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I slowed down to a jog as I reached my street one more time, finishing my run. I caught my breath, running a hand through my hair, feeling it a bit damp from the running and sweating.

I need a shower.

Pulling up the sleeves to the black v-neck, I reached my apartment building, watching as a cab stopped directly in front of it. The door opened and I stopped in one place, recognizing her within a second.

Slowly, keeping one hand on Blake's head, she climbed out of the taxi and then reached in, taking out his baby bag along with a paper bag from The Locket, pulling it onto her shoulder, and then closing the door. She glanced at the apartment building, pausing for a moment in confusion.

Poppy's never been to my apartment before, hasn't even realized this was the building I stayed in and owned. Not that she knew about the latter anyway, nobody does.

She moved to enter the building but stopped when her eyes landed on me.

I pulled my earphones out, tucking them into my pocket as I walked over to her, stopping a few inches away.

"Hi," she exhaled, blinking up at me.

I stared back. "What the hell are you doing here? Why is he with you?" I glanced at Blake.

"He's sleeping. And he's with me because I'm babysitting him for tonight. Actually..." She took the bag off, thrusting it at me. "We are."

"What?"

The busy street was full of traffic lights, headlights, and car horns. Blake stirred on her shoulder, his fist tightening around her jacket. "Can we go inside before he wakes up?" she asked.

I eyed her weirdly before leading the way, taking her through the glass revolving door and past the busy lobby, towards the elevator. We slipped inside and I scanned the keycard, the light turning green, finally allowing me to press the button to the penthouse. I glanced at her as I pocketed the card but she didn't say anything, just stared at the countdown while faint elevator music played in the background.

It's hardly audible, that's how bad it is and how long it's been playing, but I can't be bothered to tell the staff to get rid of it. Nobody else seems to mind it either.

"You live here?" she finally asked, her voice soft.

"Yeah. You know where I live seeing that you made it here just fine," I replied. "Speaking of, why the hell are you at my apartment?"

"I told you, Jenny said she wants us to babysit Blake tonight."

I eyed the bag of food and then Poppy. "Us?"

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, well she called me to do it. And then she gave me dinner for two people, saying I should make sure you eat. Plus, she thought you'd want to spend some more time with Blake. Unless you don't, then I can leave."

"Where's Jenny?" I asked, facing forward again.

"The restaurant's really busy tonight, so she's stuck there."

"What about Blake's babysitter? That girl from high school in their neighborhood?"

"She's not home. Hence, Jenny called me."

"That still doesn't explain why you're here. If it's for the food, then leave it and go. If it's for Blake, then leave him and go." The elevator opened with a faint ding and I glanced at her. "If you're staying a while, then just don't bother me." We walked out and the automatic lights at the entrance turned on. I turned right, finding the light switch and turning all of them on.

Poppy still stood in the elevator, so I put my arm on the doors, keeping them open, asking, "Are you staying there?"

She stepped out, taking a quick look around. "I'm clearly missing out on something," she said to herself. "You live here? At the penthouse in Asphodel apartments?"

"Yes," I mumbled, entering the kitchen while she followed me. I opened the fridge, grabbed a bottle, and drank half of it down.

"How come you live in the penthouse and not just a regular apartment?" she questioned.

"I bought it," I replied, placing the bottle on the counter.

"The penthouse?"

I swallowed, turning to wash my hands. "The building."

She laughed, quickly shutting up before it woke Blake. "What?" she asked as I faced her, drying my hands on a towel.

"Forget it. It's none of your business anyway."

She gawked at me for a minute before finally dropping the subject. "Jenny said she'll come get Blake latest by midnight. And anyway, I couldn't have dinner with Liam, thanks to you."

I rolled my eyes, hanging the towel on the knob attached to the wall.

"You said I wouldn't eat with him because I was busy with you for work. So, I figured we can work while I'm here. Make the itinerary and get it approved by Lydia tomorrow, that way she can make all the bookings."

"I have to go shower." I left my phone and earphones on the counter. "Wait here until then."

She watched as I rounded the counter, walking past her. "You won't take too long, will you?" she asked as I reached the marble stairs.

"I will now," I replied without looking at her as I went upstairs and left, entering my room. I pulled open the closet door, grabbed a pair of fresh black joggers with a matching v-neck, half sleeves, and then went into the bathroom.

Despite what I said, I didn't make her wait too long in case Blake woke up and took a quick shower before going back downstairs, quickly ruffling my hair with a towel until it was merely damp. Noticing Blake wasn't in her arms anymore as I entered the kitchen, I grabbed the bag from The Locket, unpacking the food. "Where'd you put Blake?" I asked.

"On the couch."

I glanced over, worried he would fall.

"Don't worry, I put the cushions around him, he's okay."

My eyes cut to hers before I put the food in the microwave, turning it on. I could hear her crocs hitting the underneath of the counter as she rocked her legs back and forth, watching every move I made. I set the plates on the table, huffing. "What?"

"You went on a run at this hour?" she asked, tilting her head to one side. "Who even goes on a run in New York City?"

"Me."

"To do what? Listen to traffic?"

I shrugged, "Better than listening to you."

"Still not as bad as leaving someone stranded after saying you'd give them a ride," she snickered as I slid her plate to her. "Twice," she added snarkily.

"You take too long," I countered.

"Then tell me that, you moron," she scoffed.

"I just did, you idiot," I argued, taking the food out before the microwave beeped.

She reached into her pocket and took out her phone. "Look, because of you, we lost out on today. So, let's make an itinerary while we eat and give it to Lydia tomorrow morning, okay?"

"Fine," I agreed, serving myself.

She was too busy searching on her phone to serve herself, so I rounded the corner, serving the food onto her plate before going and sitting back down across from her. "Why don't we go to Budapest after New Orleans?" she asked suddenly.

"I've been to Budapest," I answered.

"I haven't. And I don't mean fly straight away."

I lifted a brow.

"New Orleans is like a... trial, if you will, for us. So, let's come back to New York after that for a few days. And then we can fly out again, the next time to Budapest if we manage to survive each other the first time. If we prove to Lydia that we can work together and manage it, maybe she'll cut us some slack and until then, we'll find a way to convince her to let us work alone. Hmm?"

"She's not going to listen and you know it, but sure. Let's try. Haven't you already made your itinerary for New Orleans?"

"Yeah, but that only has things I want to do."

"Then let's take half the things from yours and half from mine. Half the trip will be activities and spots that you chose and the other half will be my choice. You can't complain then, it's only fair."

She rolled her eyes, taking a bite from her plate. "I'm not going to complain."

"You complain every day you're at the office about everything. It's rather annoying. You're a brat."

She dropped her chopsticks on the plate. "That's real rich coming from you. You get special treatment from Lydia, all right? So, zip it. You have no idea what it's like to have her hate you."

"That's because I don't do stupid things that get people fired."

"You try to stop someone from having sex without even knowing about it and then we'll have this argument. Where's your itinerary?"

I unlocked my phone, opened the notes app, and then slid it over to her before glancing at her phone pointedly and using two fingers, making a 'come here, give it to me' motion. "Give me yours," I said, putting my chopsticks down.

She slid her phone over and we went through each other's notes.

As I read through the itinerary, I realized that we did still have some of the same spots on our list. The most popular ones, at least. I blinked, glancing at her in amusement. "Haunted ghost tour? Really?"

She smiled at me sarcastically. "A kayak tour? Really?" she mocked.

I ran my tongue along the inside of my cheek, looking back at the phone. "Fine, fair enough."

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