Page 97 of Manhattan Bossholes

I wondered how long we’d stand there in silence. He knew what I needed to hear, yet he still wasn’t saying it.

“I’m sorry, okay?” Vincent finally managed. “I thought the flowers made that part obvious, but I guess not.”

I shook my head at him. “They prove you’re amazing at theatrics, but that’s it.” I blinked away the tears that caught me off guard. “And what’s even worse is that you didn’t realize that all I wanted, more than anything, was a sincere, heartfelt apology. To prove that my feelings matter to you. I don’t need a show. You could’ve saved yourself a couple grand.”

“The money doesn’t matter,” he said angrily.

“Wow, we actually agree on something,” I huffed out a laugh.

Vincent moved closer and started to reach for me, then thought better of it. “Piper, I’m sorry you were hurt by what happened. I just want to make things right between us. I thought you’d love the flowers.”

He was still getting it wrong. I wanted him to own the way he’d hurt me, yet he was sidestepping it.

“They’re beautiful. But you know what upsets me about all of this?” I glanced out to the street.

Vincent furrowed at my non sequitur and shook his head.

“The fact that you had no clue what I needed to hear. That apologizing to me wasn’t your automatic, instinctive reaction to hurting me. Do you even know what hurt me in the first place?”

“Maya,” he answered automatically. “Making a scene like that and ruining the launch.”

“No, that’s what upset you, not me. I was upset because you were on camera talking about how our relationship was a sham. You know what I went through with Matthew—how could you not realize how humiliating that would be for me? Even before that, I was upset because you spent the whole night introducing me as a colleague when I thought I was your girlfriend. And in the end—the reason I walked away? It was because I was so incredibly upset about all of it, and all you could think about was the business. I was hurting so badly, and not once did you ask if I was okay. My feelings didn’t matter to you at all. I didn’t matter to you. And that’s not a problem you can fix by throwing money at it.”

“Piper…” his voice was strained, like he was finally starting to understand that for once, this wasn’t a problem his bottomless bank account could resolve.

“Thank you for turning my street into a garden. It’s lovely.” I managed a tight-lipped grin at him even as tears spilled down my cheeks. “And thank you for showing me an incredible time over the past few months.” I drew a shaky breath. “But this is where our story ends. Goodbye, Vincent.”

I turned to walk back to my office.

“Piper,” he called after me, so loudly that people turned to look at him.

But I didn’t pause. And I didn’t look back.

I just walked away.

29

VINCENT

Asurprise press conference was a guarantee that every important news outlet would show up, which was exactly what I wanted. Linda had pulled everything together within twenty-four hours, proving once again that she was a miracle worker.

“What are we forgetting?” Linda asked as she looked around the holding room next to the hotel ballroom where I’d be speaking in just a few minutes. “Everyone is just about settled in. The AV equipment is ready⁠—”

“What about the livestream?” I interrupted. “That’s critical.”

“I was just about to say that the social media team is on it and it’s good to go. And the⁠—”

“The messenger with the package?” I asked quickly, because that was the most important part of the whole show.

Linda held my gaze for a beat, the only editorial comment she probably felt comfortable giving me. “As I was saying…the messenger has been in contact, and he confirmed that she received it and the instructions included with it.”

I started pacing. “I wish there was a way to guarantee that it all falls into place. There’s a choreography element to this whole production, but if Piper doesn’t follow instructions, there’s no point to all of this.” I started pacing as I envisioned all the ways my plan could go wrong.

Maybe Piper put the box down and forgot about it?

Or worse, what if she threw it away without even opening it? She looked upset enough during the lilac fiasco to do exactly that.

No, the absolute worst-case scenario would be if Piper opened the box and hated what was inside of it.