Cordero and Alexandra met 36 days ago.

ENDING OF PREVIOUS POST:

"George and Brent have access to all sorts of things. Maybe this afternoon you can see the usual sights, The Statue of Liberty, The Empire State Building, then tonight a nice dinner, maybe a play, ballet, opera, or concert?"

He glanced at Ali. "I'd agree to everything except a ballet and opera. What do you suggest? I'll let you choose."

Alexandra stood. "Excuse me." She left the dining room.

George took a drink of orange juice. "I think my granddaughter's upset. She thinks you railroaded this young man, and she's correct."

Tonia stood. "She's upset. I'd better talk with her. I was thinking of you two having fun together and overstepped. I knew better."

Folding his napkin, Cordero stood. "Tonia, please sit. I'll talk with her. I don't know your house. Where do you think she went?"

Brent offered, "Probably the patio off the living room. It's one of her favorite places."

Cordero headed in that direction. "Makes sense, at our house she goes out the glass sliding door by the dining room."

Tonia smiled. "I've done that on a few occasions."

TODAY'S POST:

Chapter 19 B

When Cordero opened the glass door, Alexandra faced him. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," interrupted Cordero. "I expected it would happen."

"I don't understand what's going on with my parents. You've been so sweet about all of this."

Cordero took her hand and gave it a soft kiss. "What type of sightseeing do you suggest?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Since I'm here we might as well enjoy the city."

"You don't like cities."

"I'm sure if I get to spend the day with you it won't be so bad."

"Really?" After Cordero grinned, Alexandra continued, "Well, I'd say the Empire State Building and then take the ferry to Liberty Island and see The Statue of Liberty. Each of them will take a few hours. Maybe then dinner and..." She tilted her head and removed her phone. "How about an escape room?"

"I've heard about them but never been to one."

"It'd be a first for me too. We can see how well we work together," teased Alexandra.

"We'll do great."

Searching her phone, she said, "I don't want anything haunted."

He chuckled. "Of course not."

She ignored his comment. "What about the difficulty level on a scale of one-to-five?"

"Since it's our first time, I'd say two or three."

"I agree." She continued searching. "How about? 'You tried to steal the treasure of an infamous pirate captain and have been thrown into the hold of his ship. Now you must free yourselves, steal the hidden treasure, and escape.' It's a level three, but only has a 30% success rate. Think it'll be too hard?"

Cordero read over her shoulder, "Here's another possibility. 'A crime that had no clues is coming into the limelight. Can you solve the mystery within sixty minutes? Find all the clues, jot down everything, and arrest the criminal?' It's rated three and has a 50% success rate.' We have two choices."

Alexandra studied her phone. "Either one sounds like fun. How do we decide?"

Holding up a quarter, Cordero said, "We flip, heads the pirate one, tails the detective."

He chuckled. "It's tails. We'll be detectives."

"That's settled."

He put his arm around her and squeezed. "Is our day planned?"

"I think so. I doubt we'll have time for Central Park." She thought for a moment. "We can do a breakfast picnic there before we go to the airport. What do you think?"

"Sounds perfect."

*****
They held hands as they walked to the dining room. Tonia stood. "How much trouble am I in?"

Alexandra hugged her mom. "None. We're sightseeing. We'll have a busy day."

Cordero asked, "Tonia, how much did Mom have to do with this?" When Tonia avoided eye contact, he said, "Thought so." He faced Alexandra. "Our moms are ganging up on us. I'll talk with her when I get home."

She exhaled. "So it's not just mine?" Glancing at Cordero, she said, "After I help Mom with the dishes, we'll head to the Empire State building."

*****
As Cordero and Alexandra got ready to leave, Alexandra asked, "Can I leave Lily? It'll be easier in the morning."

"Of course." Tonia gave her daughter an extra hug. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'll miss you too. We'll talk every day."

"True."

Brent gave his daughter a kiss on the cheek. "Love you, Pumpkin."

Returning the cheek kiss, Alexandra said, "Love you too, Daddy." Then she stood beside George and hugged him. "Grandpa..."

"I understand. Hurry back."

"I will."

Cordero watched and then said his goodbyes.

*****
Outside, Anthony held the limousine door for Alexandra. "Have the plans changed?"

She smiled. "Everything changed. We're going to the Empire State Building first. Then..."

"Stop." Anthony grinned. "Fill me in as we go. You might change your mind again."

Chuckling Cordero said, "You're probably right."

Anthony pulled into a drop-off area and opened Alexandra's door. "Call when you're ready." He hesitated. "Is it all right if I deliver your luggage to your apartment?"

Alexandra nodded. "Of course."

She handed Anthony her key and then Cordero took her hand and sighed. "Look at that line."

"Don't worry. I know how to avoid it." Alexandra's eyes met his, and then she turned. "Anthony, wait!" When he came up to her, she said, "Cord has something you need to keep safe."

Nodding Cordero said, "Of course, security." He followed Anthony to the car and privately handed over his gun and holster. "Thanks."

As they walked closer, Cordero studied the line. "I don't see any way around this."

Alexandra took his hand. "Come on." Walking up to a security guard, she opened her purse and removed a pass.

He nodded. "Ms. Black, welcome. This way please."

Inside the private elevator, Cordero said, "Money talks in this city, doesn't it?"

"Grandpa and Dad remain in good standing with the city." Alexandra watched the elevator speed up to the one hundred-second floor. "We'll go to the top. Most people don't pay to go past the eighty-sixth floor."

After stepping from the elevator, Alexandra took a deep breath. "Good, it's a clear day. One can see almost eighty miles. I'll point out the main sights."

She pointed and they discussed facts about, The Chrysler Building, Rockefeller Center, One World Trade Center, Central Park, Times Square, and The Statue of Liberty. She mentioned the five states that could be seen: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Delaware.

As they finished, Alexandra called Anthony and told him they were ready for the next destination, the ferry for Liberty Island.

*****
As Anthony parked, Alexandra asked, "Do you want to see Ellis Island?"

From the limousine window, Cordero surveyed the crowd. "I think Liberty Island will be enough for this trip." He motioned toward a sign. "It says they've been booked for three months." After she smiled, he said, "You have connections, right?"

Anthony opened Alexandra's door and grinned. "Are you going to the crown?"

She tilted her head. "It depends on this cowboy."

Eyeing Anthony, Cordero asked, "Is it worth the trip?"

"Once, yes, more than once, no."

Cordero patted her hand. "Okay, let's do this."

Smiling Alexandra asked, "Before we go, can you climb three hundred-fifteen steps?"

His eyebrows rose. "Can you?"

"You bet, and so can both our moms."

"It'll be a breeze."

"Okay cowboy, we'll see how fit you really are."

*****
Almost two hours later, Anthony grinned as they came up to the limousine. "Mr. Ortiz, how were the stairs?"

"I'll admit coming down was easier, but they weren't a problem." He waited until Alexandra was inside, before he said, "Anthony, it's close to dinnertime. We have seven o'clock reservations for an escape room." He glanced at his watch. "I doubt we have time to go back and change for a nice restaurant. Any ideas?"

Before Cordero was seated, Anthony said, "Give me a few minutes to think about it." After he maneuvered through traffic, he glanced in the rear-view mirror at Cordero and winked. "I got this."

Alexandra's eyebrows rose. "What are you two planning?"

Cordero took her hand. "Just relax. You'll like it."

It wasn't long before Anthony pulled the limousine in front of Sant Ambroeus. He glanced at Cordero. "Is it okay? As you can see, they have outside seating."

"Looks good. Thank you." Cordero asked, "Ali, ready for dinner?"

"You worked this out together, right?"

Anthony opened her door. "I plead the fifth, Ma'am."

Cordero grinned. "If you approve, let's get seated. I didn't think we'd have time to change. So, I asked about dinner options."

"I haven't been here in years. It used to be really good. I bet it still is."

Touching her elbow, Cordero guided her to the door. "Could we please have an outside table for two?"

After they were seated, they waited for a server, and Alexandra covered Cordero's hand with hers. "Thank you for being such a good sport today."

"I got to spend the day with an amazing woman and enjoyed listening while you told me what was special about each place. I've seen pictures and knew the historical significate of each, but you gave me a new understanding."

The server came and took drink orders, and then Cordero said, "We'll need a few more minutes."

*****
After dinner, the server placed the check on the table. Alexandra reached over and took it. "I got this."

Cordero's eyes widened. "I can afford to take you to dinner even in New York City."

A silence followed


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I intentionally left off the accents on fiance and fiancee because Evil Eddie would put all sorts of strange characters in my post. Thank you for understanding.
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Hola is Spanish for hello

Mi hijo & Mijo are Spanish for son. Jorge uses them often.

Bendecido is Spanish for blessed.
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CHARACTER LIST:

Cordero Ortiz: 'Cord' runs his parents' Texas ranch

Alexandra Black: 'Ali' is a New York City corporate lawyer, is a junior partner in huge family law firm

Jorge and Rosa Ortiz: Cordero's parents who own a large West Texas Ranch

Jim: One of the ranch foremen's and best friend of Cordero. He takes care of the main house and surrounding ranch area.

Bob: One of the ranch foremen and good friend of Cordero. He works the entire ranch.

Pat Rogers: Bank owner, not a good person

Sam Bailey: Lobo's Sheriff.

Dr. Bart Barnes: Town doctor

Judge Sean Pickett: County Judge

Tonia and Brent Black: Alexandra's parents

George Black Alexandra's grandpa

Gary Hart: A young ranch hand

Luke: All around bad guy

Amy Harding: A lady who Pat Rogers raped during High School Prom, her son, Matthew

Alan Griffin Alexandra's ex-fiance

Joseph and Ruth Aaronson One of the first clients, family friends, owner of a prestige jewelry shop

Athony Alexandra's limousine driver