Page 19 of Ten Day Affair

---

Wondering if I need to push a little harder?

His reply comes quickly.

Push what? Your luck? Your agenda? Your dick?

Need specifics, buddy.

I shake my head, half-smiling.

Let’s call it board engagement. I might lean in more than planned. I might go back to Florida.

There’s a beat of silence before he responds.

Now that’s suspicious. Lean in how?

Still figuring that out.

The night swallows Manhattan.Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, the city stretches wide and bright, glittering like it belongs to me. In many ways, it does.

I loosen my tie and slip it free, tossing it beside the untouched dinner from Eleven Madison Park. Two hours old and still in its packaging. I haven’t had the appetite to bother.

The Macallan lands softly on the marble counter. I pour and let the glass rest in my palm as I stare out acrossthe skyline. The amber liquid catches the light. It's sharp, gold, and deliberate. Just like I’m supposed to be.

I pull out my phone and open her thread. Not because I expect anything, but because I keep ending up here. That last message sits unanswered. "Read."

But I’m still staring at it.

I click into the message bubble and start to type.

I've been thinking about you.

Delete. Too exposed.

Are you free for dinner Friday?

Delete. Too eager.

That night on your deck...

Delete. Pathetic cheese dick.

I take a long sip, letting the burn cut through the noise. She’s not the first woman to leave a mark. But she might be the first I can’t get out of my head this fast, especially with everything I should be devoting my energy to.

But here I am.

I place the phone face down and pace, scotch still in hand.

I think about deleting her number and being done with it. Chalk it up to a good night with someone I’ll never see again.

Instead, I grab the phone and open a new message.

In Palm Beach next week for board meetings. Dinner?

FIVE

Sam

I get home after one. My body’s exhausted after eleven hours on my feet. We had two emergency traumas, one combative patient with a needle phobia, and zero patience. I should be unconscious.

---