“Besides thinking about you?”

“Yeah. Besides thinking about me.”

“Nothing much. Work.”

“I heard a rumor,” he said.

“What rumor is that?”

“That you’re going to leave work early and spend the rest of the day with me.”

“Sure, if you hire me when they fire me.”

“They won’t fire you. Just tell them that this guy who really likes you has come a long way to see you. They’ll understand. D’you know what? Lemme talk to your boss.”

She told him to hold on and then did her impersonation of Virgil’s mumble. “Hello, Virgil Pucci speaking.”

“Hello Virgil, how are you today? Listen, my name is Mr. Likesylvialucasalot, and I’m really and truly infatuated with her, and would really like to see her. And I know that she’s a really important member of your team over there, but consider this—there are many people who can do what she does for you, but only one of her who can do what she does for me. So could you be a really nice guy and let her go, please?”

“You are so silly,” she said.

“Thank you very much, coming from you that is really high praise. But seriously. Take the day off and come and see me. It’s a Friday, they’ll understand.”

“I can’t, Fire,” she said, weighing various deadlines and the missing receipts. “Really.” She had to be sensible. She was alone. She had to remember that.

“Just tell them you’re sick,” he said. “Or that your mum died or something like that. But whatever you do … just come.”

“I think you’re insane.”

“I must be, right? To be doing this.”

“Or maybe you’re like this with every woman.”

“No, just every other one. It’s too expensive to be this nice to all of them. Only the top fifty-five get this kinda treatment. The rest get dinner at McDonald’s.”

She glanced at her bouquet, which was down to ten tulips. Boogie Boo had swiped two. “Thanks for the flowers, they’re beautiful, and it was just so nice of you. You know what’s so incredible about you? You’re like a witchman or something. You just have this way of reaching out to me when I’m feeling most vulnerable. Like that time you called my house looking for Claire and you were concerned about me … out of the blue … without knowing it was me. And then this morning … you don’t even want to hear what happened—trust me. I had the worst morning, and then I came outside and you were on my doorstep with flowers. You do realize we have to take you for genetic testing, cause real black men don’t do these things according to the news. Honestly, Fire, I didn’t take you seriously when you said you were coming. I just thought it was something nice to say.”

“Why’d you think I was joking?” he asked.

“Because … I mean … men just don’t do that. At least not unless they’re rich, which—don’t take it the wrong way—I don’t think you are. Or unless they’ve had sex and they know it’s good.”