Mister Manhattan: A Hero Club Novel Read online

  “Messer. Jurnee is J U R N E E.” The sound of him banging on his keyboard verified what I already knew. “I responded to a text from a guy she had scheduled a blind date with and told him she needed to cancel. Then I deleted the message.”

  “Why?” Bryan and Eric asked at the same time.

  Eric looked at me through the phone, “Are you interested in her?”

  “The reason I called Otis is I can’t stop seeing her sad face from dinner last night when it hit her she had been stood up twice.”

  “Dinner?”

  “Yeah, not only did I cancel her date, I showed up at the Russian Tea Room, where they were planning to meet, and invited her to have dinner with me.” It felt good to get it all out.

  “I guess that answers the question is he interested in her,” Bryan declared.

  “I don’t know if I’d say I am interested in her. I was in the mood for stroganoff.” I rubbed my head with my free hand. “And I didn’t want her waiting at the restaurant alone.”

  Silence.

  I waited.

  More silence.

  “Fuck!” This wasn’t good.

  More silence.

  “You assholes are no help,” I complained, but I had no idea what I wanted them to do. “I’ve got to get ready for work. She’s meeting me at nine, and she seems to be someone who arrives early to everything.”

  More silence.

  “Assholes!”

  Bryan was first to speak, “Anderson, I think you–”

  “Dude, you are so into this female.” Otis cut in.

  More silence.

  “You guys are not helpful at all. I’m hanging up now.”

  “Whatever, Pussy.” Eric volume muffled as he removed his shirt.

  “Shit. Eric, Graham wants you to come in for a meeting this week. His secretary will be calling so–”

  “What’s up with Graham?”

  “I’m going back to the honey in my bed. See you guys in a couple of weeks, correct?” Otis interrupted.

  Bryan chimed in from behind the large bowl of cereal he was consuming. “Faith will be in Spain for work, so I’ll be there.”

  “Pussies. I am surrounded by pussies.” Eric snapped. “I’ve got some meetings this morning. I’ll text you later about Graham.”

  “Cool.” I refilled my coffee and headed to the elevator. “Thanks for nothing, assholes.”

  “Anytime.”

  “Always here for you, dude.” Otis smiled as a lady’s arm slid across his chest, revealing her bare back before going black.

  “Don’t be a pussy.”

  11

  Anderson

  By the time I walked into the building an hour later, my conversation with the guys was competing for space with the image of Jurnee’s sad face. The scent of clean and spring flowers that was becoming familiar hit me as I passed the conference room. Shit. She’s already here.

  Martin sat at his desk and welcomed me with his cheerful greeting. “Morning, Boss. Jurnee is in the conference room.”

  I nodded and continued into my office. He followed me in and took his regular seat across from my desk. “Is that a new suit?”

  Looking down, I straightened my tie, “I’ve had it for a while.”

  “I don’t remember that shirt and tie.” He peered over at me. “I don’t recall you wearing green.”

  “I wear green.”

  “Do you? Because I don’t ever remember you wearing green.”

  “Why are you keeping track of what I’m wearing?” Standing, I grabbed a few folders and walked toward the door.

  “Because I’m the world’s best assistant, and it’s my job to know everything about you. It’s how I make your life easier.”

  “You are not making anything easier by questioning the color of my shirt. Go do your work. I’ve got to get in there.”

  Alan, one of the other executives, was sitting next to Jurnee with a huge grin on his face when I opened the conference room door. “Alan.”

  “Anderson.” He said without tearing his eyes off Jurnee.

  “Morning, Jurnee. Thanks for joining me for dinner last night. Did you enjoy the Russian Tea Room?” Sitting at the table across from Jurnee, I scanned her outfit before my eyes landed on Alan. He got a slight head nod.

  She looked between the two of us, “It was delicious. Thank you again.”

  “I’ll let you get to work.” He rose. “Jurnee, let’s get lunch and finish our conversation.”

  “I had Martin make reservations for lunch.” What the hell are you doing?

  Alan smiled. He knew I was lying but didn’t call me on it. As he said goodbye to Jurnee, I shot off a text to Martin to make a reservation. What the hell is happening?

  “Good morning.” She was a little overly professional in her tone this morning. I hoped like hell it wasn’t because she was stood up the night before. “I wanted to apologize for getting a little introspective last night.”

  “Jurnee, it happens to everyone. Don’t worry about it.”

  “You’ve been stood up before?” She asked.

  “Well, no, but…” I didn’t want to finish the sentence, but it was too late.

  “You’ve stood someone up.” The hurt expression on her face was worse than last night’s sad face.

  “I have. I’m not proud of it, but I have stood women up.”

  “What would make you do that?”

  Looking in her face, I almost cracked and told her I canceled her date. But she might not talk to me after, and that wasn’t a risk I was willing to take. So, I just told her I was young and stupid in the past.

  “Let’s change the subject and dive into the contract.”

  Her face lost any expression, “I’m so sorry. Of course.”

  Shit. Now she thinks I don’t want to talk to her about personal stuff. Shit.

  “No apologies. I just wanted to change the subject so you wouldn’t keep focusing on it. Maybe him not showing up last night was a positive.”

  “I don’t mean to waste your time with my problems.” An invisible wall popped up between us as Jurnee sat up in her chair and picked up a pen. “Where should we start?”

  Time flew by as we discussed the ownership and control, shares of profit breakdown, and had an in-depth discussion of the artistic versus financial control as was detailed in the contract draft. Jurnee asked great questions and took several pages of notes. The worry I had when she tried to sign the contract the day before diminished. She had a working understanding of the concepts, her role in the partnership, and the overall scope of the agreement. We were about to tackle the timetable when the door of the conference room swung open.

  “Anderson, we need you,” Soraya stated. “Hi Jurnee. You look pretty. Love that top on you.”

  She was correct. Jurnee did look pretty in the brick red shirt. Man, you need to relax on this a bit. Try to find a sliver of cool.

  We both said hi at the same time.

  “Thank you. Is there anything I can do to help?” Jurnee’s eyes followed Soraya as she sank into the chair Alan had been in earlier.

  “Actually, yes.” It was surprising how quickly Soraya got close to Jurnee.

  “Graham and I have,” she stopped for a moment, “something we need to do, and I didn't realize Chloe has a half-day today. Genevieve is in the Hamptons, her grandmother is at a funeral in Florida, and Avery is tied up again. Is there any way you guys can hang out with Chloe for a few hours?”

  “Of course.”

  “Ummmm.” I glanced at Jurnee, processing the fact that she and I would be watching my boss’s kid.

  “Great.” Soraya was out of her chair and headed for the doorway. “She’s a great kid. Promise.”

  “Don’t give it another thought. Is there anything she’s allergic to that we should know about?”

  What? That added another layer of concern.

  “No. But she’s Graham’s daughter, Chloe will definitely let you know if she doesn’t like something. Do you have time to come
meet her? She’s in Graham’s office, thinking of new ways to decorate the space.”

  Jurnee jumped out of her seat, and the two were heading down the hall toward my boss’s office before I knew what was happening. I gathered the documents and headed back to my office. Martin checked his watch as I approached.

  “I made 1pm reservations. Should I move them up?”

  “I’m guessing you should cancel them,” I grumbled as I entered my office and tossed the files on my desk.

  Martin stood in the doorway. “Everything alright with the contracts?”

  “They’re fine,” I said as I checked the charge on my phone. “We need to pick up again at the timetable section. If you want to incorporate the notes I’ve made so far, go ahead.”

  He made his way to his seat and reached for the files, “Are you done for the day?”

  “Apparently we’re babysitting for Graham and Soraya.”

  The laughter that poured out of him confirmed the ridiculousness of the whole situation.

  “Do you even take care of Rover?”

  “I have help.” People had daycare for their children, and Rover was the closest I planned on getting to parenthood.

  “You do recall I’m copied on the weekly reports from the students Samantha has assigned to Rover, and I communicate with said student to inventory and order his food.”

  “Exactly, I said I have help.”

  Martin was still laughing when he answered his ringing phone. “Oh. I will tell him immediately.”

  “That was Sadie. Soraya said to come to Graham’s office so they can get going.” He was getting far too much joy from my situation. I was so going to fire him someday.

  Walking to Graham’s office, I recalled him asking me when he offered me the job: ‘Are you ready for the unexpected?’ My mind raced with thoughts of where the next few hours could take me.

  I knocked on his door and heard Graham’s grumbly ‘come in.’ Jurnee sat across from Chloe. She seemed to be listening to the little girl describing something. Quickly, I swept my focus to Graham. He was sitting behind the desk with a mortified look on his face. When we made eye contact, he shook his head. Okay, what is happening?

  “Good news, Anderson.” Soraya declared from her seat next to her step-daughter. “Jurnee has volunteered to hang out with Chloe, so you don’t have to.”

  “I–”

  “A little bird told me that Chloe was in the building,” Alan announced from the doorway.

  “Alan!” The little girl smiled and waved. “Are you going with us to lunch?”

  Alan smiled, but before he could reply, my mouth and body started before my mind could stop them, “Hey, Chloe, I’m Anderson. Remember me? I’m taking you and Jurnee to lunch today. Won’t that be fun?”

  Soraya giggled and whispered something to Chloe. “Thank you for taking us to lunch, Mr. Anderson.”

  This made Soraya laugh harder for some reason. Jurnee stood up, and Alan stepped around me to give Chloe a high five. “Maybe next time.”

  “You betcha.”

  Jurnee turned to Chloe, “I need to get my bag, wanna go with me? We can have Mr. Anderson meet us at the elevator.”

  Chloe hugged Soraya, who mouthed thank you as the little girl ran over to her dad. Graham and Chloe had a rough beginning. Genevieve kept her birth from him, for the first four years of her life. They’d worked hard to regain trust and build a healthy co-parenting relationship. Soraya had been an unexpected bridge between the two parents. From what Graham had mentioned over the years, she was the sole reason things didn’t fall apart in the very beginning.

  Jurnee and Chloe walked out with Alan not far behind. Soraya remained on the sofa with her arms folded. Graham was typing. I needed to get out of there before she asked me questions that I wasn’t prepared to answer, even to myself.

  “What’s going on, Anderson?” Soraya asked as she walked over to Graham’s desk and sat on the corner. “Are you interested in Jurnee?”

  Too late.

  “Soraya.” Her husband’s fingers froze over his keyboard. They both looked over at me.

  “You asked for a favor, Soraya. That’s all.”

  “If you say so, Mr. Anderson.”

  12

  Jurnee

  I stood fascinated as Chloe explained how some businesses used a trash conveyor belt and shoot to load their garbage onto the streets of Manhattan for pickup. We were still giggling as we slid into the same side of a booth in a little hidden away upscale diner that Markus had recommended after we all witnessed Chloe’s reaction to Anderson’s suggestion of McDonalds for lunch. The tables were spaced with a quarter of the spacing a regular restaurant in Michigan would use. An elderly couple at the next table smiled at me as I settled in.

  Chloe waved to Anderson when he appeared at the doorway, speaking to the hostess. His confident stride, paired with a perfectly tailored suit, was almost too much for me to look at. He is so sexy.

  I diverted my eyes in time to watch the cheerful demeanor of the elderly couple shift to a glare when they watched Anderson slide into our booth. What’s wrong with you people? I returned their glare.

  “You know why you guys are stuck with me, right?” Chloe asked as she played with the edge of the menu. “They’re doing it.”

  Anderson and I stared at each other, Anderson’s eyebrows lifted at my innocent-sounding question. “It?”

  Chloe giggled, “It. They are trying to have another baby.”

  Anderson worked to contain the smile that was clearly trying to creep across his face. Now, my cheerful demeanor had shifted like the couples’. Thanks for being absolutely zero help.

  “How do you feel about having another little brother or sister?” I worked to keep my tone as casual as possible.

  She pretended to focus on the menu. “It’s cool.”

  “Chloe, what would you like to do today?” Anderson raised his finger for her to wait just a moment as the waitress arrived to take our order. “Do you ladies know what you want?”

  “I’ll have a Reuben on rye with extra dressing and a side salad with no dressing.” Chloe handed the waitress her menu when she completed her order.

  “And for you?” The waitress glanced at me, but her eyes darted to the Anderson.

  “Turkey with Havarti. No mayo, please.” Anderson nodded when I finished and asked for the same thing.

  As the waitress walked away, I was looking forward to hearing what Chloe wanted to do. Soraya had suggested a movie or a show. Something told me Chloe wasn’t going to be interested in either of those suggestions.

  “Are you married?”

  Chloe had directed the question to Anderson, so I sat back in the booth and waited for him to respond.

  “I am not married.” He turned his phone over and then repeated the process.

  Oh, she isn’t done with this line of questioning. Hahaha! Good luck, Mr. Cocky.

  “Do you want to get married?” Chloe shrugged as if Anderson should have elaborated more with his answer.

  Anderson continued to flip his phone face up, then face down, then face up again. “I do hope to get married someday.”

  “What about you, Jurnee? Do you want to get married?” Chloe nudged my arm.

  Shit! Think Jurnee. Shit!

  The waitress deposited our beverages and Chloe’s salad onto the table.

  “That looks good. Are those olives?” Anderson shook his head at my lame attempt at deflection Chloe’s question.

  She mixed up her salad with her fork and added pepper. “Yep. I don’t really want to see a movie.”

  “What about going to the park?” Anderson suggested as he slid his phone into his suit pocket.

  “I’m not four, you know,” Chloe grunted as she took another bite of her salad.

  “I’ve been dying to explore Central Park, and I’m not four. What do you think?” I tried.

  Chloe wrinkled up her nose and shook her head, “Been there, done that. I think it’s overrated.”

&nbs
p; Anderson intertwined his fingers together and leaned back in the booth. “A friend of mine told me the fall line of Birkin bags are–”

  “Birkin?” Chloe’s face lit up, and she gently laid her fork on her salad plate. “I don’t have a Birkin.”

  “Shopping it is.” Anderson smiled at his triumphant suggestion.

  “What’s a Birkin?”

  “Did she just ask what a Birkin is?” Chloe’s hand palmed into her face.

  I shrugged.

  Our food arrived. The waitress was all smiles as she placed Anderson’s plate in front of him and turned it so the sandwich was directly in front of him. She set my plate in front of me with far less care.

  “She likes you.” Chloe announced while watching an Instagram clip of an American family out sightseeing with their kids in Australia.

  “Chloe, I don’t think she likes me.” Anderson picked up his sandwich. “I think she wants a big tip.”

  “She wants a big tip all right,” I mumbled under my breath before taking a bite of my sandwich.

  The food was great, as evident by the silence as we ate. The moments of peace ended with another explosive question from the nine-year-old. “Is it true that you have a line of women trying to rope you down?”

  Anderson choked on the bite of food. Hahaha… I love this kid. He pulled out his phone from his pocket and began turning it over slowly. Chloe and I both stared at him, waiting for a response.

  “Where did you hear that?” The phone hit the table face down as he asked his counter-question.

  Chloe shrugged her shoulders and bit into her Rueben. “My mom and Soraya.”

  “I do not have a line of women. I don’t even have a girlfriend.”

  “Are you interested in a boyfriend, Jurnee?”

  The question hit me like ten hard slaps across my face. I forced the bite down my throat and glanced at Anderson. I glared at him, which made the grin turn into a laugh. “I am only in New York for a short time.”

  “That really didn’t answer her question, now did it, Chloe?”

  Chloe shook her head no and continued to eat her sandwich. I placed the half of the sandwich I was holding back on the plate. Okay. This isn’t fun.