AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Is everything okay?” she asks.
“Yes? No? Who knows? Don’t worry, I’m sure it’s not about work,” I say. He could be calling about the charge on the credit card, but I don’t think he’d notice it or care really. In his mental calculator, ten grand is chump change.
“I’m not worried about work. I’m worried about you,” Jessica says.
It takes me a second to catch my breath. Every time she says something like this, it feels like a punch to the gut. And I’m starting to like that, apparently.
“Thanks, but you don’t have to. I’m good.”
“Look, first, well, I’m sorry about the argument we had in the fabric store. I said some things out of frustration.”
Her words loosen something in my chest—guilt, I think. “You don’t have to apologize. I was the one being a total dick. I don’t want to undermine your leadership. And I definitely don’t think I’m better than you—it’s the opposite, really.”
“Thanks for that. It’s hard not to fall in society’s trap of thinking money equals value...people with more money thus have more value. Maybe I was projecting my own insecurities. I know I’ve been super aggro about the budget. I’ve always been this way. It’s how I was raised. My dad is a stickler down to every penny.”
“Sounds exactly like the type of person a company would want in a Finance role then,” I say.
She shrugs a shoulder and turns to look out the window. “If you don’t have plans tonight, maybe we can hang out and do a deep dive into everything we’ve been working on? I feel like I need the emotional support for next time my dad grills me about work. And maybe you’d be more prepared to answer next time your dad calls.”
“I don’t plan on answering the phone,” I say with a chuckle. I don’t find any of it amusing, though. “But you’re right, we really should get caught up to keep our dads believing everything.”
She nods but still doesn’t turn around to look at me.
“Jessica?” I say softly. What I don’t say is:Turn around. Let me see your expression when I ask you this. Let me make sure you want to be with me as much as I do with you. Let me know that everything else is just our excuse.
She turns her face slowly away from the window and toward me. Her eyes are so soft, I have to ball my hands into fists to keep from touching her cheek and making a move.
It’s been silent for too long. Any second, it’s gonna be uncomfortable.
“Do you wanna walk around Central Park and talk?” I finally ask.
“Won’t we get murdered?” she responds immediately.
Our taxi driver laughs and my cheeks heat at the thought of him hearing our entire conversation. He says, “Look, if you want, I could drop you kids off at Little Island over on the water. I hear it’s pretty romantic this time of night and you’re less likely to get murdered there.” The rasp in his voice, paired with the smell in his cab, betrays years of a smoking habit he could never quite kick.
“Oh, no, sir, you’ve got this all wrong,” Jessica tries to explain.
“Yeah, uh, we just work together,” I add.
“Uh-huh,” he draws out, not fooled one bit. “So, then, where am I taking you?”
“Fifty-fifth and Seventh Avenue,” I tell him.
Jessica’s shoulders drop when she hears the address of the office. She may not want to go to Central Park at night, but I think she still wants to spend time with me. Luckily, I have another idea.
“Let’s drop these bags off at the office and then, if you don’t mind, there’s somewhere else I wanna take you. We can talk there,” I say.
She raises her eyebrows in question, but I just smile back at her. “Sure, I don’t mind at all,” she says.
I crack the window of the taxi open just a little bit to let some of the cool night air in. And though we’re quiet the rest of the ride back to the office, the sounds of the city act as the soundtrack to our anticipation of what’s to come.
“I love it here, I don’t ever want to leave,” Jessica says.
“I think the trains eventually do stop running for the night and this place closes.” Jessica and I sit on the stairs flanking the Main Concourse of Grand Central Station. It’s bustling with commuters trying to get home from a long day at work or those coming into the city for a night on the town. I originally planned to come here because my mom raves about some oyster restaurant. But now that we’re here, I’d rather just sit and people watch.
“I just wanna put down a blanket and lie here staring up at this gorgeous ceiling for hours.” Jessica lets out a deep sigh of appreciation.
“I know. And it’s wild that all these people have somewhere to go, somewhere to be. It blows my mind,” I say.
