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Am I? “Maybe you’ve just uncovered my secret—I’m a tightass with money.”
“I don’t think so. And did I say you’d be paying for the car?” She calls an Uber.
“Somehow I think I’ll be doing that.”
She laughs. “I’ll be billing you.”
“So, we should walk.”
“Tell you what,” Elliot says, looking me in the eye. At her height and in the heels she’s wearing she’s up there. And I like it. “We’ll walk, but you wear my shoes.”
I glance at her feet as a cold gust of wind pulls at us. “They’ll never fit me, I’m afraid.”
Just then a gold car pulls up. “Saved by the car service.”
The driver is playing some Indian rap, I think. The car moves slow, as this seems to be the hour everyone’s either heading home or on to the next place for the evening.
“You know, I have an actual car service we could have used.”
She pulls her phone from the pocket of the coat and I silently sigh at the way the lines of the dress are hidden by the merino overcoat. I don’t have to be into her to enjoy the sweet curves of her body. “Do you want a gold star?”
But the corner of her mouth lifts as she says that. She’s scrolling through different feeds on her phone.
“I live for gold stars,” I say.
“Shit.” Elliot looks at me. “This is pretty good, but not good enough.”
I’m tempted to ask what or make a joke, but I know what she’s talking about and it isn’t funny.
“We just started, Elliot.”
“I know. But we’ve got four weeks. I’ve handled last night pretty well, along with what we did tonight, but I think we’re going to need extra rules to keep you out of trouble.”
“That sounds like a tighter leash.”
“It is. Problem is, I don’t have any numbers to go on in regards to the board. If I go asking for updates on your progress, then that looks bad. It means you’re doing this deliberately.”
“I am.”
She sighs. “Yes, but the trick is to make it seem like this ultimation or whatever you want to call the letter and your task, is the catalyst for you wanting to change. The world responds to that. The bigger picture here means the smaller one. But with you, I don’t have stats to go on.”
“So a tighter leash to keep me on the straight and narrow.” I tap my fingers against the glass as I watch the traffic and buildings pass slowly on the what should be a quick trip to SoHo. Then I look back at Elliot. “But that makes me look like this is deliberate, too.”
“Not if we play it right.”
Like her turning up tonight as the woman I’m dating. Is that the life partner shit she was talking about? I’m assuming so, but then again, I don’t know what her devious mind has up its devious sleeve.
“And how do we do that?”
“Fill your social calendar. Carefully orchestrate it. Tell me about your family. I’ve met your mother. But no one else.”
We’re approaching SoHo, and I lean forward and say to the driver, “Do you have other bookings yet?”
“No, this is my last one.”
I reach into my pocket and pull out some crumpled bills. “I’ve got—” I count the money “—one hundred and fifty to go around the block a few times when we get to the destination.”
“You’re the boss.”
