The 18th Floor

Chapter Seven

I'm going to be late. And soaking wet. I check the time, 8:35. Shit. I've been at the station for the past 45 minutes waiting for a train to come, only to be greeted by a series of delayed or cancelled trains. When one finally did show up 10 minutes ago, it was packed to the brim. There was no way I could squeeze on there. The one after that the same.

There's one more in 3 minutes, whatever caused the trains to be delayed seems to have cleared up but it doesn't stop the onslaught of people arriving at the station. At this rate, I won't be able to get the next train, or several ones after.

The rain isn't helping either. It started pouring it down just as I reach the station and even though I'm under shelter now, my hair is damp and I can feel my shirt sticking to my skin. Frustrated, I pull out my phone and drop Lucien a message.

Hey, really sorry all the trains have been delayed, it's cleared up a bit now but they all seem to be full. Hopefully shouldn't be too late, sorry

He messages back almost instantly.

No worries, take your time. See you at the office.

I'm only in my third week on the job, but it's all felt like one big blur. Most my days are spent training but I should soon be on my own projects. When Lucien mentioned I would be getting sole ownership of the new projects, I internally started panicking because what if I fuck it up.

The team have been really good at training me up, but there's always so much to remember or do, or keeping in touch with the clients or the directors above Lucien. But I am enjoying it. It's a good challenge, and I would go far as to say I got lucky with the team I have.

I don't know how to describe Lucien. Despite sharing a room together, I feel like I barely know him. Our conversations are limited to work on most days and sometimes even those conversations with him feel like they're forced, on his behalf. I can't sit here and say I've been too open to. But how can I if I don't know how to engage on conversations with him. Maybe I expected more out of relationships with colleagues at work, but Lucien isn't any colleague. He's my boss.

Abbi came in last week to meet me and I am glad to say the least that there is another girl on the team because after spending one week with just Lucien, Simon and Reid, does not have the same energy as having a girl on the team, even if Abbi is 15 years older than me. Reid has also been very welcoming, but I've caught Lucien giving him some weird looks whenever Reid and I interact in conversation.

A train empty enough for me to get on finally arrives at 9am.

---

Lucien's POV

I got a text from Cyrene that she should be here in 15 minutes. That was 20 minutes ago. It's just gone past half nine and she's usually here before 9am most mornings, so the trains must have been really bad. I contemplate messaging her, asking her where she is, but I don't want her to think I'm hounding her down for being late. I don't care if she's late, I just hope that she's ok.

I look out the window and the storm is only getting worser. Just as I pick up my phone to send her a text, I hear the lift doors open, followed by what I can assume to be the sound of wet wheels. She comes into view at last and she's absolutely drenched. Head to toe, her hair dripping.

I get up just as she gets into our office.

"Cyrene-"

"I'm so sorry. The trains kept getting delayed and cancelled", she talks over me.

"Cyrene-"

"And then there was no space, and then he couldn't find the ramp."

"Cyrene-"