Page 184 of Manhattan Bossholes

Carlos twisted the vase around. “There’s a card here. Nice flowers, huh?”

Cora snatched it up and read it. Her lips puckered and her nose wrinkled. I could tell she was annoyed. “From Levi,” she told me.

“Levi?” Carlos repeated. “That guy’s back? Thought he went off to California.”

“He did.” Cora grimaced. “Maybe we’ll all get lucky, and he’ll go back.”

“The guy clearly can’t take a hint,” I muttered under my breath. I wanted to find the nearest trash can and dump the entire vase.

“After the way he treated you, he thinks he can shell out for some flowers and everything’ll be okay? Pssh,” Carlos said. “What a jerk. Want me to get rid of them?”

Cora sighed, pushing the vase back across the desk. “Why don’t you take them home to your wife?” she said. “I’d hate for them to go to waste.”

“Hey,” Carlos said, clearly pleased at the thought. “There’s an idea. The wife’ll be ecstatic.”

“Good,” Cora said. “I’m glad someone will enjoy them.” She headed for the elevator. “See you later, Carlos.”

“See you,” he called after us.

I followed Cora into the elevator and up to her apartment, unable to shake the image of the massive bouquet. “So, it sounds like Carlos isn’t a fan of Levi,” I said.

She snorted. “That’s putting it lightly. Though they actually got along well enough when Levi and I lived here together.”

My eyebrows shot up. “You lived here with Levi? I thought you moved here to live with Jennifer.”

“Other way around, kinda,” she explained. “I met Jenn when we worked at the same restaurant, and I helped her get her apartment here after my neighbor moved out. It’s how we stayed close even when we moved around to work at different places. When Levi left, I couldn’t afford our apartment on my own, and I was a little panicky about what I was going to do. Carlos was around to see it—it’s why he can’t stand Levi now, for putting me in that position. Jenn offered for me to move in with her, so all’s well that ends well, but Carlos still holds a grudge.”

“Sure, that makes sense.” When Cora had talked about the breakup before, it hadn’t even occurred to me that Levi’s departure would have thrown her living situation into chaos. What an asshole. He really had left her in the lurch in every way imaginable, hadn’t he? And now he was back, making a pest of himself in newly horrible ways.

What part of last night was Levi not understanding? Cora didn’t want to be with him. She was with me now. What the hell did he think sending her flowers was going to accomplish?

Because unlike Levi, Cora wasn’t the type of person to ditch her partner on a whim. He needed to back off.

“You okay?” Cora asked as she unlocked her door.

“What? Oh, yeah.”

“You kind of spaced out there for a second. I was just saying mission accomplished. You delivered me safe and sound to my door.” She smiled softly. “You should probably get back down there before you do get a ticket. Your good luck’s only going to last so long.”

“You’re right.” I leaned in, pecking her on the lips. “What time should I pick you up for our date? Seven?”

“Make it seven thirty,” she said, winking at me in a way that got my heart racing.

“I’ll be here.”

“No chariot. Remember, you promised.”

“No chariot.” I hummed. “Maybe I’ll bring the McLaren, though.”

Cora’s eyes widened. “How many cars do you…” She stopped herself mid-question. “You know what. I don’t even want to know the answer.”

“Probably for the best,” I said, backing toward the elevator. “See you tonight.”

“See you.” She waved, slipping inside.

I headed back downstairs, strutting out of the elevator, phone to my ear. “Anthony,” I said as the call connected. Anthony was the general manager of Velour & Vine, the three Michelin star restaurant inside the Glenhaven Club. It had exquisite seafood, boasted one of the most extensive wine cellars in the city, and was consistently ranked one of the best restaurants in the world. The exclusivity made people go mad for it. Cora may have loved her pancakes this morning, but this place was going to give her a real dining experience. I would make sure of it. “It’s Mr. Callihan. I need a table for tonight.”

“Of course, Mr. Callihan. We’d be happy to accommodate you. What time were you thinking?”