Personally, for me the clear moral of the story here is: bring an umbrella, wear some big boy boots, and take the fucking subway. (Or walk the whole way. It's all of a 15-minute walk from Grand Central). Given who you were scheduled to see, everything you were wearing should have been water resistant anyway.
{Nothing particularly personal to you Maneschi, you're not alone in your suburban autocentric laziness: but I was once burned by some lazy ass monger scheduled before me for a girl I desperately wanted to see, who showed up for his appointment 30 minutes late because "parking", they let him stay the full hour, and I was never able to see her. Still pisses me off....}
While none of us is in a position to dispute the original facts, I too join the consensus that I was treated courteously and professionally here, and I haven't been asked for the full fare upfront before meeting the girl anywhere in ages. (Oh, I have a vague memory that maybe possibly Natasha at MAGFE once tried to pull that on me a couple of years ago? But I held my ground and either walked or she caved. I forget which).