“You are totally exaggerating, but I hear you.” Derrick sighed. “Jurnee, have you Googled Anderson?”
“You know the answer to that. I never Google people.” I crossed my arms and swallowed hard, pushing the tears back. “It’s rude, and people can’t control what’s put online–”
“Yes. Yes. Yes. Your strange ‘never Google people’ policy is weird yet endearing. Allow me to share one observation.”
I walked back into the only other room in the tiny sublet and flopped back down on the bed.
“The man that you brought home last weekend was head over heels for you. He watched every move you made and cheerfully endured you at a Michigan State football game.”
“Yeah. What does that mean?”
“It means you are a crazy person for your precious Green and White. It means he was all-in. It means he sent you a text he needs to explain, but you owe him room to give you that explanation.”
“I–”
“Nope. I know better than almost anyone that you’ve been hurt. I’m not going to allow you to keep carrying that hurt around your neck. So, yes, that was a shitty text, and I understand that it hit you hard. Now, it’s time to ask him to explain himself and listen to his reason.”
“The text says to delete his contact information.” I pouted. “Why would I text him after that?”
“So he can explain himself.”
“Yeah, okay.” Soraya popped into my mind as I made my way back to the bathroom. “Thank you for your advice. I don’t know how I’m going to make it not living next door to you.”
“That’s easy, you’re not.” Derrick joked. “You are going to perish the first time there’s a really big spider.”
“I really am.” Looking around the bathroom for a spider, I stared into the mirror and stuck my tongue out at my reflection. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He paused, “Jurnee, you are going to shine at this coffee shop thing. I know you didn’t plan on Graham investing in your idea, but I’m very proud of you.”
“You have to come visit.” The sadness was clear in my words.
“Duh. You’re living in the greatest city in the world. I’ll be visiting. I have to run. If I’m not ready when he gets here, this man will pout the entire drive.”
Mentally kicking myself for not checking in with how Derrick’s relationship was faring, I inquired. “Where is he taking you today?”
“I don’t think I should tell you.”
“What? Why?”
“We’re going to the cider mill.”
My eyes filled with tears, but for a completely different reason. Holidays were my thing, and our annual trip to the cider mill was a major event in the crispness of September. The selection of the perfect pumpkins from the cider mill’s pumpkin patch that went on for acres. The freshly made cider and hot cider donuts made up for the hordes of people with the same plan, no matter when we made the trip. I was missing all of it, and I would miss it from now on.
“Will you–”
“Already part of the plan, Jurnee. I’m not going to carve them, but I’ll make sure they are up to your pumpkin standards.”
“As good as this opportunity is, I’m not positive it’s worth giving up my life in Michigan.”
“You are an emotional mess today, so I am going to forgive your last comment. However, I will remind you that opportunities like this do not come along every day. You will take what Graham is offering, or I will kill you with my bare hands. Understood?”
26
Jurnee
The world that Anderson, and Graham and Soraya lived in was so far out of my comfort zone that it doesn’t even make sense to compare. Walking up to Soraya’s building, the doorman opened the door and stepped out of the way.
“Good afternoon, Ms. Messer. Soraya said to head straight up. Do you remember the floor?”
“Hard for someone like me to forget a trip to the penthouse.” I regretted the words when I looked at the doorman’s face. “I’m sorry. Please call me Jurnee.”
He winked and smiled in a grandfatherly way and gestured for me to head to the elevator. “Have a pleasant day, Jurnee.”
“Thank you. You as well.”
The ping of the elevator hitting the top floor gave me just enough time to slip my game face on. Shoulders back. Tits out. I rolled my head toward my right shoulder and back up. I repeated the same movement to my left shoulder. Let’s do this.
I knocked on the door and took a deep breath as it opened. My smile dropped when Graham was standing in front of me. Oh shit.
“Come on in, Jurnee.”
“Ah. Thank you. Nice to see you again.”
“You as well. Can I get you anything to drink? Coffee, tea, or wine?”
Shaking my head, I headed for the sofa but waited for permission to be seated. I didn’t have to wait for long.
“Please, Jurnee, sit.” Graham gestured, and he sat across from me on the love seat he and Soraya had sat in the last time I was here with Anderson. Stop it right now!
“Soraya invited me over–” The tension in my voice matched my body.
Graham nodded as he picked up a glass of something pink, “She should be here any minute. There was something that she had to take care of. That’s my wife.”
“I wouldn’t want to keep you from anything. I really don’t mind waiting.”
“Jurnee, why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”
I froze.
“Relax. You’ve become very important to my wife in a very short amount of time and, by extension, me. What’s going on?”
“Mr. Morgan–” He gave me a look. “Sorry. Graham, I honestly never in a million years thought you would be interested in my coffee shop idea. Let alone interested in investing in multiple coffee shops. I came to New York to clear my head and have some fun in this amazing city.”
He nodded and sipped his pink beverage. “Strawberry Quik.”
“Ah. Okay.” I must have been staring. “Getting this opportunity has thrown me. I don’t know if I can handle it, and I don’t want to let you down. One coffee shop is a lot. Multiple coffee shops is an undertaking that I’m not sure I’m up for.”
“Is there anything else driving this self-doubt?”
Searching for anything else to look at besides his face, my gaze fell on a painting behind him. Sunflowers. It was beautifully painted. How did I miss that last time I was here?
“Anderson texted me earlier that he doesn’t want to communicate with me, so I’m not sure how I can continue to work with him.” The words flew out of my mouth before I had a chance to filter them. Shit.
Graham sat quietly for a moment. I stared at the painting, wishing I was at the damn cider mill eating all the cider donuts with Derrick and his boyfriend. I wasn’t. I was here.
“Jurnee. Soraya, Avery, and Genevieve, well, and Delia saw something special enough in you and in your idea to add you to my calendar. My calendar is not easy to slide into, by the way.” He smiled. “Your presentation was dreadful. You spoke in abstracts and didn’t present one solid piece of research. I didn’t want to invest in your coffee shop.”
If he was trying to cheer me up, he was doing a horribly bad job. I slumped deeper into the sofa.
“But, then, I got to know you a little. I’ve read the contract questions you’ve asked in meetings with Anderson, and one thing became crystal clear.”
“What?” I asked as if I were a pouty twelve-year-old.
Graham chuckled. “You will give this partnership one hundred percent of your efforts. You will be honest and self-aware. You will accept help without thinking you know what’s best. These are qualities not normally found in someone coming into a partnership with me.”
“Really?”
Graham smiled behind his glass of pink liquid. “No, not really. Soraya wanted it to happen. I am a businessman, therefore, I will ensure that you have the best team to help you, and if Anderson doesn’t want to lead that team, I’m positive that Alan wo
uld love to step in.”
“So…”
“So, I’ll notify Alan tomorrow morning that he will take over for Anderson with the coffee shop’s project. Please tell me you two worked out a new name for the chain.”
“Anderson hated the name too.”
“It’s not the best name, but I will leave that up to you and Alan to hash out. Now, are you at a point where you a comfortable with the contract.”
“I–”
He held his hand up to stop me, “Are you comfortable in your understanding of the contract?”
I nodded but opted to say nothing.
“Excellent. I will also inform Anderson of the change so you don’t violate the non-communication clause you two have. May I say one thing, not coffee shop related?”
“Please.”
“The last time I spoke to Anderson, he was quite chatty on the topic of you. I don’t know what has happened, and I probably don’t want to know. Although Soraya will most definitely want to know. But I urge you to sit down with him and make sure you two are reading off the same page. There is nothing worse than having signals misread. It can end a relationship without needing to.”
“Thank you, Graham. I will give that some thought. I will tell you he was the one that asked me to delete his number.”
The door slammed shut. Soraya stood by the door with bags in her hands. Graham rushed to the door to assist. “Why didn’t Bobby help you with these?”
Soraya kissed her husband on the cheek, “because I told him I could handle it. What did that dumbass do now?”
“That is my cue to leave you two to some girl time.” Graham headed for the kitchen. “Wine, Baby?”
“Where’s Lorenzo? Yes, please, for both of us.” She looked at me like she was daring me to decline.
“He’s still sleeping.”
“Okay. We might have thirty more minutes before my son wakes up and takes all the oxygen out of the room. Spill it.” She dropped onto the couch next to me.
“I…” I swallowed hard so the tears that were fighting to come out would stay at bay. I shoved the phone at Soraya. “I got this text from Anderson a couple hours after leaving his house.”
“He’s an idiot. Next,” Soraya finished rereading the text and slapped her hand against her leg. “Say the word, and I will call Marco. He is a very nice guy.”
“I just don’t understand.” I picked at the rip in my jeans. “I met some of his friends and hung out at his place all weekend. When I left, we were in such a great place. I thought…”
Looking up, Graham was staring at me with two wine glasses in his hands. Soraya had her hand over her mouth as she stared at me too. Replaying what I just said, I had no idea what was such a big deal.
“He took you to his house?” Soraya asked as Graham sat on the chair nearest the sofa, still holding the wine. “Like his house… house or his parents’ house?”
“His parent’s. The mansion with the pool in the basement, an elevator, and a master suite that takes up the entire top floor.”
Graham glanced at Soraya and asked, “Don’t both homes have a pool and elevator?”
“The house has an entire terrace on the third floor for Rover. Which, by the way, is a freaking pig.”
“Jurnee, how much do you know about Anderson and his family?” Graham asked. “Besides, Google.”
“Oh, I don’t Google people. It’s a weird thing for me. I’d rather get to know someone than read some weird stuff online that may or may not be true.” I gathered my hair and let it fall down over my left shoulder.
Soraya reached out, grabbing for her wine glass that Graham had just taken a large gulp from. “So, have you and Anderson discussed anything about his family?”
“He has two sisters that share a birthday with me.” I combed my fingers through my hair. “How weird is that?”
Graham looked impatient, so I continued, “His parents live in France.”
Soraya took her own gulp of wine. “Anything else?”
“Oh. He went to NYU.” I shrugged. “I guess I don’t know that much about his family. Why?”
“Do you want to take this one, Suit?” Soraya touched Graham’s leg.
“First, let me tell you that anything we are going to tell you, you would learn from a well-executed Google search. Okay?”
I nodded and accepted the wine glass Graham had been clutching. “Alright.”
“Anderson is living in his parents’ home. He has been for years. He doesn’t date and is never seen with the same woman more than once. In the last few years, he has gone to great pains to not be photographed with any women at all.”
“Why would he be photographed?” Swallowing my sip of wine, I felt a tinge of guilt for even inquiring.
“Anderson is the only son of a multi-billionaire. He’s one of the city’s most sought after bachelors.” Soraya blurted out in disbelief.
“What? Anderson? He works for you.” My volume increased with each word.
“He does. He was at one of the most prestigious law firms in the city for a while. Actually, had he stayed, he would have been on track to be one of the country’s youngest judges.”
“What happened?”
Graham glanced at Soraya. She continued, “Anderson gave up a very promising career after a relationship ended. From what Graham has said, he could have opened his own business in any area but wanted to learn from the best.”
“Soraya, I never said that.”
“It’s true.” She blew her husband a kiss.
“Anyway, he wanted to start over in a different area and, somehow, Morgan Financial Holdings came up on his radar. He’s been with us for three years, and I ask him annually if he is ready to go off on his own.”
“I don’t understand why any of this matters. No offense, but–”
“He doesn’t see the same woman more than once, ever. And…”
“Anderson has never taken a woman to his parents’ home. He entertains at his place and–”
“Never have a woman in his bed and never stick around for morning coffee,” I recalled the truths from the first time I met Anderson on what I thought was a blind date.
The text alert on my phone sounded, startling me. Reading the name, I froze.
“What’s wrong?” Soraya asked.
Turning my phone to allow her to read the name, she smiled. “Interesting. Are you going to read it?”
Anderson - You should have stayed.
27
Anderson
“Good morning.” I almost sang as I climbed into the backseat of the town car.
“Morning, Boss. Any stops before the office this morning?” Markus already confirmed the day’s appointments with Martin, but I appreciated the inquiry.
“Not this morning.” My mind was lost in what Jurnee might wear today when my mother’s face flashed on my phone to alert an incoming call. I rolled my eyes as I diverted the call.
“Lots of traffic this morning. Might be a few minutes.” Markus lifted his coffee mug.
“No meeting. All good.”
In truth, I was eager to see Jurnee. In an effort to not appear as stalker-ish, I didn’t call her yesterday. I spent a few hours Sunday evening researching the ideas we talked about as we laid in my bed. Holding her in my arms as she slept, I wished I could delay the sun from coming up. It wasn’t until I was halfway to the office that I began questioning what I was doing and if she was playing me. That’s when it hit me: she never returned my text the day before.
Martin held out a cup of coffee as I approached his desk. “Graham wants to see you in his office immediately.”
My stride wasn’t going to be deterred by anyone. I needed to see Jurnee. I needed to let her know I was ready to be all-in. No more dodging the press. No more being careful not to be seen entering a restaurant with her. I want to be with Jurnee.
“She’s not here.”
That stopped me in my tracks. I pivoted and walked back to his desk. “Explain.”
“S
orry, Anderson. There really isn’t anything to explain. She and Alan left to go look at potential store locations.” Martin leaned back in his chair.
“Together?”
Martin’s eyebrows went up, and he picked up his coffee cup, possibly to put something between the two of us.
“Graham would like to see you in his office. Sadie made it clear that you were to make your way to the office before you did anything else.”
“Did she say what it was about?”
“Jurn–”
I was so far down the hall that I didn’t hear him finish. His words played on repeat. She and Alan left to go look at a couple of possible store locations. I had already set up the appointment to look at the locations, so why was she with Alan?
Sadie greeted me as I walked past her desk straight into Graham’s office.
“Why is Jurnee with Alan looking at locations when I set up appointments for next week?” I snapped.
Graham closed the file he was scanning. “Good morning, Anderson. Hope you had a nice weekend.”
“Cut the small talk, you’re not good at it, and I don’t appreciate it.” I sank into the chair in front of his desk. “Why is Jurnee with Alan this morning?”
“What exactly did you think was going to happen?” I stared at Graham, but he didn’t continue, so I did. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“What did you think would happen with Jurnee? Did you think she would want to continue working with you?”
Pounding my fist on his desk, I repeated myself very slowly. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“The text.”
My mom’s face flashed across my phone again. I forwarded her call to voice mail. “What text?”
“The text where you told her to delete your contact information. Something about: thanks for the memories.”
“Hold on. What?”
“You’re in deep shit.” Graham crossed his arms. “She was at my apartment for most of the afternoon yesterday. FYI… Soraya is pissed at you too, and I can’t blame her.”
Mister Manhattan: A Hero Club Novel Page 13