Page 37 of Enthrall Shadows
I rubbed my brow, remembering how my weekend had been derailed.
The event on Saturday at Shutters had gone downhill fast. In Room 407, I had offended one of the most intriguing women I’d ever met—right after Lotte had sat with me through a potential crisis. She deserved better. I shouldn’t have been brash to someone as exceptional as Charlotte. Our interaction was a rare occurrence in my otherwise dull life.
I pointed straight ahead. “The tower is within walking distance.”
Why the hell was I explaining this to my driver?
“I see it, sir.”
Griffin Tomlinson appeared to be in his early twenties and was apparently too young to recognize an order, still refusing to pull over and let me out of the car.
I gazed out my window and focused on the electric billboard lording over the district.
The garish display had caught my attention. It was Dandelion Diva’s movie-style advertisement for a new brand of tea—the one Lotte had mentioned last night.
The fuckers were going after the younger crowd.
Stretching across the screen, a half-naked blonde woman sat in a sultry pose, peering over her shoulder with a lustful expression. Her left hand barely covered her breast and in her right hand she held a mug of tea, our competitors tag hanging over the side.
“Who the fuck approved that?” I mumbled. It was a total misfire of branding.
“Sorry, sir?”
“Someone’s getting fired.”
Or maybe that same someone just got promoted. Many of the pedestrians and surrounding drivers were staring up at the tea-porn.
“Everything okay, sir?”
“Open the fucking door!”
I heard a sharp click.
I got out of the car and shut the door behind me, stepping onto the sidewalk and drawing in a breath of pollution.
Snow was falling now in New York, covering Manhattan with a picturesque powdery blanket of white. Here, the climate persisted in being hot and dry and the air was full of desert smog.
I missed riding the subway and visiting my favorite museums. I missed the restaurants and theatres, pining for time spent with good friends.
My focus returned to the billboard, to the alluring features of the striking model. Her rosy cheeks reminded me of a renaissance painting.
Though she had nothing on the attributes of Lotte, she reflected the mystery of a worldly woman.
Lotte.I’d send her a gift basket to soothe my guilty conscience.
When I reached Cole Tower, I walked through security with a wave of thanks.
With my head down, I made my way toward the coffee shop nestled in the corner of the main foyer. I picked up an Earl Grey from the upbeat barista and then rode the glass elevator to the 79thfloor.
The ride was thankfully unremarkable compared to the way my weekend had begun.
Three days ago, I’d learned that the love of my life was still alive. Yet I carried on like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Like her mysterious letter wasn’t sitting on a table in my hotel suite waiting to be read.
I’d waited decades for answers.What’s another day?
Work would take my mind off Reese.
When I stepped out of the elevator, my assistant Jen greeted me, hurrying forward in a cloud of rich perfume and competence.
