Chapter Text
The alarm almost caused him a heart attack. He rubbed his face with a groan and got up. The chill air in the room embraced him and he instantly regretted leaving the warm bed.
“Good morning, Thran.” A synthetic voice welcomed him. The lights in the room slowly lit.
Thran yawned. Working till late hours at night wasn’t a good idea.
“The weather today will be colder. You can expect the highest of 2 Celsius degrees and the lowest of -3 Celsius degrees. There is a 75% chance of snowing.”
He walked by the huge window overseeing the Central Park on the east side. The light was slowly creeping over the horizon, announcing the day just in a moment.
Thran entered the walk-in closet.
“Alexa, what’s in my calendar for today?”
The assistant read a long list of meetings he had for today. The most important reminder was his flight to Switzerland. Oh, how he wished to be already there.
“Alexa, remind me to stop by Michael’s place around 4 pm.”
Thran picked black jeans and a t-shirt with a deep V neckline. It was a day before Christmas after all. He didn’t expect many people in the office and most of the meetings were online since his clients already left for holiday vacations. It was a pretty good opportunity to wear casual clothes.
He re-checked the luggage lying on the floor, packed with winter clothes and walked straight into the bathroom.
Brushing his teeth he combed his hair with fingers. Maybe he should get a haircut before the flight. Oh, fuck it. He’ll do it once he’s back.
A quick spray of La Nuit de L’homme, wallet, keys, passport, and the luggage and he was off from the apartment.
In the mirror in an elevator, Thran tried to adjust his hair for the last time. To no avail. Whatever.
He swiftly walked towards the black Tesla S. Door handle slipped out as soon as he reached the car and with another voice control he set off.
“Good morning, Thran.” A cute redhead smiled at him from the counter in Starbucks, “as usual?”
“Good morning, Mina, yes the usual. Thanks.” Thran gave her back a smile he trained for years at work, his eyes stayed indifferent.
Mina grinned at him and started making a flat white.
His head hung low as he scrolled through his emails and news in stocks, completely unaware of looks from women in the queue as well as of glances from Mina.
Notification of a text message appeared on his screen. Thran frowned and quickly dismissed it.
The bartender sighed. It was already a year since this tall man started taking away his flat white at precisely the same time every morning. She tried her best to make him notice her and he did several times. He even joked with her, when he was in a good mood. Today he definitely wasn’t, she could tell.
But damn, it was really hard to wake some kind of interest within him. Julia, her colleague, insisted that she should ask him out, but Mina was too cowardly. Maybe he has a girlfriend…
“Here you go.” She gave him the sweetest smile possible.
“Have a lovely day, Mina.” Thran took the coffee and winked.
Mina blushed, her heart skipping a beat but Thran was already gone.
On the other side of the city, Chloe shot out of bed.
“Oh fuck.”
She looked at the old watch, inherited from her grandmother. 8 am.
“Fuck.”
Arnie, the little Yorkshire terrier barked in agreement, happily wiggling his tail.
“Oh, darling, I’m so late! Damn it!”
Chloe hurried to the armchair where she left her jeans yesterday and picked the first t-shirt she saw in the closet.
Jumping on one foot when dressing the socks, she took a bite of the marble cake she baked the previous day. Arnie dropped the ball and sucked out all the crumbs he could find.
With one sock red and the other blue, Chloe ran to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Meanwhile, she dialed a number on her phone.
“Mr. Smith? Good morning! This is Chloe Balker...Yes, yes I know I was supposed to be in your office already, that is why I’m calling. I’ve got stuck in the traffic, it’s really crazy...Christmas, right?” Chloe ran to the window, opening it to fake the sound of the traffic. She considered herself lucky when an ambulance drove by, “ I’m gonna be a bit late but don’t worry I’ll be there in no time! Alright, thank you, Mr. Smith! I am really sorry! See you soon!”
She threw the phone on the sofa and sprinted back to the bathroom to put on some mascara at least.
“Arnie!”
The little dog was already in the hallway, waiting with his leash.
“Good boy.” Chloe grinned at him and pet his head, “we really need to hurry, darling.”
She put on a winter coat and a red bobble beanie and with Arnie barking and jumping around her she set off to the streets of New York.
Thran sipped his second coffee that day and he turned on his chair to overview the Manhattan skyline. His corner office was the latest achievement at work.
He dialed the phone number from the text message he had got earlier and waited.
“Kirsten, hi...Yeah, I had a hectic morning so I couldn’t answer right away….Well, Kirsten, darling, I don’t think we should be even talking about this. Spending Christmas together is...Maybe it is time for us to divide our paths, you know. I’m not into this, dear. You knew that….”
He drew his phone further from his ear, the woman’s voice yelling.
“Listen, Kirsten, I made it clear from the beginning. It was supposed to be just sex. Nothing more. Remember? Yes, good. Well, I don’t hear there is a room for doing anything else in that sentence.” The coldness dripping from his voice. His patience ran low.
He rubbed his eyes in frustration.
“I’m sorry Kirsten but I really, really made it clear.”
When the woman on the other side hung up angrily, Thran sighed. He leaned back into the chair, watching the first snowflakes fall.
He hated this. Why it couldn’t be simple?
He groaned, resting his head backward, now staring into the ceiling. No matter what it always ended up like this. Never did they listen to his warning.
Chloe closed the door of her red Fiat Punto which was almost older than herself and sniffed. Arnie barked, wiggling his tail in greetings.
She took him into her arms, kissing his head.
“We’ll get through this, I promise, buttercup.” She whispered. Arnie looked into her eyes, beaming with happiness that she returned to him.
Chloe sighed. She fought hard not to shed a tear. She will not cry over this. She will find a solution about how to save her bookstore.
Her eyes scanned the tall building of the bank. I don’t need you, assholes.
Turning the keys into the ignition, the car started up with a loud cry. A control of hand break started beeping. A WNYC played on the radio. She turned the volume up to drown out the annoying beeping, the Christmas carols already lifting her mood.
“Good morning, Lisa!” Chloe shouted as soon as the door of the little bookstore in Brooklyn closed behind her. Arnie barked and disappeared between the shelves to greet his human friend.
“Morning, Chloe! Coffee?”
“Oh, yes, please!”
Chloe hang her coat, scarf, and bobble beanie on the coat stand and inhaled the smell of books lingering through the shop. She loved it. Her eyes scanned the shop with all the love she could muster.
“How was the meeting at the bank?”
A blond woman slowly waltzed in front of her with two mugs. She was older than Chloe by 3 years but had the wisdom of a mother and together they worked in Chloe’s bookshop for years.
“Thank you.” Chloe took the mug and sipped the coffee, “not well, to be honest. They won’t extend the due date nor forgive at least one installment.”
Lisa prolonged her face.
“Oh, you gave them the peptalk about Christmas, didn’t you?”
Chloe shrugged, “Well, I tried to melt their hearts in any way possible.”
Lisa snorted.
“I doubt they care about Christmas, my friend. So what now? We have merely half of the money for the installment.”
Chloe sighed.
“I will figure it out, don’t worry, Lisa. You know I will fight until my last breath.”
Lisa squeezed her hand with a gentle smile on her face.
“I know, Chloe.”
“Anyway, thank you for opening the shop and now you are free to flee to your husband and children.”
Lisa chuckled.
“Let me finish the coffee and enjoy the peace for the last minutes before I will be swallowed by the chaos at home.”
Chloe laughed.
They both sat down into comfortable old armchairs in the middle of the shop, surrounded by shelves. Let it snow from Frank Sinatra calmed their nerves.
“What chaos? You said you have all gifts and food ready.”
Lisa raised her eyebrows from behind the mug, “Yes, but can you imagine two small children being too excited for Santa and a grumpy husband who for sure doesn’t have all the presents yet, even though it is a day before Christmas?”
They both chuckled.
“By the way, Richard was here.”
Chloe’s smile froze on her lips.
“What?”
Lisa slowly nodded, “He was asking for you. I don’t understand the audacity after all the heartbreak he caused.”
Chloe swallowed. The truth was that he tried to call her and text her these past days but she didn’t know what to say to him.
“I guess he realized what he has lost.”
“Well too late.” Lisa glanced at Chloe, “at least, I hope?”
“I guess.” Chloe shrugged, “he tried to reach out several times. He wants to talk. And he tried to be really nice over the texts but...I don’t know.”
“Do not even think about him that way. He’s an asshole and we both know it.”
A bell silenced their discussion, announcing a customer at the door. Both girls stood up.
“Okay, I will be going,” Lisa stated, finishing the coffee.
“Thank you again, Lisa. And take your share from the cash box.”
Lisa widened her eyes.
“What? I can’t!”
“Oh, yes, you can, darling. You must! You are my employee and therefore you need to get your salary so you could stay here.”
“But...we need those many for a bank.”
Chloe squeezed her arm.
“I know that David is not happy that you work here for such a small amount of money and that you have discussions about why you don’t find a better job.”
Lisa didn’t know what to say. She gazed at her friend with a sad expression.
“Don’t worry yourself, darling, and take the money. I insist.” Chloe smiled and then turned to the older man browsing the shelves.
“Good morning sir, how can I help?”
Thran parked outside the old building and looked around the neighborhood. It didn’t look like a safe place for his Tesla. Worried that he would come back to the car without its wheels, he checked the security settings on the touchscreen and got out. The freezing wind mixed with snowflakes felt cold against the skin on his neck so he propped the collar of the coat high and walked towards the entrance. A weird smell hit his nose but he ignored it and pushed the button of the elevator.
Thran checked his phone again. Michael was not answering still. He just hoped he was at home. Deciding that he will give it just a few minutes and then head to the airport, he hypnotized the red numbers of floors above the elevator.
The heavy entrance door closed with a loud thud and Thran jerked when the small rat of a dog barked at him, staring at him, wiggling his tail. Raising his eyebrows, he looked at the owner.
“Arnie, stop it.” A woman, by a head smaller than he was, shushed the dog and despite the glowing button indicating the elevator is going down, she pressed it anyway.
She looked at Thran after that. The huge brown eyes surprised him.
“Hello.” She smiled and turned her gaze to the numbers too.
“Hello.” He answered politely, expecting that she will try to talk to him but she didn’t. Maybe it was going over his head already, he thought. Not every woman will try to flirt with him, right? He snorted inwardly, realizing how high his ego was.
The girl reached for the handle of the old elevator not really waiting for him to open the door for her and let the dog go first.
The elevator was uncomfortably narrow. When both of them pressed the buttons of the desired floor, the elevator started moving.
Thran inhaled deeply, focusing on the disappearing and appearing light from the small window in the elevator door. He couldn’t fight the feeling that the pace of the elevator was slower than when it was going down.
The dog sniffed his shoes and the girl behind him shushed the dog again, taking him into her arms.
“Sorry.” She muttered and when Thran wanted to answer her, the elevator suddenly stopped, making them both stagger. His eyes quickly assessed the little window. No light was shining through.
They were stuck between the floors.