Ian stared at me. “You’re serious?”
“I said for now. It’s not smart to do anything while there’s an open investigation. He won’t get away with it. The fucker messed with the wrong people.”
“That’s my brother,” Ian exclaimed.
***
The next two weeks were intensive, and I had to admit I was more focused on Mel's well-being and that of her father than the office affairs. The police investigation was moving slowly. They’d determined that the fucker had to return the items and pay for the new door or he’d have to serve a short time in jail.
As if that short time would do anyone any good.
Mel didn’t care about the damn TV and table. She wanted to know Elliot was out of her life, and so did I. We were going for a restraining order, which meant meetings with lawyers, the police, and a judge. Josie couldn’t take Mel’s case because this wasn’t her area of expertise. I would’ve preferred to keep it in the family because there was no one I trusted more than Josie, but I got the best of the best for Mel.
“I can’t believe tomorrow it will finally be over,” Ian exclaimed. We were talking through Zoom. Tomorrow was D-day for submitting project Z for the Innovator of the Year competition. He was still in D.C but returning tomorrow evening.
“We’re going to win this thing,” I said confidently. “But I’m going to log off for the day. I can’t even see straight anymore.” I’d spent the whole day preparing for tomorrow.
“Sure. As soon as I’m back, we’re going to celebrate.”
“I’m not going to be any good tomorrow evening.” Whenever we had a deadline, I operated on adrenaline but crashed as soon as it passed.
“Buzzkill.”
“We can go out and celebrate the day after.”
“Deal. Now, let’s log off before you change your mind about that too.”
Closing the app, I stretched in the chair, feeling on top of the world, at least until Earl, one of our junior project managers, came into my office.
“Are we riding together to the Plaza?” he asked.
“What for?”
“The Solis networking event.”
I groaned. It was six o’clock, and I didn’t give a damn about an evening of cocktails and schmoozing.
“Tell me you didn't forget about it,” he said.
I frowned, pacing the room. I wished I could tell him no, but it completely slipped my mind.
“Go without me. You’ll do fine. I’m not needed.” I was too exhausted to be of any good. The point of networking events was to show people your best side, convincing them you were someone they wanted to work with. But I had zero energy left for that today.
He nodded, looking at me warily. I knew what he was thinking about. This wasn't like me. Typically I never lost oversight of anything like this, but my mind was elsewhere these days. I didn't regret it. Mel was important to me. Her safety and that of her dad trumped everything else, but this did put my team in a weird position.
“I'm sorry, and thank you for filling in for me at the last minute.”
“No problem,” he said. He looked as if he wanted to add something else but didn't; instead, he left my office.
I got out too, heading straight to Genesis. Mel and I were going to train together. I was surprised to find her in front of the gym’s building with her backpack over her shoulder. She was already dressed in her training gear, and her ass was too damn round and perfect in those damn pants. All I wanted was to take her somewhere private and sink inside her.
“Hey, sexy trainer, don't we have an appointment?” I asked.
“We do, but I thought we could do it elsewhere.”
“Why?”
“Well, working out in the open air is a thing. Some people say it's more beneficial than indoors because you're out in the sun at the same time and breathing in fresh air.”
I laughed. “We're in New York. I'm not so sure about the fresh air.”
She pinched me. “Hey, don't knock the city, and besides, we have Central Park. You cannot get better fresh air than that.”
“You can if you're in a small town in Montana,” I replied. “Trust me. I know the difference.”
“Always so direct,” she murmured. “Well, I wanted to surprise you with a romantic outing to help you relax before you submit everything. Montana isn't exactly close by. Will Central Park do, mister?”
I smiled at her, pulling her closer to me. “Yeah, it will. Come on, let's go.”
We Ubered to Central Park. She gave the driver precise instructions as to what entry we needed. When we got out of the car, she took my hand, leading me into the park. She was clasping her phone in her free hand, looking at it closely.
“What are you doing?” I asked her.
“I'm looking at the map of the park. The place I have in mind is somewhat secluded, but it's so secluded that I'm not sure I'm going to find my way to it.”
“Where is it exactly?”
“Not sure, hence the map. Want to help me?” She held the phone in front of my face.
“Babe, your sense of direction sucks. It's the other way.”
She looked over her shoulder, then back at me, grinning. “Oops. You're right. I think I’d manage to get lost in my own apartment.”
I held her close as we walked, one arm around her back, my hand resting on her waist, sliding lower every few steps.
She tilted her head, looking straight at me with an amused smile. “You’re using this opportunity to feel me up, aren’t you?”
“Always. This is a big advantage over the gym, where there are so many prying eyes. I can touch you all I want here.”
“There are people around here too,” she said.
“Yeah, but we don't know these people, so they don't count.”
She laughed. “Dylan logic. I love it.”
We followed the map, and it took twenty minutes to get to the spot she'd marked on it. But I had to admit it was worth it, because it was empty and so deep inside the park, you could be fooled into thinking you were in a forest far from the city if it weren’t for the traffic noises.
“Wow, I guess not many people know about it,” she said.
“Or they get lost on the way.”
“That too. Anyway, look, it's warm, and we can work out here.”
“Babe, there are no weights around here.”
“That doesn't matter. We can improvise. I'm a trainer, and many of my clients don't want to train with anything except their body weight. We can make this work.”
I stepped right in front of her, tilting her head up.
“Or we can not train at all,” I said. “I have a better idea about how we can use this time.”
“Oh really, and what's that?” She was grinning. Next second, I tackled her to the ground, tickling her armpits. She shrieked with laughter, falling on top of me. “You have dangerous ideas, mister.”
“All the time. You were right about being out here. It's relaxing.”
“I can see that. You're already less tense than before,” she said, touching my chest, readjusting her body so she was lying on top of me. Our legs were intertwined on the grass. “You've been burning the candle on both ends over the past few weeks. I thought you might need a little pick-me-up.”