It was a warm sunny spring afternoon in Manhattan. Cori and her temporary fiancé sat outside the Italian bistro Cori picked, people watching and sharing generic conversation while they surveyed the people of Manhattan around them. With the dogs at their feet, clearly fond of each other, they enjoyed each other’s company while waiting on the beers they had ordered.
“I really do appreciate you stepping in like that. I promise, I am not really that crazy.” She laughed.
“Crazy? What’s crazy about grabbing a stranger and introducing him as your fiancé? Seemed like a perfectly sane thing to do, and it worked,” he teased.
“Are you making fun of me?” Her smile told him she was only half serious. “I mean, I really could be crazy, and insulting me would be a really bad idea if that were the case.”
“Was that a threat or just friendly banter between a couple of fiancés?”
She winked and took a quick sip of the beer that was just delivered to their table. “Ehh, it could go either way for me. But seriously, thanks. I don’t know why I let those two get under my skin.”
“Or do you? What’s the story there?”
After another drink, she set her mug down, planted her elbows on the black metal table and crossed her arms, leaning forward. “Well, she was my college roommate, who later became my best friend. Freshmen were required to stay in dorms, which she hated, but after that, her dad put her up in a fancy apartment close to campus. She took me with her. We were like sisters despite our different backgrounds and lifestyles. When I met Phillip, things changed a little, but I didn’t think it was anything more than having busier lives and classes getting harder.”
“Phillip went to the same university?” Nick was engrossed in the story by this point; he knew the twist was coming.
“He did but only because he had nothing better to do, and in order to get his trust, he had to pull a four-year degree. Winnie was basically in the same situation. They literally had nothing better to do while they waited for those trust funds. Must be a rich kid thing.”
“Hmm, must be,” he replied with a shrug.
“Long story short, Phillip and I were engaged by senior year. He was always good to me when it was just us. It wasn’t until after that I realized he was hiding me, keeping me a secret. I never really met his family or spent time around any of his friends.”
“After?”
“After I caught him and Winnie – at our apartment – in bed.”
“Ouch”
“Yeah. The worst part was that it was like they wanted me to figure it out, I mean…the apartment? Anyway. Better to find out then than after the wedding, I suppose.”
“That’s…awful. I’m sorry. So, what’s with the Paws in The Park thing?”
“Who knows; they probably knew I would be there. I think she likes to rub it in. She got the guy, it’s been years, and they are getting married in a few months. You’d think that would be enough, but somehow, she manages to pop up every now and again to tell me something fabulous about their life together.”
“So how would they know you were there? New York is a pretty big place; the park, a fundraiser no less, is pretty specific,” he questioned, fully invested in her story now.
“Oh, I work for Thorne Industries. Our company was the sponsor today, so a lot of the employees were there either volunteering or just showing their support.”
“So, what were you? Volunteer?”
“Oh, God no. I have far too much work to do to spend my weekend doing something like that. I was just there to be seen.”
“To be seen? That sounds a little…”
“Obnoxious? I guess it does. I am one of the Sales and Marketing team managers. I’m working toward a VP role with this big proposal we each must do as our interview, so to speak. I thought it wouldn’t hurt to be seen at the event, participating,” she admitted, finishing her beer, moving to water.
“Makes sense. It’s a nice day to take your dog out anyway.”
“Oh, this isn’t my dog. I don’t have time for a dog. I borrowed her.”
“You borrowed a dog…to impress your boss?” he questioned with a confused grin.
“Yes and no. I borrowed her, but she was already staying with me anyway. I watch her for my neighbor when he has early auditions and such. And no, not to impress the boss. He probably wasn’t even there…a little beneath him, I think.”
“Beneath him? Why do you say that?”
“Because he’s…I don’t know…rich. Rich people just throw their money at people and things; they don’t actually show up for them. I hear he’s a jackass playboy type. Never even met him, or seen him, and I’ve been with the company for several years now. Trust me, this isn’t his kind of thing. I’m surprised he even sponsored something like this. I guess he does have a heart – probably bought it – gold and diamond encrusted.”
Nick leaned forward, matching her stare, “Well, it must be if he sponsored the thing. It’s a pretty big foundation, does a lot of good. That doesn’t sound like a jackass to me.”
“Oh, the foundation is amazing. He’s not. Just another spoiled rich kid that hit the golden trust fund age and was handed a corporation or two. I saw on one of those T.V. shows that he is a womanizer, too. Different blonde every night, buys out the club every weekend. Party boy.”
“Blondes, huh? Interesting. So, he wasn’t there today then I take it? Is he part of…you know…choosing who gets the job your shooting for? Might be wise to meet the guy, run into him somewhere, and introduce yourself.”
“I don’t think so. Like I said, in all the years I’ve been with Thorne, never even seen him. I don’t even know if he has an office there. Maybe he does. Has to take the bimbo’s somewhere, right? You know, so they don’t run into each other.”
“Makes sense, I guess.” Nick looked down at the two dogs, sleeping nuzzled together, “I think these two hit it off. He doesn’t normally take to other dogs, especially big dogs.”
“Really? He seems taken by Bronco. She’s pretty irresistible though.”
“Yeah, Bunny…is an asshole.” Nick replied, nodding at his tiny pup.
“Bunny? You have a tiny male dog named…Bunny?” She began to giggle. He had to be a handful of inches past six feet tall, with shoulders the width of New Jersey, and muscles that had a hard time staying in his nearly too tight t-shirt. To say his dog was a contradiction was light.
“Oh, he’s not mine. He’s my sister’s. She couldn’t make it today and asked me to take him. He was in the…puppy…pageant.”
Laughter erupted so uncontrollably she may have snorted. She didn’t know because she couldn’t hear over his boisterous laugh. “Pu-puppy Pa-pageant? Are you serious?”
“Unfortunately, yes. She had a last-minute engagement on a yacht somewhere with a sheik, or something, and couldn’t make it. Since I was coming, she sent him with me, which means I now own…the littlest dog known to mankind.”
“Oh no, she ditched him with you? Poor little guy.” As if he knew he was the topic of conversation, Bunny popped his head up and looked at Cori briefly before snuggling back into his new friend.
“My sister is a little…free spirited.”
“Ah. Gotcha. So here we are, strangers, newly engaged. You with your tiny male dog named Bunny, and me with my borrowed beast of a girl named Bronco. Who ever said Sunday’s were boring didn’t know how to live!” she joked.
A beeping sound came from his shorts pocket and prompted him to check his messages. “Oh, wow, looks like I got to get going. So, Memorial Day…”
Cori gathered her purse with one hand and waved her free hand in his direction, “Oh, I’ll just send an oops, scheduling conflict email a few weeks before and be done with it.”
“Are you sure? I mean, I know we just met…sort of, but maybe we can meet for drinks again?”
“Nick, I’m sorry if I sent the wrong message, but I’m just not looking for anything right now. Relationships and I don’t really mesh, so I’m just focused on my career for now. It’s all I really have time for anyway.” Her body language had changed. She was more rigid, backed away from the table, and seemed a little panicked. It wasn’t that she didn’t have time for a relationship; she was afraid of them. This was a girl who had been hurt more than once – it was obvious.
“Oh. Well, okay. I understand. Maybe I’ll see you around sometime.”
“Yeah, of course! And thanks again…for earlier. I better go; my ride is here.”
Cori stood from the table and threw some money down before walking off, with Bronco in tow, toward a black town car that had its rear door held open by a well-dressed and groomed man who seemed happy to see her and Bronco. Nick watched her get in and give him one last look with her emerald eyes and flashed him a final mega-watt smile and quick wave. Nick nodded in return and watched her disappear down the street before dropping a few bills of his own on the table and scooping up his tiny dog and leaving.
***
The black town car parked along the curb in front of an old red brick building in the suburb known as Woodlawn, in the Bronx, outside of the city. The driver, James Jarret, played the part of driver even then, opening the door for Cori, where he left her leaning against the building, checking her phone, while he ran in to grab the take-out dinner he called in to the Chinese place that took up the street level portion of the old building. This was something they did often; best friends and neighbors, each occupying a second-floor apartment above the Chinese restaurant.
“So, how was your audition?” Cori asked of her friend, the aspiring Broadway superstar.
“I nailed it. It’s an off, off Broadway production, but it could lead to other things. Anything to pad that resume,” he said, full of confidence, something he wasn’t lacking in the least. “If I get it, can you take Bronco for a while? It will mean a lot of long days, and I’ll probably end up staying near the theatre…it’s in Ohio.”
“Ohio?!” she laughed, “That is pretty off Broadway alright. You know I will.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll still have a ride to work. I have a friend arranged to take over my Uber route. Too many regulars in the city to let that go.” James was an Uber driver in the city when he wasn’t acting…had to pay the bills.
Since Cori was working in the city, they drove in together, his way of thanking her for watching his dog so often. It benefited Cori because it meant she didn’t have to ride the train in, and it helped her sell that polished image she wanted everyone to buy. It appeared that she had a car service, a very elite luxury that suggested she was a pretty big deal.
“Hey, who was that guy you were talking to when I picked you up? You managed to change the subject when I asked in the car.”
“Oh, just my fiancé.” Her nonchalant answer had him spitting soda out of his mouth in surprise.
“Whore, what?” Flamboyance was James’ best trait as far as Cori was concerned. He kept things light and fun, and it didn’t hurt that he was pretty to look at, even if he wasn’t interested in her – or women in general.
She laughed at his guffaw. “My fake fiancé. Ran into Winnie and Phillip, and I just…I don’t know. She just gets under my skin and makes me do stupid stuff. When she pulled out the pity pout, asking if I was still single…I may have quickly grabbed a fiancé.”
“I don’t know how your hand doesn’t hurt. I’d have slapped that crooked bitch just for looking at me.”
“Yeah, well…jail. Not on the agenda. I have way too much work to do, and an assault record might interfere with said work. Besides, I think I won this time. Bronco ruined her pretty little loafers…drooled all over them.”
“Extra treats for you, B,” he said, scratching the sprawled-out dog’s belly. “So, you just grabbed some guy?”
“Yep! Literally. He was walking by, and I pulled him into my lie. Oddly, he didn’t run. This one played along.”
“He was gorgeous – you got good taste, kid.”
“He sure was.” Her mind wandered for a moment, thinking back to just how easy he was to talk to and how willing he was to play along. Her kind of guy. “But it doesn’t matter. I won’t be seeing him again.”
“Did that pampered, little, gremlin whore buy it?”
Laughing, she answered with pride, “Yep. Even invited us to a weekend in the Hamptons to celebrate their engagement over memorial weekend.”
“Stop! The Hamptons?! You’re going, right?!” With his hand dramatically placed on his chest, James scooted closer, closing the gap between them, completely invested in her latest debacle.
“Uh, no,” she said with an ounce of snark, scooting away from him and reclaiming her personal space. “I don’t know this guy, and I don’t have time to get to know him. That’s a pretty big lie to pull off, even for me. I need to focus on my proposal and landing that promotion.”
“I think you need to focus on landing that guy in your bed. You’re too uptight; you need a good romp in the sack with a sexy beast like that. I bet he’s good at…”
“Oh, my God. Stop. I’m so not like that, and you know it. I…don’t do relationships anymore. They never work out. I’m a company girl – career driven. I’m good at that. I’m going to email Winnie…”
“Whore…”
“Okay, the whore, in a few weeks and tell her me and Nick aren’t going to make it.”
“Nick…even his name sounds sexy. I bet he has a big…”
“James!” she laughed, “Seriously! Aren’t we supposed to be working? How about we run through my proposal a couple times, then we can spend the rest of the night running your lines.”
“You got it. But I bet he really has a big…”
“James!”
“Heart…I was going to say heart. I saw his sweet puppy. The way he was sitting, it was hard to miss through those shorts.”
“You’re impossible.” She laughed, as she smacked his arm.