Page 594 of Manhattan Bossholes

I outlined what had happened, and Felicity offered to come up before I’d even officially asked her. My doorbell rang five minutes later.

“Hey, where’s my canine patient?” She walked past me and into my penthouse. “Wow, nice place.”

She’d changed into soft black leggings that clung to her ass in a way that made me want to stare and a worn t-shirt. She’d washed away the makeup and washed the product out of her hair, which was still damp and pulled back in a low ponytail. She’d looked devastating at the restaurant, but this naturally gorgeous version was just as heart-stopping.

I cursed Tyler yet again for having to leave her.

After I’d explained the mechanics of where everything was, how to reach his vet just in case, and how to walk Boris, I finally paused to take a breath.

“Hey,” Felicity said softly, walking over to me with Boris right behind her. “I’ve got this. We’re a team, remember? Boris is going to be fine, I swear. Go get Tyler and I’ll take care of everything here.”

“I know you will,” I said gratefully as I got ready to leave. “I owe you.”

“Ooh, I like the sound of that,” she teased. “I need to give it some thought before I cash in!”

I managed a tight smile because the reality of what Tyler had done was kicking in, and I was getting angrier and angrier at him.

“I shouldn’t be too long, but please make yourself comfortable. If you’re hungry⁠—”

“I am not hungry at all, thanks to you,” she cut me off. “Now go.”

I opted to drive myself so I could spend the ride home yelling at Tyler without having to worry about Jimmy overhearing. It took forever to get things sorted out at the police station. It seemed that the bar fight had included half of the city. The waiting area was filled with rowdy, angry drunks who were there to pick up their drunker cohorts.

By the time Tyler finally came out to meet me, I’d downshifted from furious to exhausted. I was tired from the long day and worn out by the way Tyler was living his life.

Something had to change.

Tyler looked pale and bruised as he walked through the overcrowded, bright waiting area to me. He gave me a sheepish smile, and for a moment I saw a flash of the talented young kid who’d always been there to help me out during a gig.

“Hey,” he said. “I’m sorry, bro.”

“Don’t call me that right now, okay?” I bristled. “Let’s just get out of here.”

He turned to me once we were out on the sidewalk. “I hate to ask you this, but is there any chance I can grab a bite? I haven’t eaten since⁠—”

“Since you got wasted?”

“Fine, never mind,” he grunted and pointed down the block. “I’ll just grab something from the bodega.”

“No,” I relented. “I passed a diner around the corner. Let’s have a proper meal.”

We walked there in silence, and my emotions ran from sympathy to anger and back again, over and over. I knew that lecturing an addict didn’t do any good—it had to be his choice to change. But that didn’t make it any less frustrating to watch him spiral further and further down the drain.

A tired-looking waitress seated us in a corner booth, and we were silent as Tyler scanned the menu. I didn’t want anything, not even coffee. I glanced at my phone. Two in the morning. I should be in bed. We both should.

“Okay,” Tyler sighed after he placed his order and handed the menu to the waitress. “I’m ready. Start preaching.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I asked angrily. “You’re going to come at me with that kind of attitude? After you blow off my dog all day and I bail you out of jail? Nice, Tyler, really nice.”

“What? I’m serious! Talk some sense into me.”

I growled, “Like it’ll do any good. We’ve been here before. Too many fucking times, if you ask me.”

He bowed his head. “Yeah, I know.”

“So why are we back?” I demanded. “I know you’ve been…struggling for a while, but things have gotten worse lately, and I just don’t get why. You’re booking gigs again, people are loving your music…Why isn’t that enough?”

He stared at the table, and for a minute, I thought he wasn’t going to answer. But finally, he said, “It would have been my anniversary last month, you know. If we’d stayed together.”