Annihilate Me

by Christina Ross

  “Sorry, Ms. Blackwell,” I said.

  “I’ve already told you to call me Barbara.”

  “I prefer Ms. Blackwell.”

  “Well,” she said. “I mean, of course you do. I don’t blame you. It does, after all, suit me.”

  * * *

  Later, in the car, she said, “Where do you want to live?”

  “Close to Wenn.”

  “That’s the most sensible thing you’ve said today. So, Upper East Side?”

  “That would be perfect.”

  “Where?”

  “On Fifth?”

  “Really, Maine. Fifth?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Well, who doesn’t want to live on Fifth? But you’re lucky. I’ve got the place. To die for. And with your new salary, you can afford it. You will blow kisses at me when you see it.”

  “We’ll see.”

  “Oh, no, Maine. You’ll be blowing me kisses straight up my ass. And you’ll send me flowers for the privilege of doing so. You might even invite me to dinner, though I’d decline in an instant.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you’d probably serve me something like McDonald’s. Or you’d ply me with a pizza. Or some other assorted junk. You know I don’t approve of eating. Ever.”

  “Oh, please.”

  “Oh, please, yourself. All one needs is black coffee, water, ice and a daily vitamin. Just you wait and see what I have in store for you two.” She leaned toward the driver. “800 Fifth Avenue. STAT!”

  “Do you think it has Park views?” Lisa asked me.

  I shrugged. “Does it, Ms. Blackwell?”

  “Does it what?”

  “Have views of the Park.”

  She looked imperious as she lifted her chin and peered out the window to her right. “Park views. Do you really think I wouldn’t give you Park views? Do you think so little of me? Do you think I lack vision? Common sense? A goddamned heart? Of course, you’ll have Park views. And a hell of a lot more than that. Just you wait and see.”

  * * *

  When we arrived at 800 Fifth, the driver pulled to the curb, and a valet came immediately to Blackwell’s door to open it. The three of us got out and moved onto the busy sidewalk. Before we could enter the building, Blackwell turned each of us around so we were looking across the street.

  “There’s your Park.”

  She turned us around again so we were facing the building. “Your apartment is the penthouse. The one on the left. Can you see it from here? Probably not—too bright. But it’s the thirty-fourth floor. Gorgeous.”

  “Penthouse?” Lisa said.

  “Yes, that’s right. Penthouse.”

  “I guess we really are movin’ on up.”

  I smiled at her and broke into song. “To a de-luxe apartment in the ski-hi-hi.”

  “I don’t know what that means,” Blackwell said.

  “Nothing,” Lisa said.

  “Sorry,” I offered. “Just a bit of nostalgia.”

  “A bit of what?”

  “Not important.”

  “Whatever. Let’s go and have a look, shall we? It’s only been on the market for two days. You are so in luck. If you like it, we get it now. As in right now. No dawdling. This apartment will go very quickly. By the end of tomorrow at the latest.”

  We were ushered into a massive lobby that was nicely furnished and had lots of natural light and a friendly looking man standing behind a desk to our right.

  “Ms. Blackwell,” he said.

  Blackwell clicked over to him with purpose. “James, James, James. Sweet, James. So good to see you. Hellohoware? Are we the first?”

  “I’m afraid not.”

  “Have any offers come in?”

  “I wouldn’t know. But by the looks of one couple, whom I saw leaving with their Realtor a few hours ago, I’m certain that one is coming.”

  “They had that look, didn’t they?”

  “They did.”

  “A happy little bounce in their step?”

  “A definite bounce.”

  “And that awful, ‘Can you fucking believe we finally found a place’ look?”

  “That was the look.”

  “Merde.”

  He gave her a key. “Perhaps if you move swiftly?”

  “Of course. Please call management. Stall everything until we’ve seen it. No offers are to be accepted. That’s coming from me and Mr. Wenn.”

  “Of course, Ms. Blackwell.”

  She looked at us. “Elevator. We’re on a mission. Now.”

  * * *

  When we arrived on the thirty-fourth floor, we took a right out of one of the elevators and went to the end of a long hallway where there was a door marked 34F. Blackwell wasted no time. She unlocked the door, swung it open, and said, “Let’s do this.”

  We walked inside, and it was just glorious. A half-bath to our left with a closet next to it. Beautiful tiled floors. To the left was the living room, which had the most amazing views of the Park beyond a curtain of windows. On the other side of the foyer was a library or a dining room—however we wanted to use it. Probably a dining room. We followed Blackwell, who was pointing at this and at that, but all Lisa and I could do was shoot each other looks of disbelief. The space was massive. Two large bedrooms that had their own attached marble baths. A gourmet kitchen with granite counter tops and high-end, gleaming stainless steel appliances. Windows everywhere that flooded the space with light.

  “I want it,” I said. “Lisa?”

  “It’s amazing.”

  “Of course, it is,” Blackwell said. “At least you two have the good taste to recognize good design in a flash.”

  “How much per month?”

  “Ten thousand.”

  “Ten thousand?” Lisa said, looking crestfallen. “Oh.”

  “We’ll take it,” I said. “As in right now. Please make sure that all other offers are too late, and that this penthouse is ours.”

  Ms. Blackwell looked me coolly in the eye. “You wouldn’t like to see anything else?”

  “Why would I when you’ve already shown us perfection?”

  “Sometimes I really like you, Maine.”

  “Sometimes it’s mutual, Ms. Blackwell,” I said. And when I said it, each of us tried to suppress a smile.

  * * *

  In the elevator, I texted Alex. “We’ve got our place. It’s fantastic. Penthouse at 800 Fifth. More later. Miss you.”

  It was only a moment before he chimed in. “Very happy for you and Lisa. Great location. I wish I could pick you up from work tonight. Let’s talk later. Miss you very, very much.”

  I smiled down at my phone and looked up to see the two women looking squarely back at me. “What?” I said.

  “All of it’s just so wrong,” Blackwell said.

  “What’s so wrong?”

  “That happy look on your face. I just went through a wretched divorce, and there you are smiling down at a smart phone with hooded eyes. It makes me want to vomit.”

  “Shall I share that with Alex?”

  “You can spoon feed it to him. He knows what I went through. He knows how I am. And he loves me despite all of it.”

  “Actually, I do, too.”

  “Oh, Maine, puh-lease.”

  “You think you’re tough, but you’re actually a push-over.”

  “I am human Draino. I will eat through you if I need to.”

  “My zombies also can do that,” Lisa said.

  “Your what?”

  “The undead peeps I write about?”

  “Are you developing a new language? ‘Undead peeps.’ Where am I? What is that?”

  The elevator started to slow.

  “Anyway, I’m a force, Maine. You have no idea what you’re dealing with.” She fingered a few strands of her black bob away from her face and looked up at the elevator’s dial as we approached the lobby. “Though I do appreciate our excursions. They’re... What’s that word I never use? Fun? No, too strong. Enjoyable? May
be. I suppose I can live with that.”

  “I’m glad you can,” I said. “How about if we sign the paperwork and have lunch? We need to get a burger in you.”

  “Maybe some mesclun,” she acquiesced. “Drop of vinegar. I could probably do that. I actually have the perfect place in mind. And it’s my treat since you two weren’t entirely impossible today.”

  As we passed James in the lobby, she said to him, “It’s a goner. Meet your new tenants, Jennifer Kent and Lisa Ward. They’ll be moving in immediately. All the paperwork will be signed by day’s end. Toodles, James. My sweet, sweet James. Toodles, toodles. Love, love, love. We’re off for some roughage.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  When I left work that night, it was odd and felt kind of lonely not to find Alex waiting outside for me. I stepped onto the sidewalk, saw his limousine idling at the curbside, and watched his driver pop out to open the rear door for me. Alex said he’d send a driver to make sure I got home safe, and, true to his promise, here was my ride home.

  Or did I even want to go home?

  A thought crossed my mind. I considered it as I stepped into the back of the limousine, and by the time the driver got back inside, I asked him to take me to Wenn.

  “To Wenn?” the man asked.

  “Please,” I said. “I know Alex won’t be there, but that’s fine.”

  “Of course.”

  It was fine because Alex had given me a key to his apartment, which I had in my purse and which the driver likely knew about. And so we drove to Wenn. When we arrived, the driver opened my door and I asked him that when he did pick up Alex to please not mention that I was here.

  “I want to surprise him,” I said.

  “Your secret’s safe with me, Ms. Kent.”

  I thanked him, and stepped into the building. As I entered, the security guards at the front desk greeted me by name. I went over and asked them not to tell Alex that I was here when he arrived. They said they wouldn’t.

  “I appreciate that,” I said.

  “No problem, Ms. Kent.”

  “It’s Jennifer,” I said. “Please call me Jennifer.”

  “Of course, Ms. Kent.”

  I smiled at them, and walked behind their desk to Alex’s private elevator. I slid my key into the slot, the doors opened, and I stepped in. The elevator lifted, and I sent a quick text to Lisa letting her know where I was. When I reached Alex’s apartment, I pushed the button for the lobby before stepping out as the doors shut. I listened to the elevator plummet. Alex would expect the car to be waiting for him in the lobby when he slipped his key into the slot. Otherwise, he’d know that someone had used it, and he’d suspect that something was up. I wasn’t having any of that.

  I turned on lights, walked into his apartment, and texted him in the hallway. “I’m home,” I wrote. “Any idea when you’ll be home so we can talk? I’d like to hear your voice before I go to sleep.”

  When he chimed in, he wrote, “I should be just another hour. Don’t go to sleep, OK? I also want to talk before we each turn in.”

  So, I had an hour. More than enough time.

  I went into his kitchen, switched on the lights, and looked around for two martini glasses. I found them in one of the cupboards. I put them in the freezer, removed a chilled bottle of Grey Goose from the side of the freezer door, and searched for a glass pitcher of some sort. There was an elegant one with a silver handle in another cupboard. In it was a slender silver stirring stick. Vermouth was in the refrigerator, as were the olives I’d need later. Somewhere in here, I’d find the little silver spears he’d used for the olives in the martini he served me the other night.

  When I finished making the pitcher of martinis, I put it in the freezer, looked around, and found some cocktail napkins and nuts in the pantry, and a silver bowl in another cupboard. I shook a heaping mound of nuts into the bowl, hurried it and the napkins into the living room, and placed both onto the table in front of the sofa.

  That’s that.

  I sat on the sofa and looked at the beautiful New York skyline while thinking thoughts I shouldn’t be thinking as I waited for him. To my surprise, after I’d been there for only forty minutes, he texted me. “I’m in the car now and on my way home. I hope you haven’t gone to sleep. I really need to hear your voice, Jennifer.”

  I smiled at that, and wrote, “I’m up and waiting for you. How long?”

  “Five minutes.”

  “I’ll talk to you in ten.”

  Immediately, I was off the sofa. I poured two martinis into the chilled glasses, found the silver spears for the olives in the utensil drawer, and brought the drinks to the coffee table.

  I sat down on the sofa, and felt a start. The lights were on. They were off when I got here. With a rush, I turned them off, felt my way back to the sofa, stretched out my legs along with my three-inch red pumps, and listened as the hum of the elevator lurched into motion.

  My heart quickened as he neared me. I was wearing a short, off-white, silk skirt, and a silk blouse opened at the neck that was the same color as my shoes. No jewelry. My hair was down, just as he liked it. A hint of my cleavage showed. I tried like hell to adjust myself into a position so I would look like a feast to him, but I had no idea what I was doing, so I just made the effort to look like something out of one of Lisa’s fashion magazine ads. I was all angles, a pair of long legs, a bust of boobs, and a mane of hair. I felt ridiculous.

  I am so over my head when it comes to these sorts of things. What am I doing? I look like a total amateur. This isn’t coquettish. This is a travesty.

  But at least I’d tried.

  I took a quick sip of my martini to calm my nerves, but a sip hardly was enough to do the job. Still, the drink was icy cold and it tasted good, which is what mattered most to me. Just a hint of vermouth, and the brine of the olives. I wanted him to have a proper drink when he got home. Something to soothe his nerves.

  When the elevator doors slid open and I heard his initial footfalls into the penthouse, I held my breath and sat completely still as lights in the foyer flashed on. I heard him sigh. I didn’t know where he’d gone tonight—he didn’t mention it to me and I forgot to ask. But he had said this event would be longer than the others, and it was. I could only imagine its importance. I wondered if he was able to keep the wolves at bay and get some business done. Soon, once I came on as a consultant, that wouldn’t be an issue for him any longer.

  I could hear him move toward the living room. I bit my bottom lip and waited for him to step inside. When he did, he flipped on the lights. And then he froze when he saw me.

  For a moment, we just looked at each other. There was shock on his face, but it was instantly replaced by a grin.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I wanted to see you. I hope it’s OK.”

  “Of course it’s OK. I gave you a key for this very reason. I thought I wasn’t going to see you tonight. I can’t tell you how happy this makes me.”

  “I wanted to surprise you, Mr. Wenn.”

  “Well, you did, Ms. Kent. In the best way.”

  He wasted no time coming over to me. I stood and fell into his embrace, which was warmer than usual. The way he held me was different—it almost felt as if he was relieved. He kept his head on my shoulder for a moment longer than usual, and he breathed in my scent. I felt his body relax against mine. After a moment, I pulled back and kissed him.

  “I can’t imagine a better surprise,” he said.

  “I can’t imagine a better way to end the day.”

  His eyes were inflamed by the fact that I was here with him. “You look sexy as hell,” he said in a low voice.

  “Is that how you talk to all of your new employees?”

  “Just one.”

  “And by the way, I should return the compliment. But then, you know that whenever I see you in a tux, I just sort of turn into a puddle on the floor....”

  “One day, we’ll have to psychoanalyze that.”

  “You’ve said
that before, but why bother? Just keep wearing them, and I’ll be a happy woman. I obviously have some sort of suit fetish when it comes to you. Doesn’t matter which one you wear. Unless, of course, down the road, it’s you in your birthday suit. Who knows? That might be my favorite of all.”

  “Jennifer—”

  Even I blushed at my comment. Slow down, girl. I deflected. “I made you a martini.”

  He looked down at the coffee table, and saw the two drinks, the napkins and the nuts.

  “You came here and did all of this for me?”

  “It wasn’t exactly difficult. And it isn’t that much. I found what I could in the kitchen. I hope you don’t mind.”

  There was a tenderness in his voice when he said, “That kitchen is yours as well as mine. It’s the thought behind what you did that matters. I know you’ve been on your feet all night, and still you came here to do this. I’m grateful.”

  I touched his face and kissed him again. Only this time, there was no holding him back. He was strong—stronger than he looked, which was saying something, because he was nothing if not built. He swept me into his arms, pulled me in as if we were one, and kissed my lips, my neck, and the concave of my throat with a fierceness that I responded to. I felt my nipples stiffened with arousal when he leaned into me. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who was aroused. The thought of him pressed against my thigh like that sent me over the edge with desire. I wanted him so much, but it needed to wait. He was right. This had to build until we could no longer stand it.

  But that didn’t mean we couldn’t have fun along the way.

  Tonight, even if it was only for an hour or so, we were going to cuddle on the sofa in each other’s arms, have our martinis, enjoy each other, talk about our days, and then I’d be on my way. I knew he needed to get up early. I didn’t want him exhausted when he woke.

  But I wasn’t going to let him off that easily.

  I sat on the sofa and extended a leg. “Would you mind removing my shoe, Mr. Wenn?”