"I'd use my special techniques in persuasion to convince him to leave."
He smiled and then left the bar.
"I wouldn't want to mess with Jerome," Michael offered.
"Me, neither."
While we watched, Jerome walked out of the bar and crossed the street, barely even checking the traffic as he crossed. He made a beeline right to Mr. Fedora, and stopped right in front of the man, who put down his paper. The two men talked, and Jerome gestured to the left and both men glanced down that way. I wondered what Jerome said, but whatever it was, it seemed to have an effect. The man tucked his paper under his arm and walked off to the right. On Jerome's part, he stood and watched, then spoke into a cell.
Finally, he turned around and crossed the street again. It was then I saw a black sedan drive to the right and Jerome stopped and pointed down the street in the direction Mr. Fedora took.
The sedan pulled away and Jerome watched for a moment before coming back inside the bar.
"What happened?" I asked when Jerome arrived back at the bar. He adjusted his jacket and nodded.
"I asked him what he was doing. He said he was just passing time waiting for a friend. I told him that we knew he what he was doing and that we were watching him. If he came within 100 feet of you or your properties, he'd have to deal with me. He denied knowing what I was talking about. I pointed down the street and said that there was a security van watching the street and had everything on tape. Then I asked him to be on his way. He complied."
"I saw you speaking with someone in a black sedan," I replied. "Who was that?"
"It was one of my colleagues, Mitch, who is tailing the man. We're going to find out who this sonofabitch is one way or another."
I nodded, glad that they might be able to find out what he was doing. Then, maybe I could put Mr. Fedora out of my mind.
9
Ella
We closed the deal on the Park Avenue fixer-upper the first week that both Josh and I were back at work.
It was an extremely fast decision, but we both felt the location was perfect and the project would allow us to have our dream apartment. My office and Josh's office would both look out over Central Park, so it was perfect. I couldn't wait to sit down with Michael and his designers and builders to talk about what we wanted done. The prospect of Josh and I going out to choose appliances and furniture and decorations made me extremely happy.
So it was that I had a spring in my step as I walked across the crosswalk to the coffee shop, Blaine, my bodyguard for the day, in tow. My first few weeks back at work were busy as I tried to catch up with the influx of manuscripts that came over the transom during the holidays. One day, towards the end of January, Josh came down to the office and sat in the chair across from my desk.
"What are you doing here? I thought we were going to keep work and pleasure separate," I said, putting on a serious expression, although I was just teasing.
"You're too tempting," Josh said. "Besides, we're going to be married in April. We've been really good, avoiding each other for the past couple of weeks, but now that everyone knows we're engaged, I figured we could come out of the closet." He stood and came around my desk, sitting on the edge beside me. He leaned down and kissed me. "Finally, I don't really care anymore what anyone thinks. We're going to be married and what's mine will be yours, and what's yours will be mine. You'll be a part owner as well as an employee."
"I'll expect a bigger office, if that's the case," I said, folding my arms, my expression serious.
"Shall I fire Sharon and install you in her place?" Josh asked and for a moment, I thought he was being serious, but then I saw the gleam in his eyes.
"Sharon can stay. I want you to get rid of that new manager and install me there instead. His office is much bigger that Sharon's."
We both laughed, because neither of us were serious.
"Seriously," I said. "I'm happy to learn the ropes by working as Sharon's assistant. That's good enough for me for now. I'm not arrogant enough to think I should be put in any position beyond that. For now. Maybe one day, I might like to take over the business and run it, but I'm nowhere near that now. I'm still learning."
Josh nodded. "That's a good attitude to have. Ambitious, but aware of your need to learn and grow. One day, when you feel ready, Dominion Publishing will be yours if you want it. But if you want a bigger office, I could probably justify it because you're going to be my wife. Everyone would understand."
"Never," I said and shook my head. "That would be seen as being selfish and arrogant. I love my office. There's nothing wrong with it and a bigger office wouldn't make me any happier."
"Good," Josh said and leaned down to kiss me again. "Now, I have to go back to work. Do you feel like some Vietnamese spring rolls and pho for supper? I have a coupon," he said and held out a flyer he must have picked up somewhere for 10% off our next order.
"Any excuse for Vietnamese, I always say," I replied. I was already imagining the spicy spring rolls, the noodle soup and the other dishes we always ordered. It had become one of our favorite takeout meals and when we ordered it, I always made sure there was enough left over so I could have it the next day for lunch.
"Good. There's a Knicks game on tonight, and I want to watch. I'll get some beer while I'm out."
"Sounds like the perfect way to pass a cold winter night. You have a meeting at the main office?" I asked, curious why he was going out.