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I walk into his office, and he shuts the door. I take a seat in front of his desk while he rounds it and sits in his chair, the skyline behind him. He’s like King of New York right now.
“Listen, I don’t care what you and your boyfriend do, but keep it off the clock, okay?”
My jaw hangs open. “You know he’s not my boyfriend.”
“Then why am I always finding you in the copier room with him?”
“Why are you going to the copier room? I know it’s not to make your own copies.”
He leans back in his plush chair, the pen in his hand teeter-tottering back and forth. “I saw you come in and I followed. I gave you ample time to answer a professional question, then I sought you out.”
“Ample time? You followed me?” I hold out my wrist. “Why don’t you put a tracking device on me to save yourself time?”
He hems and haws. “I kind of like that idea.” His smirk appears. The one that indents the one dimple on his left cheek.
I retract my wrist. “Not going to happen.”
“Anyway, I wanted to speak with you to let you know that I sent you flowers.” He changes topics faster than a round of Jeopardy.
“You did?” My heartbeat picks up. As sad as it is, I’ve never received flowers from a guy, except for my prom and homecoming dates.
“The florist couldn’t deliver them because she had the wrong address.” His perfectly shaped eyebrows rise as though I purposely gave him the wrong address. More like he went through personnel files or he bribed poor Mildreth down in Human Resources.
“I just moved.” My voice is softer now, my attitude improving thanks to the fact that he sent me flowers. That thought shouldn’t make me as happy as it does.
“Well, they’ll be delivered to work now, and because I didn’t want anyone getting the wrong idea, I had them scrap the card.” He slides a small envelope across the desk. “This is for you.”
I hold the white envelope and lift the flap.
“You don’t need to read it here. It’s just a thank you for letting me join in yesterday,” he says.
Lorenzo Mancini civil? Thankful even? This is a revelation.
He straightens in his chair. “Make sure you change your address with Human Resources. And I rescheduled the meeting with Billy for this afternoon. And…” His gaze trails to the dry cleaning bag on the chair next to me.
I wait for him to say it. The bag is like a bomb about to go off.
“That’s all.”
I nod, biting my lip to stop myself from smiling. “Okay. Well, let me know if there’s anything else.”
“I will.” He turns to his computer and, with his hand on his mouse, disregards me.
Once I’m at my desk, I discreetly open the small card. It’s his chicken-scratch handwriting.
Thank you for allowing me to pry into your family for my own gain. You’ve gone above and beyond, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed.
~ Lorenzo Mancini
I sighand close my eyes, stuffing the card back inside the envelope then into the bottom of my purse.
A half hour later, the mailroom comes up and leaves a dozen Juliet Garden roses in a soft apricot color on my desk.
When Mae comes to my desk to grab me for lunch, she leans down to smell the flowers. “These are beautiful. Who are they from?”
How did I not think of an excuse earlier? No one has asked because Jake has been in meetings all morning and has yet to see them.
“My dad,” I lie, crossing my fingers under my desk.
