Chapter Twenty-Five Ella
Chapter Twenty-Five
Ella
I finished work and left at a reasonable hour to prepare for my evening with Jimmy.
On the way home, I picked up a new highlighter and instant tan at Sephora – the sun definitely wasn’t as intense lately, and my sickly tiger-bread-style skin was on full show.
After a long, exfoliating shower, I shaved and plucked my body until it was smooth, then dried and styled my hair.
I was excited to go out – even though TikTok showed Summit One as crowded, the views seemed incredible.
The only downside was that my trip there was with Jimmy.
He was a lovely guy, but I knew I didn’t want to rush into anything.
I wasn’t ready to date. Fuck, I wasn’t even sure what had gone wrong with Philip; one slight inconvenience and he managed to move on to his next burd before my tea had turned cold.
They were swirling in my head, but I tried to push thoughts of Philip and his new girlfriend aside.
When he flashed into my mind again, I forced myself to take a few steady breaths and move on.
Like Zola had done with Curtis, I archived his WhatsApp, making sure I wasn’t analysing when he was active, wondering who he was messaging.
Maybe I needed this? A simple night out, feeling fresh and sexy again.
Someone to harmlessly flirt with and distract me from Philip, even if it was just for a few hours.
Katy and Zola helped me pick an outfit, and eventually we settled on a classic black satin dress, a blazer and low pumps.
I wanted to look polished but didn’t fancy walking the streets in stilettos.
At five minutes to seven, I was dressed and gazing at my reflection in the living room mirror.
I looked good. My long blonde hair was slicked into a tight ponytail, allowing my new highlighter to emphasise my cheekbones.
But I still felt subdued, and I knew I was overthinking the entire night.
My stomach was in knots, and I wasn’t sure if it was nerves or if I’d overloaded myself with coffee and actually just needed to go to the bathroom for my third poo of the day.
Katy and Zola, in contrast, were hyper, jumping around the apartment, arguing over Spotify tunes and playing the ‘imagine if this happened’ game.
‘Imagine he just whips it clean out in the car and goes,’ Katy slipped her voice into an exaggerated American accent, ‘“Wrap those mighty fine lips around this mighty fine hot dog, Ella.”’
Zola was giggling and clapping her hands at the thought.
‘What would you even say?’ Katy asked, insistent.
I huffed, feeling a bit too nervous for this ridiculous game, just in case he came up to the apartment and overheard this entire conversation.
‘I’d obviously tell him to bolt!’ I replied, half-smiling as I glanced over at the elevator door as if he might walk through it.
‘You wouldn’t give him a hand job, then?’ Zola managed between giggles. ‘Not even if he asked nicely?’
‘In the car?’ I shot them a look as they both dissolved into fits of laughter. I smirked. ‘OK – fine. Maybe just a couple of strokes.’
Zola’s eyes widened. ‘How big do you think? If you actually sleep with him, I’ll die. Literally die.’
‘Seriously, it’s not like that. He asked me out because I always work late. He wants me to see the city a bit more. This is strictly platonic,’ I insisted, though I kept wondering myself what his intentions were.
‘Yeah, and don’t forget we need to know if he has any beef with anyone, in or out of that company,’ Zola added. ‘If you forget to be platonic and sleep with him in between, then . . . enjoy it.’
I glanced at my watch and felt my nerves descend. ‘It’s almost seven, I’m going to wait downstairs. You two are far too unpredictable for him to come up here.’
‘Aw, don’t! Ella!’ Katy moaned. ‘I want to see his outfit.’
‘I want to see his bulge!’ Zola burst out laughing, and Katy joined in again.
‘Bye!’ I tittered, heading towards the elevator and making my way down to the lobby.
As I reached the foyer, the doorman, Otis, was standing as smart as always with a broad smile.
‘Well, Miss Ella. You look fantastic, girl,’ he said as he held out his hand for mine, and as I took it, he spun me around, admiring my dress.
‘Thank you,’ I said with a grin, blushing slightly.
‘What’s on tonight? Hot date? Business dinner?’
I hesitated, unsure how to classify my plans. ‘No, my boss is taking me out because I never seem to leave the office in time to enjoy the evening,’ I said.
‘Mr Jimmy?’ The doorman’s eyebrows shot up.
I blushed again, by way of confirming.
‘Well, ain’t that interesting,’ he concluded with a slight hum to his voice. We stood shoulder to shoulder, awaiting Jimmy’s arrival for a few more seconds. ‘He’s a good man, Mr Jimmy,’ Otis eventually replied.
I grinned. ‘Yeah, he seems like it.’
There was a flash of headlights as a sleek car drove into the car park and I took a step forward. Here we go, I thought.
Otis grinned, voice teasing as he said, ‘Don’t stay out too late now, Miss Ella.’
‘I’ll see you soon,’ I warned.
I walked over to the black sports car as Jimmy opened his door and stepped out to greet me. He looked good, dressed in a dark shirt and trousers. He grinned as he approached me.
‘Damn, you look great, Ella,’ he said, pulling me into a quick hug. I patted his back, a bit awkwardly, then he opened the back door of the car.
‘Thanks,’ I replied.
‘No problem,’ Jimmy said, his eyes still on me. He shut the door.
Fuck. What was I doing? He had his own driver who seemed oblivious I had even entered the car. I felt unsettled – overheating, nervous. Talking to Jimmy at work was easy, but this felt different. Bigger. Plus, I really needed to shit.
I watched him wave to Otis, and a few seconds later, he was sitting beside me, buckling up.
‘How are you?’ Jimmy asked, as his driver pulled away from Hudson Yards.
I gulped. ‘Yeah. Good, thanks. How are you?’
He laughed. ‘I’ll be real – I was nervous as hell on the drive over,’ he said, showing me his sweaty palms. ‘See this?’
‘I felt fine until I got into your car, then I felt really nervous too,’ I admitted, laughing slightly.
‘I’m glad I’m not the only one,’ he said. His easy-going nature and admission made me instantly less anxious. I sat back and managed to feel my breath and stomach settle.
‘So, you left the office on time today?’ He raised a brow as he darted me a look.
‘I did. I’ll have to make up for it tomorrow now,’ I replied. ‘My boss can be a bit of a dick with that kind of stuff,’ I joked.
Jimmy’s face dropped and he swung round. ‘Ella!’ He sounded shocked. ‘Wow!’
‘You also leave pretty late, too, you know. Is there something happening, or is that normal for you?’ I added, as casually as I could, hoping to gain intel to catch our stalker as early into the night as possible.
Jimmy exhaled. ‘There’s always something going on, trust me. I won’t bore you with the details.’ He shrugged it off.
‘I’m a good listener,’ I replied, smiling back at him.
Jimmy paused, glancing over at me. His dark eyes locked onto mine. Then I felt his hand pat my thigh. ‘I bet you are, Ella,’ he said, grazing his thumb ever so gently against my dress.
My heart raced, and I felt as if I were glued to the seat. Then, he lifted his hand, returning it to his lap. I peered out of the window, watching the buildings fly past us and listening to the purr of the engine.
But what was that? I wondered. Part of me wanted to remind Jimmy that touching my leg was inappropriate, but another part wanted his hand back there again.
Was he just one of those touchy-feely people who think physical contact like that is perfectly normal?
I wondered. Fuck, maybe it is in America.
I’ll have to ChatGPT that later, I thought, placing a mental note to myself.
‘It’s the investors, you see,’ Jimmy said, noticing the quiet.
‘They deal with financing everything. So, if we ask them for money and the project doesn’t land, then I have to delve into it with Trav.
’ He turned to me again, noticing my silence.
Jesus, I was still trying to get over that thigh touch. ‘See, I told you it was boring!’
‘It’s interesting.’ I smiled.
The car pulled onto a busy street.
‘Is this us?’ I glanced around, ‘Are we here?’
‘Sure are, it’s that building just there.’ Jimmy leaned closer. His scent was deep, musky, like Tom Ford and Prada had had a baby. Jesus, he smelled unbelievable.
My eyes skimmed the tall, slender building; it looked more striking than the others rising above Grand Central Station. It was a sleek glass design that seemed to catch the city’s lights, illuminating the structure.
‘I saw on TikTok we enter through Grand Central,’ I replied.
‘Normally you do,’ Jimmy replied softly. ‘But we can enter through that door tonight,’ he leaned closer, pointing to a set of black doors, ‘And I thought you’d enjoy it more if it was just the two of us.’
I turned to him in shock. He lowered his head, looking almost embarrassed at this grand gesture. I was lost for words, yet full of questions. Like, how much money and power did this man have if he could shut an entire tourist attraction just for me?
‘Come on, let me show you around,’ Jimmy said. His driver had hopped out without me even noticing and opened his car door.
I opened my door, not wanting to wait for any more Princess treatment.
Instantly, I felt the thick, muggy air surround me.
Jimmy jogged around the side of the car, holding the door for me to get out properly.
Then we headed into Summit One together, surrounded by commuters racing to the train station, taxi horns honking and the generalised chaos of the city.
As we entered, silence returned. A young woman stationed behind the reception desk immediately walked around to greet us.
‘Mr Link.’ She beamed. ‘It’s wonderful to have you here. If you’d like to follow me, I’ll escort you to the elevator.’