According to Lawrence, my personal brand was looking better and better by the day, and he hadn’t felt the need to double his blood pressure medicine.
His daily,“So proud of you son!” text messages and emails were supposed to be encouraging, but they were simply a result of me working as hard as I could to not think about Penelope.
I was hoping that our lunch at Tully’s today would bring her back into my orbit, and our lives could align as they did before.
Before Simon.
I sat in the back booth and sipped my water.
“Mario?” I called out to the manager. “Can you turn on the TV?”
“Certainly, Mr. Hunter. What channel?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
He flipped between a house renovation station and the news, ultimately settling on a stock market show.
“Feel free to change it, sir.” He set the remote in front of me and refilled my glass.
I tried to pay attention to the boring suits and their predictions, but they weren’t saying anything of value. I pulled out my phone and watched the time tick by instead.
Fifteen minutes passed, and there was still no sign of Penelope.
“We’re here with Simon Gaines of Gaines & Associates.” The reporter’s voice made me look up again. “The biggest and most successful hedge fund right now. They’ve recently moved their headquarters from Florida to New York.”
Simon smiled and shook her hand.
I squinted at the background, realizing he was at the Park Bay Cafe off the Hudson River. He was wearing another custom suit and that custom watch he’d bragged about over dinner.
I tossed back my shot and ordered another.
“How are you enjoying the Big Apple so far, Mr. Gaines?” the reporter asked.
“It’s been wonderful thus far. Already feels like home. My luxury cars have never been treated better.”
What do your cars have to do with anything?
“You have tons of high profile and big name clients,” she said. “Why do you think that is?”
“My experience and track record—especially landing on the Forbes 500 at such a young age, speaks for itself,” he said. “I was more than fine in Florida, but the clients wanted me to be somewhere bigger, so I came here.”
I started to change the channel, but the sexiest woman in the world suddenly appeared on a boat behind him.
Penelope looked ahead at Simon with stars in her eyes, dressed in a white blouse and jeans.
“You were spotted with Hayden Hunter recently,” the reporter continued talking. “Is he considering an investment in your firm, or are you investing in Cinder?”
“I can never discuss business publicly.” He smiled. “But for the record, it was a friendly dinner. He and I share a beautiful common interest, and I believe he now knows that I’m protective of the things that I like, that’s all.”
I clenched my jaw, catching the double entendre.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
I answered my phone without looking at the screen. “Yes?”
“Really?” Penelope laughed. “Am I interrupting you?”
“No.” I noticed her onscreen again, getting out of the boat with the phone held up to her ear. “I believe you’re standing me up, though.”
“How so?”
“You said you’d meet me at Tully’s.”
“Yeah, on Tuesday,” she said. “It’s Thursday, Hayden.”
Huh? I looked at my watch.
She was right.
“Sorry.” I let out a breath.
“It’s okay. I’m losing track of time these days as well.” She walked down to the edge of the riverbank, taking a seat at a table.
A waiter stepped in front of her and blocked my view.
“Are you there, Hayden?” Penelope asked.
“Yes.” I watched the waiter finally move, tried to tune out Simon’s never-ending spiel. “I’m here.”
“For what it’s worth, I like the fact that you make people schedule their interview with you in advance,” she said. “I’m literally watching a play by play of what happens when they don’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“Some finance reporter spotted me and Simon walking and she just so conveniently happened to have her full camera crew and lighting kit ready. She begged for an interview and Hayden actually bought into her ‘what a coincidence’ nonsense.”
“He’s just new,” I said. “He’ll adjust soon. You shouldn’t be upset.”
She leaned forward on her elbows. “Why is that?”
“Because during our Cold War, I was the same way. I stopped and talked to whoever asked me. The extra attention can be quite addictive at first. Besides, if this is the worst thing he’s done, then he’s a great guy right?”
She smiled, and I honestly couldn’t believe that I’d just said that.
“Right,” she said. “This is the first time that I’ve been annoyed. Everything else has been wonderful.”
“Well, brush this off as a one-time thing and pick up where you left off. If he’s serious about you, he’ll find a way to make it up to you soon anyway.”
I need a fucking lobotomy.
“Thanks, Hayden.” Her lips curved into a smile again. “You’re the best.”
“You’re welcome.”
She opened her mouth to say something else, but the screen suddenly glitched and faded into a bottled water commercial.