Page 35 of The Incredible Kindness of Paper
“Yeah, me too. A lot.”
When they hung up, Oliver almost turned around to head back to the National Museum of Mathematics. But at the last second, he changed his mind. Central Park was close by, and being outside in nature was supposed to be good for you, right? It seemed to be helping his dad.
But he never made it to Central Park. Because on 5th Avenue, there she was.
Chloe, standing just outside of Bergdorf Goodman.
Chloe
Just a few minutes before, Chloe had been in Ricky’s black town car.
“Thanks for driving me,” she said.
“No problem,” Ricky said. “The car service’s garage is in Queens, so you weren’t that far out of the way. But I would have been happy to pick you up anyway.”
“Ooh, do you think they need any help at the garage?” Chloe said. “I’m not a mechanic, but I could do other things—answer phones, wash cars… I’m still applying for permanent jobs, but in the meantime, I’m trying to pick up whatever else I can. My rent’s going up.”
“Actually, I think someone in the office quit this week,” Ricky said. “I’ll put in a word for you.”
“I appreciate it, Ricky.”
He smiled at her. “We’re all better when we look out for each other, right?”
As soon as Ricky dropped her off in front of Bergdorf Goodman and drove away, Chloe’s phone rang. It was Zac.
“Chloe… I’m sorry. I have to cancel today.”
“What? But I’m already here. You said you’d meet me.”
“I know,” Zac said. “But an opportunity’s come up—I scooped the Winston family foundation account, and I have to stay at the office to work on it.”
“I can’t go in there alone. I don’t belong in a store like this.”
“Sure you can. And youdobelong there. I have a Bergdorf account and you can charge anything you want. So walk in like you own the place. But I have to run, Chloe. Have fun, all right?”
Zac hung up without saying goodbye—why had that become a thing that people did?—and Chloe sighed before she tucked her phone into her purse and looked up at the intimidating Bergdorf Goodman window display.
“Are you okay?” someone asked from behind her.
She whirled around and came face-to-face with the guy from Little Tokyo, the one who’d bought her a caramel cappuccino then rudely ended their brief acquaintance. Chloe eyed him warily.
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop,” he said. “But… you make this little squeaking sound when you’re upset—”
“I do not.”
He chewed the inside of his cheek. “I’m sorry to inform you, but you do. And you just did.”
Chloe pretended to be outraged, but only to cover the fact that she found it surprisingly endearing that this grump had noticed something about her in the very short time they’d spent with each other.
“This is the third time we’ve run into each other,” she said, “so I think we should at least introduce ourselves. I’m Chloe. And you are?”
He hesitated.
But then he said, “Tolly.” He winced, as if the name pained him.
She let it go without comment, though, because he obviously hadn’t meant for her to see it. “Well, Tolly, I’m glad you’re here, even though I’m not sure you like me much, based on our last two run-ins. You may not believe in coincidences, but I do. And right now, I need someone like you in a dapper suit to make me look respectable, so that I can buy a dress in a place like Bergdorf Goodman.” She gestured at her current outfit, a satin camisole and a maxi skirt she’d sewn herself from swatches of pastel silk.
“My suit is from a two-for-one sale at Men’s Wearhouse, so I’m not sure how much help I’ll be,” Tolly said. “Besides, you don’t need me. You look…” His eyes skimmed her body, and his voice trailed off, lips slightly parted.
