Page 42 of A Lot to Unpack
‘I’m sure I’ve already told you this…’ He pauses to grin. ‘I don’t need an assistant. You’re good. I release you.’
He does a funny little gesture with his hands, as though he’s trying to push the air, to blow me away.
‘Why don’t you go sightseeing?’ he suggests. ‘You can’t have seen it all inSex and the City. There must be new stuff to discover.’
It’s on the tip of my tongue to mention the spin-off show – until I realise he means the city itself. Almost embarrassed myself there.
‘It’s okay,’ I reassure him with a smile. ‘I’ll hang around. Do my job. Just in case you need me – you never know.’
‘Oh, but I do,’ he replies.
He laughs, shakes his head, and walks away. I don’t think he quite knows what to make of me – to be honest, I don’t know what to make of him.
He knows something. He must. It’s like he’s keeping me at arm’s length on purpose, as if he can sense that I have an ulterior motive.
One thing is for sure: I can’t get close to him through work. He’s never going to let that happen. I’m going to have to get creative. I have no idea how. It’s like an escape room (except, you know, I’m trying to get into a room, not out of one) and puzzle that I just can’t crack. There must be a way though. There must be.
My phone buzzes with a notification.
MrLoveByte
That is a big question, NewGirl… Do you want the short answer or the honest one?
NewGirl
Honest – always!
Okay, well, that’s officially got my attention. I wonder what he’s going to say…
16
There’s something about the streets of New York that makes you feel like you’re walking through a live theatre performance at all times.
Everywhere you look there’s something to be gripped by. If it isn’t the scenery, it’s the people – like the couple I just saw arguing in the street.
‘You said the Hamptons were off-limits this weekend,’ she hissed – I could tell she looked angry, even from behind her designer sunglasses (and, yes, it is December).
‘Now suddenly we need to go?’ she continued.
‘I didn’t say that,’ he shot back. ‘I said we should reconsider depending on the weather, and the weather is clearly in favour of Montauk.’
‘You’re seeing her again, aren’t you?’ she snapped suddenly – I wish I’d had popcorn with me.
‘Oh, for God’s sake, Tori, let it go, it was five years ago,’ he replied.
‘The first time,’ she clapped back.
I kept walking, obviously, but it took everything in me not to slow to a crawl and fully tune in. Rich people fight differently. There’s no mention of doing the dishes or taking out the bins.
I suppose I should be counting my lucky stars that having no man in my life means not getting cheated on in the Hamptons, and having zero arguments generally. Come on – I’m not actually jealous of two people, with a clearly messy relationship, arguing, am I? I don’t want that. It would be nice to have someone to hang out with though. Doing all of this alone isn’t as much fun as it would be doing it with someone else.
What am I doing? I’m hiding behind a plant.
I’m trying to think if I’ve ever had to hide behind a plant and, nope, I think this might be the first time. I might feel sort of tragic, were I not hiding behind a plant in New York. If you’re going to be a weirdo, at least be a transatlantic one.
From where I’m lurking, I have a perfect view of Jordan. Well, perfect in the sense that I can see him from here, and he can’t see me. Not perfect in the sense that, you know, I’m hiding behind a fucking plant, in a hotel bar, where if someone were to notice me, they would almost certainly ask me to leave – if not kick me out. If not deport me.
In hindsight, maybe I didn’t need to hide. Jordan knows I’m here now; we’re both staying in this hotel – it wouldn’t be weird for me to be in the bar too. But perhaps he would behave differently, if he knew I were here? Maybe he suspects Paige of sending me to spy on him? And even if he wouldn’t act all that differently, knowing that I was watching him, he would have even more reason not to trust me, and I really need him to trust me.
