Page 541 of Manhattan Bossholes

I bit off a hunk of taco and talked with my mouth full. “Tell me everything.”

“He’s a photographer. I’ve only seen him around the offices, but there is some serious eye-fucking going on.”

“Are you going to shoot with him?”

She shrugged. “Still not sure if they want me for ads or anything, so I don’t know if I’ll be modeling for him. But fingers crossed.”

“What does he look like?” I wanted to live vicariously through Steph, because there was going to be zero romance in my life for a long time.

The door buzzer sounded as she started to answer me, and we looked at one another blankly.

“Did you order more food?” I asked her.

Steph shook her head. “Nope, shitty tacos is it. Could it be Amazon?”

I frowned at her. “I’m not expecting anything—are you?”

“Not that I can remember.” She jumped up and ran over to hit the answer button. “Yes?”

“Package for Miss Natalie Reynolds,” came the scratchy reply.

“Okay, you can leave it in the lobby and she’ll be down to get it,” Steph shouted into the intercom as she glanced over her shoulder at me.

“I’m sorry, my instructions were to deliver it to your door. It’s a bit cumbersome.”

Steph took her finger off the call button and turned to me with wide eyes. “British accent! Whatever it is, it sounds fancy.”

My heartbeat sped up. What now?

“Tell him to come up.”

A few minutes later we heard a soft rap on the door, and Steph threw it open dramatically. On the other side was a tidy-looking gray-haired man dressed in all black, with a tweed newsboy cap on his head. He was holding a large box, perfectly wrapped in brown paper and finished with a thick black ribbon.

“Miss Reynolds?”

Steph shook her head and pointed at me. “Nope, you’re looking for the woman shoving a taco in her mouth.”

I waved at him wordlessly while I finished chewing.

“May I?” he asked, nodding to the package in his arms. “I just need a signature.”

I hopped off the couch and ran over to him as he placed the box on the ground and dug out a small clipboard. “Here you are.”

The form didn’t have any identifying information. I signed it quickly.

“Thank you,” I said, staring at the box and still trying to figure out what was going on. Then I realized my bad etiquette. “Ooh, a tip! One second please.”

He gave me a little bow and backed towards the door. “Unnecessary. That’s been taken care of. Have a lovely evening.”

The man was gone before I could reply.

“Do you think it’s from…” Steph trailed off.

I shrugged. I didn’t dare hope that James was trying again. Besides, it was no use trying to buy his way back into my life, no matter what extravagant trinket might be in the box.

“I think we need scissors,” I said, staring at it.

Steph jogged to the kitchen and back, holding them out to me. “This is one instance where it’s okay to run with scissors. Now get to it.”