Page 19 of The Billionaire's Commitment

“There is that. I think I met a guy who said he was from Mars the other day on the train.”

“See interesting people. What have you done? What do you want to do?” he asked.

He was so honest and open about why he was in the city and what he was doing. It reminded me of how we had been when we were younger and could and had talked about just about anything. I took a sip of my drink before I said, “It was my sister who suggested I come to New York. After I officially ended things with Adam, it seemed like a good idea to get out of town for a while.”

“Was he threatening you? Did he hurt you?”

“No. Nothing like that. We broke up when we went away to college and then reconnected after we graduated. I thought I wanted to do the whole marriage, kids, small town, move next door to my parents thing. Adam did too, or at least I thought he did. That was until I found him sleeping with his coworker in our bed.”

“That bastard,” Brody said. He looked mad enough that he wanted to kill Adam, and it somehow made me feel better about the whole thing.

“The sad part is, I wasn’t that broken up about it. He and the engagement seemed like the right thing to do, but it was just the easiest. Alice suggested I apply for the internship with Project Reform, thinking it would be good to get out of Aurora and get a change in scenery and perspective. I never thought I would get it. When I did, I took it as a sign and came here.”

“What do you think so far?” he asked.

“New York is everything I thought it would be and like nothing I ever thought. I’m sure that doesn’t make any sense,” I said.

“It makes perfect sense. When I first walked down 5th Avenue, it was like I was walking down a movie set. It was exactly like everything I had ever seen on TV or in the movies. Yet, it felt different, like it wasn’t real, like I didn’t belong in it. I don’t know if that was what you are thinking or feeling, but I get where you’re coming from,” he said.

“Something like that,” I said.

“I understand that New York can be a bit scary, but can you tell me what I can do to make your stay in New York more enjoyable and permanent?”

Chapter 9

Brody

She caught my meaning of enjoyment as soon as I said it. I hadn’t really meant it in a sexual way, but it just came out like that. However, I couldn’t be around Zoey without thinking about her in a sexual way.

I could see how apprehensive she was about going out with me, though I wasn’t sure why. When she looked like she was going to change her mind, I had left before she could. I was glad I did because I was enjoying the evening. It was nice to see her again; it was nice to know that she was single. I wanted to know what I could do to change her relationship status.

It made me sad to think she hadn’t gotten to see much of the city. She had always been a bit of a homebody, but I thought that would change with a chance to see such a great city as New York. That she hadn’t gave me a perfect opportunity to show her the city and for us to spend more time together. If only I could get her to agree.

“I’m not going to stay in New York. My internship is for a year; I’ll do the year and then will gladly go back to Oregon.”

“How long have you been here?” I asked.

“Four months,” she replied.

I smiled, and she squinted at me as if she was trying to understand why I was smiling at her comment. “That gives me eight months to convince you to stay,” I said.

“Brody.”

“Hold that thought,” I said as the server arrived with our food. I had been to a few Thai restaurants and even went to Bangkok for a long weekend during some downtime between assignments. The food reminded me of what I had seen there and smelled just as good.

We both leaned back to allow the food to be put on the table, and we checked it out. As I looked over at Zoey, I could tell she wasn’t sure what she had gotten herself into. I could imagine she had felt that way since she had seen me waiting for her outside her office.

The staff had separated the appetizer and soup so that Zoey and I could have some. There were small crackers with what looked like a mixture of different meats with shallots on top. The soup was mainly broth but had mushrooms, shrimp, cilantro, and what I thought was lemongrass floating in it. I had Pad See Ew before and recognized the big noodles that were covered in a thick soy sauce with egg, broccoli, and chicken. The salmon had white rice with onion, mushroom, scallions, and peppers and was covered in a thick brown sauce that smelled a little spicy.

“It looks amazing. Thank you, Ana,” I said to the server.

She smiled at me and then said, “Is there anything else you might need?”

“Some hot sauce, if you have it,” I said and then looked at Zoey.

“No hot sauce for me,” she said.

“Do you need anything else?” I asked Zoey.

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