Chapter 19
THE AGENT
CHLOE
Saturday
Dante Hudson
Your driver is downstairs.
Okay. I thought you were planning to see the inside of this building first?
No. I’ll look at it later this afternoon.
We’re going to see The Avon Complex first.
On my way down.
Itucked my new phone inside my purse and made sure my old one was fully charged before heading downstairs.
There was no driver waiting.
It was Dante.
I mean, “Mr. Hudson”…
He was leaning against a dark gray Audi R8, completely oblivious to the confused glances people were throwing his way.
“Ready?” he asked, holding the car door open for me.
“No.” I shook my head. “I don’t think you should take this car to the Avon Complex.”
“Too scared it’ll get stolen?”
“No,” I said. “The residents will think you’re there for show, and social media will tear you apart before you even get a chance to see what the places are really like when you’re not checking.”
“I see.” He crossed his arms. “Do you have a car we can take, then?”
“No, but the subway stops right in front of that complex,” I offered. “And then the other four you own nearby are only a block apart.”
He looked at me like I was out of my mind.
“Your car won’t get stolen here, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about at all.” He pressed the key fob, and the car chirped that it was locked. “I’ve never ridden the subway.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me…”
“Unfortunately not,” he said. “I’ve always been curious why people complain about it so much, though.”
“But not enough to step down from your luxury high horse and experience it for yourself?”
“Watch your mouth today…” His lips curved into a small smile, and I couldn’t help but remember how they felt against mine.
“Actually, I think I do need some reassurance on my car.” He looked around. “Hold on a second.”
He walked across the street, stepping inside the donut shop Marie and I always went to.
Through the windows, I could see the manager smiling and nodding at Dante before handing him a bag of sweets and a baseball cap.
I watched him put it on and tap the brim, and I tried not to think about how those same fingers had me shaking against a brick wall days ago.
“If only you’d followed my instructions…”
“Now, I’m assured it’ll be fine,” he said when he returned to my side of the street. “Show me to the subway.”
Twenty minutes later, we boarded a half-vacant L train, and Dante looked at the overhead pole like it was infected with a disease.
“How many people touch that every day?” he asked.
“Probably thousands.” I shrugged. “It’s not going to kill you.”
He didn’t look convinced.
I laughed and grabbed his hand, placing it there for him.
“You can wash your hands when we get off.” I paused. “I thought you said you used to be poor.”
“I was,” he said. “Too poor to buy a metro card. I begged at all the metro stations for change, though.”
“Okay. Whose rags-to-riches sob story did you steal?”
“It’s mine.” He looked at me. “I’m forty-six years old… I snuck on the buses to get around when I was a kid. I went from those to cabs, to what I have now.”
“Oh.”
That was the first thing he’d ever said that made him sound remotely human.
“You don’t believe I used to be broke, do you, Chloe?” He inched closer.
“Not at all,” I said. “But I’ll play along until you admit the truth.”
“I’ll prove it another day,” he said. “In the meantime, don’t move from that spot until we get to where we need to be.”
“Why?”
“Because for some reason, you seem to think a goddamn skirt is equivalent to the pantsuits I begged you to wear, and I don’t need anyone else seeing the effect it has on me…”
I blushed. “Sorry.”
“Not as sorry as you’ll be later…”