Page 264 of Manhattan Bossholes

“It was good to meet you, Natasha,” Jimmy said, turning to me.

“Nice to meet you too.” I pulled him into a hug. After all we’d shared this evening, I wanted us to stay in touch, so I slipped Jimmy my number on the back of the receipt paper from the restaurant.

“Just in case you ever need someone to talk to,” I explained. “And can’t get a hold of your brother.”

Jimmy nodded in thanks, then shot Trent a look. He snapped the paper between his hands. “Told you I’ve got game.”

I laughed and Trent rolled his eyes as Jimmy sauntered off, looking much more positive than when we’d arrived.

“Shall we head back?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Trent said. “Now that you’ve tried to pick up my brother.”

“Ugh,” I complained. “I was not trying to pick him up. He’s a literal child.”

“I know.” He gave me a rare, teasing grin. “I’m kidding. But seriously, thanks for doing that.” He reached out to take my hand, squeezing it gently. “Jimmy doesn’t have a lot of people in his life he can count on. It’s nice to know he has one more.”

“Of course,” I said, trying not to shiver at his touch. He’s just holding your hand, you ninny. Pull it together. I turned and climbed into the driver’s seat. “Ready?”

Trent climbed up beside me. “Let’s get this death trap back to New York.”

12

TRENT

“Ireally appreciate all the advice you gave Jimmy tonight,” I said as we made our way back to the city.

The corner of Natasha’s mouth curled. She glanced over her shoulder before merging onto the New Jersey Turnpike. “I was happy to do it. I remember being his age. The world can feel very…overwhelming when you’re eighteen. Sometimes all you need is someone older telling you it’s all going to be okay.”

The U-Haul lurched, and we both chuckled nervously.

“I really hope you never rent from this company again,” Natasha said.

“God, no,” I grumbled. “I’ve been so scarred by this experience that I’m starting my own moving company. I’m gonna have a whole fleet of trucks.”

She laughed. “If you make them all electric trucks, you can stay on the sustainability grind. And you could actually deliver your own furniture instead of outsourcing.”

I snorted. “Sounds expensive.”

“Sounds better for the environment,” she said. “You’d be like farm to table but instead it’d be tree to⁠—”

“Living room?” I suggested.

She laughed. “Exactly.”

“Do you have siblings?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No. Only child.”

I hummed. “I sort of thought you might, the way you were with Jimmy tonight.”

“I always wanted a little brother,” I said. “I think I would have fought with a sister over literally everything. But a brother would have been great.”

“Jimmy is pretty awesome,” I agreed. “I really hope he takes your advice and checks out the resources available to him.”

“Me too. That’s one of the things my parents always encouraged me to do. I wasn’t lying when I said I used to really struggle in school. But they kept me from losing confidence and helped me figure out who to talk to, like the guidance counselor I mentioned. Without help from all of them, I probably would have flunked multiple courses in high school.” She turned my way for a brief second. “Actually, you reminded me of my parents tonight.”

“I did?” I grimaced, vaguely horrified by the thought. The last thing I wanted was for Natasha to think of me as a father figure.