Page 38 of A Lot to Unpack
‘Well, it is a great place to work,’ he replies. ‘Our employees are always happy, our benefits are great.’
Not if I don’t swap these contracts, they’re not.
‘The lift really is the only downside,’ he adds. ‘But sometimes it’s a nice break.’
I laugh.
‘I’m enjoying it so far,’ I tell him. Well, I am; so far it’s pretty much only involved going on holidays and crap dates.
‘Good,’ he replies, pulling out a laptop. ‘I’m going to try get some work done once we’re in the air. I always try to beat the jetlag but I always get it wrong.’
‘Okay, well, I’ll leave you to it,’ I reply. ‘I think I’ll watch a movie.’
I say that, but I can’t seem to stop myself watching him. Everything he does is cool. Unbothered. Stylish, even. Like he’s a model for the airline. The poster boy of first-class travel.
I do feel sort of bad for him, and for not being honest with him, but it’s not actually going to cause him any harm. I’m fixing a mistake. Righting a wrong. I’m doing this for my job, for Paige, for women everywhere… maybe.
I need to stick to the plan and it will be done and dusted before I know it, and Jordan will be none the wiser.
Just as soon as I realise how I’m going to do it, that is.
14
I have to keep pinching myself because I’m here, in the Big Apple, the city that never sleeps – sort of like me, on an eight-hour flight. I didn’t get a wink. I think I was too excited.
I’m in the back of a car with Jordan, the one that is taking us from the airport to the hotel. I’m not saying it’s swanky, but the driver is wearing a hat.
We’re currently crawling through the thick Manhattan traffic but I’m happy to take it slow, to take in the sights. Outside the window, it’s all yellow cabs, steam coming up from grates, towering skyscrapers – exactly as I imagined it.
It’s December so it is cold, like it is back home, but somehow the novelty of being here makes it seem not so miserable. Christmas is coming, so everywhere looks so festive. I feel like I could be in a Hallmark Christmas movie right now – let me out of the car, so I can go outside and have my meet-cute with a hot local.
‘Is this your first time?’ Jordan asks.
‘What?’ I reply.
‘In New York,’ he clarifies with a smile.
‘Oh.’ I laugh, feeling my cheeks warm. I wonder if I’m being a dork. ‘Yes. But I’ve watched a lot ofSex and the City, so I feel like I pretty much know my way around.’
He raises a brow, clearly amused.
‘I haven’t seen it,’ he replies. ‘But I’m sure it is a very accurate representation of the geography.’
‘I already feel like I’m in it,’ I say, dreamily. ‘Don’t be surprised if I go full Carrie while we’re here.’
‘That wouldn’t surprise me at all, because I don’t know who that is,’ he replies. ‘Though the only Carrie I know is from that horror film.’
‘I’ve probably got form for both,’ I joke.
He laughs again, properly this time, and I can’t help but smile. He’s hard not to like – until I remember the things Paige told me about him. I need to not like him, ideally, because it will make it easier to sneak around behind his back without feeling so guilty.
The car turns off Central Park West and slows in front of a beautiful old hotel – The Van Doren, with its timeless stonework and luxury vibes. It overlooks the park – it doesn’t get more Hallmark than that, does it?
A doorman in a burgundy coat and hat opens the car door for me, and the moment I step out, the cold nips at my nose like it’s mad at me. I wrap my coat a little tighter and glance up at the building. Boy, it is big. Obviously we have tall buildings in London but, here, it’s different. Everything just feels so… big.
The second we step inside the lobby, it’s like being wrapped in a blanket, the revolving door doing the most to keep the chill outside. Now that I think about it, that’s the first time I’ve used a revolving door since Paris. I’m glad I didn’t realise beforehand, or I would have overthought it.
The marble floor is polished, the gold fixings are gleaming, and the Christmas tree might be the biggest one I’ve ever seenin my life. It stands tall, allowing the spiral staircase to wrap around it, and it seems to go up and up and up.
