Patchwork heart

Chapter 1

Patchwork Heart

The noise of a passing garbage truck momentarily deafened the crowd, jolting Logan out of his thoughts only to be overwhelmed by the ever-present cacophony of the city. It wasn't news to him. He'd been here a thousand times before. This time, however, it took him a moment to notice the people around him who'd been waiting at the same crossroad for the light to turn green, had already stepped onto the road, before he followed them. The light was different here - he could definitely tell, but despite all his travels, he'd never paid attention to it. His fifteen minutes of 'something' in Palo Alto had been fun while it lasted, but he could sense with every fiber of his being that this was going to go differently.

A vintage designer messenger bag in fine Italian leather hung across his chest, a reminder of his old life, not even the one he'd briefly lived on the West coast but one more deeply rooted in the Connecticut country clubs and the traditions that had picked his path for far too long. There had never been any question about which college he'd attend or which career path awaited him, growing up. Logan clung onto the bag's strap, clenching his fist. It wasn't that he desperately needed to hang onto something familiar, it was rather a need to prove something mixed in with hope that the first thing he wouldn't be judged on was his last name and what it stood for. Here the name actually meant something to most people, but he wasn't quite sure how much of that was good.

An approving head to toe glance from a passing pair of giggling women in killer heels extending their colorful-tight clad long legs even more, most likely making their way to a modeling office of some sort nearby, helped to remind him of his confidence, causing him to chuckle to himself. He might've made the decision to forgo his family's fortune - a mistake he'd grow to regret according to almost everyone who'd shared their opinion on it, but at least he still had his looks, charm and wits going for him. It was the latter he was going to have to prove first hand, however, and to take the first step at that he pressed the buzzer to the office he was heading to, its door hidden between a deli and an antique bookshop.

It was a three-story walk-up, not exactly the type of office he was accustomed to. But it was the price of starting from scratch. The key still had the real-estate agency's keychain on it, and he was in no urgency to bother with such trivialities. But to his surprise he found the door unlocked.

"Ah, there you are!" came a jolly welcome as Finn popped his head out of one of the offices down the hall, explaining the unlocked door.

"Never thought I'd see you in here before noon," Logan replied.

"I never left. Cassie left mere five minutes ago," Finn mused.

"Remind me to make sure we won't be hiring any redheads for the assistant jobs," Logan commented in passing and made his way to the office designated as his.

"You forget - I'm not that picky," Finn added.

"Were you ever?" Logan snorted to himself, however, not ill meaningly. "We'll just stick to men, shall we?" he added more loudly.

"I said, I'm not picky," Finn snickered in laughter.

Logan couldn't say he was surprised, even if the details of Finn's ventures were never something he cared to be too familiar with, but either way they were going to have to find someone to handle their day-to-day existence in this place soon enough, someone who wouldn't sleep with Finn the first week on the job at least.

"You know what time Colin's gonna get here?" Logan asked, shifting the subject. It was one thing to go into business for himself, but he had the strength of both of his good friends right there besides him, Colin's father having passed, giving him an opportunity to try other ventures. Finn - he had maintained his other ongoings, related to his family business, but just as he had never really seen Finn work, he seemed to be juggling the lot of it just fine and spare time for this venture as well. The weird part of it was, however, that it was the first time the three of them were in something together with Logan bringing only a little more than his brain and charm. He wasn't used to being the one to be carried on other people's shoulders, but at least for the time being he was going to have to overcome the feeling of shame.