Progress of Love

Chapter 1: On the Terrace

Meet me at Dream Midtown. PHD Terrace. 8pm

Neal absently refolded the pink origami paper into its original tulip shape. He'd found it in his overcoat pocket when he arrived home from work. Only one person he knew of left messages for him in origami flowers—Alex.

He'd taken the subway home. Most likely she'd slipped it to him when he was waiting on the tracks. It would have been easy to escape detection in the crush of commuters.

He'd first met Alex when he was on a job for Klaus in Athens. They'd hooked up on a few occasions but neither one was serious about the other. The last time Neal saw her, he was working for Adler and sighing over Kate who was dating someone else. Alex had done her best to distract him. No baggage, no commitments—that was Alex.

She went to considerable effort to research him. She knew where he worked, what subway he took. She also had likely discovered that he was living in June's mansion. But she probably didn't know about Sara, who was currently working in London. Last autumn when Sara lived in New York, they'd kept their dates a secret.

The Dream Midtown was a hotel in the theater district. The bar Alex referred to was a popular two-story lounge on the top floors. Had she picked the venue as a sly reference to the fact that she knew about his status at Columbia or was she dreaming about a score? He had no plans for that evening. Neal smiled as he slipped on a cashmere turtleneck. He'd know soon enough.

Snow flurries had started in the afternoon and were continuing in the evening. When Neal arrived, the lounge was packed with patrons enjoying the Manhattan snowscape.

He ambled up to the bar and ordered a glass of Chardonnay. It didn't take long for him to hear a familiar sultry voice in his ear. "It's been too long, Caffrey."

He turned his head to see Alex in a slinky tunic and leggings. The striking elliptical silver and gold pendant she wore around her neck appeared Greek in design.

"Good to see you, Alex. What brings you to my neck of the woods?"

She set her martini down on the counter. "What else? Dreams, of course." She dropped her voice. "Are you going to make mine come true?"

He could play along. "What do you have in mind?" he asked, also lowering his voice.

"Something that will enable us to realize our dreams for a long time to come. Worth a few minutes of your time?"

"You're worth much more than that," he said gallantly. Alex didn't divulge any specifics but restricted herself to light banter. Neal bided his time, waiting till they were able to grab a booth by the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Times Square.

"Much as I appreciate your concern for my happiness, this is a little unexpected," he said, keeping his tone friendly as they settled into their niche. Alex preferred to work alone, and altruism had never been her strong suit. "Since when have you been working this side of the Atlantic?"

"If I'd known you'd joined the feds, I might not have bothered. I never expected you'd become one of their drones."

He shrugged. "They made me an offer I couldn't refuse."

"Meaning if you didn't cooperate, they'd throw you in prison?"

"They can be very persuasive." He'd rather not lie, instead letting her make assumptions based on the Neal Caffrey she knew.

She scowled as she nodded. "You were on the verge of losing control under Adler. I was worried then that you'd self-destruct. So you've really gone legit?"

He shrugged. "So it seems."

"I'd heard rumors you haven't retired."

He raised a cocky eyebrow. "I'm a little young to think about retiring."