Antipodes

Seventeen

Having been busy all week long, she didn't had time to rest nor to think of something else than her work and in her multiple appointments. She didn't even had time to call him and to ask about his news. He didn't call either. Maybe he's upset, she thought. She looked at the watch around her wrist, it was five to nineteen o'clock and she had yet another client in five minutes. The company was dealing with too much problems these days. Somebody knocked at the door, she adjusted her dark blue dress with the palms of her hands and recovered on her leather seat. She breathed profoundly.

"Yes, enter please", she said aloud to her new assistant. He was of such a precious help and since she had hired him, everything was perfectly settled.

"Mr. Malone is here", he said smiling when he opened the door.

"Let him in", she answered smiling back at him although she wanted to cry.

Mr. Malone had been her client for about three years now. He was a rich investor in all kind of business fields and was of their most important of their collaborators. He was wearing a designer suit and a tie carefully chosen for this day, she assumed.

"Good evening Jacob, how are you today?", said Zoe politely.

"Zoe, I must say I am very happy to end my crazy day with you", he said shaking her hand. "You look radiant, as always".

"Well, thank you. I could say the same about you", she said giving him a big fake smile. He was mostly known for his love life, even though he was sixty something.

They sat there and discussed mostly numbers: clients, money, how many people they should fire to keep the company together. Zoe hated that kind of conversations but it was her job, that is why Christopher hired her.

"Where is that Christopher? Still locked up in his office?"

"No", she brushed chuckling. "He went to Tokyo, he had to deal with some urgent matter".

"Why wasn't I told about that trip?"

"I'm sorry, it was last minute". Zoe was feeling uncomfortable now. "He'll be back by tomorrow night".

"I'll call him then, I need to speak to him in person". That meant nothing good. He got up, closed his blazer, shook her hand and left.

She was tired and before she knew it, she fell asleep in her chair.

"Mrs. Jones?", said a voice across from the room.

Her eyes snapped open. "Jeremy !", she exclaimed. "You still here?"

"I thought I'd wait for you since it was a little late...", he started.

"Oh you're such a gentleman. And please, call me Zoe", she said smiling at him. He was cute, she thought, too young for her but still cute. She took her bag and stood up meaning that she was now ready to go. When they got in the elevator, she tossed her hand in her handbag, looking for her pack of cigarettes. She found it and put one between her lips. They got out the building and in his turn, he put a cigarette between his lips before lighting it along with hers. She thanked him. They sat outside the building side by side, not talking for a long moment. She looked up at the sky and smiled.

"See? It's not that late, it's still daylight".

"Right", he said a little embarrassed.

"Take your day tomorrow, Jeremy."

"What?", he looked at her raising his eyebrows.

"I'm not firing you!", she assured him. "We'll just take a day off, both of us".

"Do you want me to cancel all your appointments then?", he asked.

"I can do it myself, thank you", she said smiling and getting up. "See you next week", she shouted walking away.

Three calls and he still didn't answer. She wondered why in hell he had this technology called cellphone if he never ever picked it up when it rang. She cursed and the taxi driver looked at her through the rear-view. She sighed.

"Can you drive me to Brooklyn instead?", she asked.

"Yes, miss", he answered smiling and suddenly turning the spinning wheel to the left. She thanked him. "I swear to God Ryan, I will have to kill you someday !", she mumbled to herself.

She got off the car and rushed to the stairs as the elevator seemed to take an eternity to come down from the second floor. When she got to the fourth floor, she was out of breath. "Smoking", she thought. She knocked at the door, several times. No one answered. "Great !", she said to no one but herself. Suddenly, the door flew open. A blonde girl wearing a Pink Floyd t-shirt -she recognized it as Ryan's- was standing in the door step.

"Hi Roxy".

"Hi Zoe", responded Roxy tilting her head slightly to the side. 

"Is Ryan here?", asked Zoe as the girl obviously didn't want to let her in.

"Nope !"

"Can I at least come in and wait for him?", she asked starting to get irritated.

"Yeah, sure", she stepped aside and let her in.

"So where did he go?", asked Zoe taking off her black blazer and sitting in the couch.

"He was running out of cigarettes", responded Roxy absent-mindedly.

"And his phone?"

"I don't know", she retorted. "He won't be late so..." she said heading back for her bedroom.

"Roxy...", called Zoe.

"Yes?"

"Why do you hate me?", she asked.

"Oh, I don't hate you", she said sarcastically. "I just can't stand people who mess with other people's feelings, that's all".

"It's none of your business", stated Zoe.

"He's my brother".

"And he's my boyfriend".

"Your boyfriend ? Since when?", chuckled Roxy.

"Since forever". 

"I don't recall that he was your boyfriend for the last few years", said Roxy. "But you're right, it's none of my business". Well yes, he was her brother but the situation was too fucked up for her to get involved.

"Did he tell you something?"

"No, nothing. He just told me that he loves you to death", she remembered heading back for her room, for good this time. She left Zoe there not knowing what to think. Ryan did obviously confide to someone but it wasn't her. She couldn't blame him, she hadn't been a good friend those past few years. She didn't even reply to all the letters he sent her back then. She got up and went to the bookcase, browsing through the books with her eyes. He really did sort them by author in alphabetical order, she shook her head smiling at how cute he could be sometimes. She then went to the vinyl discs and spotted an album of Low. She remembered the time he used to teach her to play the guitar in her bedroom. They were about thirteen or fourteen and that was the first time he ever kissed her.

"Hi", said his deep voice behind her back. She turned around to face him smiling of all her white teeth and her eyes glittering with joy and she saw him smiling back at her. Maybe I should tell him. I need to tell him the truth...

AN: To Madison, Zoe can be nice sometimes ;) 

Low - Breaker is one of my most favourite songs of all time.