Fleur-de-lis

Day 1: Side A

John's p.o.v.

I stare blankly out the window of Luca's rental car. We were headed to meet our new superiors today. We arrived late last night and were immediately set up with hotels till we could get everything straightened out. The company was going to help us get housing soon but introductions would come first. I was nervous. I didn't know what to expect, surrounded by unfamiliar people in an unfamiliar place. If Van was here I...I...I can't think about it. I couldn't greet my new coworkers and superiors fresh from crying.

"Hey, John. You ready?" Luca asks.

"Yeah." I mumble.

Luca pulls into the parking lot of a small sky scraper. The downtown area had a little collection of them, actually. After finding a space Luca put the car in park and there was an extended silence. I wasn't looking in his direction but I could feel his eyes on me.

"Hey." He starts after some time. "If you wanna talk..."

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? We're all here for y-"

"I'm fine!" I say a bit more forcefully.

"...okay. I just...care about you, man."

I appreciated it. I appreciate it more than I'd ever let him know but I felt so much pressure on the inside and if I allowed anything to add to that feeling I don't know what'd happen to me. I just feel...words can't describe this feeling. I just wished everything would stop.

"Let's go." I say.

Luca stares for a moment more before wordlessly opening his door. I follow suit and we step out of the car, closing the doors behind ourselves. After getting ourselves in order and straightening our ties, we strut inside like the which collars we were. We make or way to the front desk where a receptionist was waiting.

"Hi. How can I help you two gentlemen?" The receptionist asks.

"Yes. We're here for a meeting with Mr. Hunt." Luca informs.

"One moment." She replies.

She takes a moment to dial for somewhere higher in the building. "Mr. Hunt, I have two gentlemen downstairs that say they're here to meet you." She waits for a response. "Oh, uh...names?" She asks, needing confirmation.

"Luca Miller." Luca introduces himself.

"Johnathan Serafino." I follow.

"Luca Miller and Jonathan Sera...Seraph...Serasomething." She speaks into the phone, pausing as she gets a response. "Okay." She says before disconnecting the call.

"You're free to go. Floor sixteen, room 536." She informs.

"Thanks." I say, trying to sound grateful.

"You're welcome." She assures.

Luca and I head to the elevators, hitting the call button and waiting.

"Nervous?" Luca asks.

I shake my head no.

"Well I'm shaking." He responds.

We hop into the elevator when it arrives before it zooms up to our floor, giving me butterflies from the unexpected speed. On the sixteen floor, we look around for signs to point us in the right direction, eventually finding a board the had arrows showing which room number were in which direction. Having narrowed it down some, we search for maybe three minutes before we find our destination.

"Here goes." Luca prays before pushing the door open.

Inside was a classic boardroom complete with the modern version of medieval dining table fit for twelve people and a plasma wide screen TV that I could only assume was for presentations. Also waiting for us were three individuals.