AROUND THE HEART IN 80 DAYS

Five

Her idea of being prepared was a pocket knife. It might have been small but it's purpose would be lethal.

Gory images danced through her brain as she slowly stepped on the brakes of her ochre sedan, in the basement of the winery. She stepped out of the basement to view a far off glimpse of green span of grass that escaped a sturdy fence.
This space was pretty large. An acre at least and only a few square meters contained the building she was backing.
Her thoughts were almost drowned out by whatever mysteries could be held behind that fence. There was some kind of construction going on near the said fence from what she could see but she couldn't be bothered by it.

The sweet smell of tropical juices filled her nostrils, paired with the feeling of serenity almost taking her mind off of attacking her sleazy step-brother whom she hated.

Almost.

Maybe she could try a new sort of pastry with these grapes. Some sort of pie or so. Would it be red too?

Stop thinking about things like that, Jack.

Harrumphing severely as she alighted, she felt a sense of pity for her poor mother-for-now.

Having a son in a fancy company with a wonderful vineyard who never spent a dime on her or her daughter.
They must have been a sick family to begin with because all three of them didn't seem to care.
For the billionth time, she wondered why her father chose to leave her with a bunch of miscreants. Even death would have been a better torture.

She walked to the stairs at the farthest end of the basement, sending a habitual wave to a security guard who didn't seem to care if it had been an armed robber that had passed him by. Better for her.
How she hated fake chit-chats.

The higher she went, the brighter the lights, the faster her heart thumped, the stronger she held to her will.

If she remembered clearly, he was on the fourth floor?

Big boss man on the top. Or almost top. The building looked like it went eight floors.

Her yoga induced knees coupled with her frustration in a terrible combo.
She had gone just two floors and she felt the three years at her job betraying her now.

Fourth floor?!

She had gone only two floors. God!

Leaning back dramatically, she saw the busy lobby, through the officially dressed people walking to and fro, talking about probably some advertisement of wine or something fermentation-related.

She mentally calculated the probable operations that could be carried out in such a high establishment. Advertising, import and export... and whatever the hell grape people did.

Oh well. It did have a nice interior. Comfy.
Warm white lights descended wonderfully on the entire space. The typical perfect office ambience proved to be welcoming.

They got the lights, the indoor plants, wonderful air conditioning (not even harsh), and... . Was that the smell of roasted coffee beans?

Jackie let her stomach groan. Her tastebuds rejoiced in the aroma.
Coffee was the best. Coffee cake, black coffee with just a dollop of cream, cute biscuits with those blessings of coffee flavour.

If she were to work in this place, would she be considered into those little cliques that laughed at each other's lives beside the coffee machine? She wasn't allowed to have so much coffee, sadly.

The thought of Garrett brought her to her senses.

She decided to carry on with the journey. Using the lift, of course. It might have been just one floor to go but she would act lazy.