.
“Okay. Great.” Maddie hung up the phone. “They have a driver down in the garage who can take you now. He’ll be around front in a minute.”
Finally, something was going right. “Thank you both. So much.” Back outside, the car arrived minutes later and she climbed inside, shivering to warm up. “Thanks so much for doing this on short notice,” she said to the driver. “Do you know the address?”
“No worries, Ms. Monroe. I know where we’re going.” The driver pulled into traffic. “I drive Mr. Trakas sometimes. When he lets me. He really prefers to walk or drive himself.”
“Oh, believe me, I know.” Brooklyn laughed quietly and sat back.
“I’ll have you there in no time.” Sure enough, the network driver was nimble and even a bit sneaky, taking a zig-zagging route that almost no one would ever take. But he avoided the major problem areas for traffic and got her to Alec’s house on 22ndStreet without much hassle. “Let me get the door for you,” he said as he pulled up to the curb.
“I’m not sure if he’s here and my phone isn’t working, so if you could wait for a minute, that would be great.”
“I’ll be here,” he said when he opened the door. “I wouldn’t want you waiting out on the sidewalk in the cold.”
“Thank you so much.” Brooklyn hustled up the stairs to Alec’s brownstone, her heart about to burst through her chest. She had so much to tell him. About what had happened that morning, and over the last few days. About how she so badly wanted to find a way to make this work. Even if he was embarking on a new career, they could figure it out. They had to. There were so many words on her lips that her brain was tripping over the mess. She wasn’t sure where to begin, but the doorbell seemed like the obvious place to start. A few buzzes and there was no answer, so she pounded on the door.Boom boom boom.“Alec, come on. Where are you?” she muttered.
“Right here.” Two words and she nearly burst into tears. She whipped around and there he was, standing on the stair tread below her, red-faced and ridiculously handsome, with a deep blue scarf wrapped around his neck and a black hat pulled tight past his ears.
She flung her arms around him and he wrapped her up at her waist, picking her up off the ground. “I missed you,” she gasped, sinking into the embrace, never wanting to let go.
“I missed you, too.” He allowed her feet to touch solid ground again, but still held her close. The fog from their warm breaths swirled between them. “I thought we were meeting at eleven.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the driver wave to her, then duck back inside his car. “You said I could always show up at your door. Well, here I am.”
He smiled wide and peered into her eyes, showing her the warmth and affection she cherished so much. His was a face she never wanted to say goodbye to. “I’m so glad you’re here. I have something to tell you. I turned down one job today and lost the other.”
“Wait. What?”
“I said no to news. And they canned me fromGood Day.”
“I don’t understand. You’re a ratings boon.”
He shrugged. “They put me out to pasture. That’s the real reason they offered me the job in news. I did a passable job at that interview and they figured they could switch me to a shorter contract while canceling the current one.”
