Chapter 2.
At 9 AM the next day, Gabriel entered the hotel where the meeting was being held, wondering if the girl Charlotte sent will be late. It was the one thing he hated. When Charlotte called him yesterday letting him know that Lena Rylan will fill in for her, he wasn't happy about it. However, Charlotte convinced him that Ms. Rylan wouldn't fail. For her own good, he hoped she was right.
As he approached the front desk, he heard a female voice.
“Mr. Seaborne.” It was Lena.
“Good morning sir.” She approached him.
A blank stare was all she got so she continued,
“Lucas is already waiting at the lobby and our clients are expected to arrive within half an hour.”
“That’s good to know.” Gabriel walked past Lena as if she was invisible and went to the lobby.
“How the hell did he become so damn successful if he can’t say a freaking “hi”?” Lena stood there for a moment, contemplating about his total lack of manners. It was the second time in two days that he brushed her off. Taking a deep breath, she followed him.
He didn’t even notice her sit next to him as he and Lucas were preoccupied with contract details. Lena went through her part of the data and turned to the window wishing she could be out there on the streets, with a cup of latte in her hands, getting lost in the crowd. All of a sudden, she noticed an older woman arguing with the door attendant as he tried to push her away from the hotel entrance. The woman looked lost, wearing shabby clothes and appeared to be a beggar, maybe even homeless. Lena encountered dozens of them on daily basis and knew that she couldn’t help every one of them. However, when she saw that old woman outside the chaotic street, and looked around at all those wealthy men and women inside, an unexpected realization struck her- she had more in common with that woman than with people who were sitting right next to her. There was a period in her life when her parents barely made ends meet. When they were on a verge of leading a life that this woman was obviously leading.
The clients weren’t supposed to arrive yet and Seaborne and Lucas were still blissfully unaware of her presence so she slowly stood up, grabbed her purse and rushed to the door.
Stunned by a delicate note of a perfume hanging in the air as Lena abruptly left, Gabriel lifted his head and noticed her walking towards the door with her purse.
“I should have known. This is what I get for letting kids do the grownups work.” Assuming she got cold feet, he murmured but Lucas couldn't hear him.
“I’ll be right back.” He stood up and went after Lena to give her a proper talk about work ethics.
As he reached the hotel exit, through the glass door he noticed Lena outside, talking to some old beggar. His body stiffened, as he saw Lena reaching for her purse and giving the woman some money. The woman grabbed Lena’s hand in a gesture of gratitude and Lena patted her shoulder. The woman tiredly stumbled away while Lena closed her eyes and lifted her head in the air as if she was trying to put herself together. Something about that gesture made her look almost angelic. Her hair in a low ponytail, light grey dress with ¾ sleeves wrapped around her slim body... Everything Gabriel was about to say, the whole speech evaporated from his head into thick hotel air. He didn’t see that coming. And nothing surprises Gabriel Seaborne.
In the middle of a crowded lobby, he felt like an intruder and quickly walked back to his chair.
One minute later, Lena came back as well.
As Gabriel looked at her questioningly, Lena simply remarked, “I had to powder my nose,” and sat down without giving him a second look. She owed him no explanation.
Their clients arrived and Gabriel focused on setting a deal. As he expected, it went successful. Lena anticipated his every need and passed him charts and numbers at the right moments. He was amazed but hid it very well. When the hotel staff brought breakfast, Gabriel noticed Lena didn’t touch her food but she was drinking her third coffee. And he wasn’t the only one who noticed.
“Sleepless night, Ms. Rylan? Oh, how I miss those days when I was young.” Mr. Cranston, one of the clients, winked at her.
“Yeah, I miss yesterday, too.” Lena smiled at the man and made everybody laugh. Except for Gabriel, of course. However, a small chuckle did escape the corner of his lips.
“That is very kind of you Ms. Rylan but I’m afraid a lot of yesterdays have passed since I was young, as you can see by the wrinkles on my face,” Mr. Cranston said dramatically.
“Wrinkles should merely indicate where the smiles have been.” Lena poetically replied.
“Mark Twain.” Mr. Cranston said in acknowledgment and Lena smiled.
Gabriel wasn’t used to be in a role of bystander but in the past few hours, it turned out that was exactly what he was. But he didn’t mind. On the contrary, all the sides of that girl’s personality actually intrigued him.
After breakfast, Gabriel went to escort the clients to their cars, Lucas rushed to another meeting and Lena stayed behind to give the hotel staff information about billing their services. She was surprised seeing Gabriel swaggering back inside.
“Is everything okay Mr. Seaborne?”
“Everything is perfect,” he said presumptuously. In truth, he came back to tell her she did a good job but suddenly refrained. Commending people was not something he practiced. Or was good at.
Not knowing what to say, Lena awkwardly smiled. That gesture made him realize he was making people uncomfortable and for the first time he felt some sort of remorse.
“Just make sure to send Charlotte update about the deal.”
“Yes sir.” Lena nodded and was about to turn away.
“No goodbye? Didn’t your parents teach you manners?” Gabriel caught himself trying to engage in a conversation. However, it didn’t turn out smoothly.
“Well, sir,” she emphasized the last word, “I thought about it but a girl can only handle one blow-off per day.” As cynical as it sounded, Lena couldn’t help it.
When she realized what she’d just said to one of the most powerful man in New York, her mouth swiftly closed and eyes widened. But there was no taking it back.
Gabriel needed a moment to figure out what she meant. Initially infuriated by this young woman’s cheekiness, he suddenly got aware of his double standards, and got upset at himself instead. Sometimes, he seemed to forget his manners. He wouldn’t usually apologize, but this woman and everything about her was new to him. It was a third time in a few hours that she caught him off guard. In an act of redemption, he approached her, towering her and lowered his head to meet her eyes.
“Perhaps I was forgetting my own manners.” With great effort and looking around if somebody could hear him, he managed to say his next sentence.
“I apologize Ms. Rylan.”
Stumped by his apology, Lena slowly lifted her head to his and he flinched. Those were the most beautiful emerald eyes he had ever seen. But it wasn’t the color that astounded him. It was bravery and defiance in them. No pretending, no hypocrisy.
“Apology accepted,” a smile dangled on the corner of Lena’s lips.
“So… goodbye?” Gabriel teased her, which was a completely new territory for him when it comes to women, except with Charlotte.
“Goodbye Mr. Seaborne. And don’t worry, I won’t tell a soul you apologized to me.”
“Damit Lena. Close your mouth and walk away,” she snapped at herself in her mind.
Gabriel held back not to laugh and stayed semi-serious.
“Quite considerate of you, Ms. Rylan,” he tilted his head in amusement and walked away.
It took Gabriel 20 min to get back to the office and the whole time in the car, he had Lena on his mind. That girl, woman to be precise, felt like a breath of fresh air, which was hard to find in NY streets. She showed mercy, brains and wit, something that women in his branch didn’t have these days.
“Something must be wrong with her,” he concluded before entering the building.
*
Lena wished she didn’t have to go back to the office. A chance of meeting Mr. Seaborne again was very slim; in past few years she only saw him a couple of times from the distance, but she still wanted to escape as far away as she could.
Her mouth would always let her down in a nervous situation. It’s as if they were programmed to randomly eject stupidities. Embarrassed, she occupied her mind with the latest reports and numbers.
It was late afternoon when she left the office. Staying late was never a problem for her, but she welcomed all the noise and buzzing when she exited the building. She rushed to the first coffee stand to get the fifth dose of caffeine for the day, then put her body in a slow mode and started walking through the busy street. It was liberating after being stuck in an office all day.
An hour later, she climbed the stairs to her apartment. The proper word would be a shoebox, but she loved it. Kitchen and living room were basically the same room, the bedroom was big enough to fit a bed and a tiny closet, and the bathroom was small but functional. Throughout the apartment were shelves filled with books, and walls in between were covered in painting replicas.
She microwaved a plate of spaghetti Milanese and sat back at the sofa with her legs up, placing the plate on her stomach. There was nothing interesting on TV but she never liked eating in silence.
When she ate the last of her meal, her phone started vibrating.
“Hey mom.”
“Hey sweetie. How was your day?” Mom’s soothing voice instantly cheered her.
“Oh, same old, same old. I saved a world a few times and found a cure for stupidity.”
“Very funny young lady.”
“But something did happen. I attended a meeting with Mr. Seaborne.”
“Seaborne as in Seaborne Consulting? The one you’ve met yesterday?”
“Yep. And it went okay. When it comes to work. When it comes to his charming personality… well, let’s not go there.”
“Oh no, Lena. Please, tell me you kept your mouth shut.” There was something alarming in her mom’s voice.
“Who? Me? Of course. I behaved.” Lena crossed her fingers while saying that little lie.
“I hope so. By the way, we got the money you send us. It’s too much Lena,” she exhaled.
“It’s not too much mom. I want you to cut back on your work. You don’t have to clean houses all day anymore. Let me help you.” Lena knew her backache is getting worse and wanted to ease her as much as possible.
“I don’t know what I would do without you. I love you sweetie.”
“I love you too, mom. Give dad a hug from me.”
A big part of Lena’s paycheck went to her parents. They initially refused to take it but Lena insisted. It hurt her watching them struggle their whole life to provide her with everything and this was the way of giving something back.
When she hung up the phone, she thought about going for a walk but felt exhausted and decided to get a good night sleep instead.