Pilot

  Chapter 31

  Elena dressed for the snow rather than for work the next morning. She knew that by the time she had plowed through the snow from her apartment to her office she would probably be soaked completely through. So into a small duffle bag she placed a nice set of pants, sweater and work appropriate shoes. She clothed herself in faded jeans, thick socks and an old sweatshirt. On top of this she added coat, scarf, hat and gloves, not to mention the snow boots that always made her feel like she was impersonating a yeti.

  "As long as no one sics the fashion police on me I should be fine." She said slinging her bag of work clothes over her shoulder. At the street level, Elena's inner child grinned with delight. She was early going into work and much of the snow to the sides had not been disturbed. In a little while she knew building managers would be out clearing the sidewalks in front of their buildings, just as she would have to do when she got to hers. But for now she had a barely marked swath of snow.

  "I guess a lot of folks decided to stay in yesterday." Elena restrained herself from making snow angels, but she took great delight in plowing her way through the snow. As expected, she arrived at the store wet from the snow and a little out of breath from her exertions. Elena unlocked her door and set the bag inside. Before grabbing the shovel to clear her sidewalk, she poured cider into the waiting stainless steel pot and turned it on. It would be a treat for her customers as well as herself.

  She quickly shoveled the snow from her sidewalk and sprinkled the city approved mix on the cleared sidewalk to prevent melted snow from becoming sheets of ice. Elena wasn't quite sure what was in the little pellets, but had been told it was less corrosive than salt and neater than sand. To her it looked like white and pink balls of Styrofoam. She shrugged. The stuff did the job. She wasn't going to question it.

  Elena went inside and stomped off the snow clinging to her boots. Luckily she had thought to bring the floor mat in to absorb the wet. They would still have to watch for drips on the floor. Towels were placed behind the counter to help stop pools of melted snow from forming into hazards. Elena grabbed her bag of clothes and went into the back room. She changed into work clothes and hung her jeans up to dry on a make shift clothesline. She had no doubt other clothes would soon join hers.

  The cider was ready and she poured herself a mug to warm up from the cold. She wrapped her fingers around the steaming mug and felt them thaw a bit. She watched as her staff trickled in, each bundled against the cold and carrying work clothes. Apparently, the fashion police had granted an exemption.

  As expected the first snow brought the holidays to mind and the customers came in droves, worried that time was running out to find the perfect gift, to set up stunning displays to impress the in-laws, or to trump someone else in their social circle's display. Elena shook her head. She had lost count of how many people seemed to be planning more for interior design combat than any holiday she had ever heard of. She smiled her way through it, knowing their competitive streaks would help keep her in the black. As expected the cider helped with the customers as well. People came in half frozen from the chill and lingered over their cups, warming up and taking a deeper look around.

  After lunch, snow began to fall. The fat flakes spinning in lazy circles added to the holiday feel and didn't seem inclined to get heavier. Elena hoped it didn't complicate Andre's drive too much. She glanced over to the clock on the wall and realized it was quarter to two. With luck he would be almost in town and the snow would stop before he had to drive back. As Elena finished helping Emily wrap up one of their client's purchases in tissue paper, Max came up to her with the cordless phone from the office.

  "It was ringing as I went by," Max said handing it to her. They had a standard policy with the phone that whoever was nearest answered it, which was why the office door was usually kept open. With staff moving between the floor and the stockroom on a more or less constant basis, few calls were ever really sent to voice mail.

  Elena took the phone thinking it might be Andre calling with a delay. Instead she found a breathless Ruby who sounded like she was bouncing with excitement. Apparently Elena's offer had been accepted, the bank had agreed and the paperwork was being drawn up. All was right in the world of real estate. It probably helped that she didn't need to borrow money from the bank for the transaction. The bank was only involved in the current owner's end. Once the paperwork was signed, the keys would be turned over to Elena and work could begin.

  Elena hung up the phone feeling like she was riding a whirlwind. As she placed the phone on the counter, the door opened and a man bundled into a thick over coat and a scarf wrapped around his face pushed open the door and stepped in. His hat was pulled low and earmuffs covered his ears. Except for his blue eyes, Elena could see no distinguishing features.

  "May I help you," she asked as he began to unravel his scarf. He pulled off his earmuffs and hat and stuffed them in his left jacket pocket. The gloves he tucked into his right hand pocket. What emerged from the bundle of wool was a man in his early thirties with blue eyes, a thick shock of black hair that looked in need of a trim and an amused half smile. There was a vague resemblance to Peter. "Are you Andre?" she asked before he could answer.

  "Yes I am. Would you be Ms. Calabrese?"

  "Elena please, and yes I am." She held out her hand and he shook it. His fingers were like ice. "Did you have any trouble finding the place?"

  "The place no. Parking was decidedly interesting."

  "Retail's busiest season has begun," she answered with a smile. "Would you like some cider to warm up?" she indicated the silver pot.

  "That would be great," he answered. She dispensed a cup for him and handed him the mug. She then poured one for herself to be sociable. He seemed to huddle around the warmth of the mug and she wondered how far away he had to park. He unzipped his heavy coat and looked around a bit. Off to the side TJ cleared his throat. Elena glanced over and nodded.

  "Would you excuse me for a moment?" She asked Andre.

  "Of course," he responded. "I know I'm a little early."

  "It won't take long. Please feel free to look around while you warm up." Elena stepped away and Andre stepped out of the doorway and began to browse while taking sips of his cider. He didn't have any of Peter's dangerous charm, but Elena had to admit he was quite attractive.

  "Mr. Killian wanted to know if we had any more pieces from the Dewer collection. I know we had a couple of pieces on hold but it says hold only until today. There wasn't a name on it just one of your personal notes." TJ told her. She rolled her eyes.

  "Sorry about that, I meant to go back and add the name, but got sidetracked. We're holding them for Gillian Mahoney. Her number is in the file under the counter. I believe she is trying to get her client to make a selection. Go ahead and give her a call to see if she will be in later today and if not then release them for sale. Oh and when you are done, keep the phone out here if you would while I have my meeting. Thanks." TJ strolled back to the counter to retrieve the phone and number and Elena walked over to Andre. He looked less frozen and more comfortable.

  "I'm sorry about that," she said. "The office is back this way." Andre followed her back into the office. He shed his coat and took the offered seat. He smiled as he looked around the office but kept his thoughts to himself.

  "I really only use the office for paperwork and not meetings," she explained rolling her chair from behind the desk so she could face him.

  "Not a problem, although it is quite a change from the front of the store."

  "Yes," she admitted. "Rather a disgrace really when you think about it. Many of the items we sell here go to make office spaces more decorative, but I can't ever seem to manage more than a cork board for invoices." The corkboard in question was covered in layers of paper so thick it was hard to tell there was cork beneath the surface. 'I really ought to do something about that,' she thought.

  "It wasn't a complain
t," Andre said. "Just a surprise. I guess I expected something, well, more like Peter's office to tell the truth." Elena smiled.

  "I've never actually been to Peter's office, but I can imagine." Elena said with a smile. "I had a chance to look over your resume and portfolio. I must admit I was impressed by both." Andre straightened and she could see him enter business mode.

  "Thank you."

  "I am curious though, the firm you are with is quite a prestigious one. Work with us won't quite be that glamorous. Are you actually willing to consider working with us or are you simply humoring me by agreeing to this interview?" She asked. Elena was pretty sure there was a more delicate way to approach the topic, but she wasn't sure she could find it. Andre smiled.

  "You have been working with my cousin." He said. "While I am willing to go on an interview to keep the family from being upset with me, I am actually willing to leave my current position."

  "May I ask why?"

  "Well," Andre said running a hand through his hair. "Like you said it is a good firm, well known in the industry." Andre ran his tongue over his teeth and Elena got the impression he was trying to choose his words carefully. "As low man on the totem pole, so to speak a lot of the more challenging clients get passed up the food chain and I end up doing mostly routine work. As you might suspect leaving such a large firm for another might look odd."

  "However, if you left for a family venture it wouldn't look quite so strange?" Elena asked, sensing where Andre was going. He seemed relieved when she got their first.

  "Yes," he said. "And if this turned out to only be a temporary position, then when I did go to look for another firm it would be more acceptable."

  Elena nodded. "That sounds reasonable."

  "And I have to admit. This sounded quite interesting." The quick grin made Elena's breath catch. Yes, even without the danger he was quite attractive. "After all, I would get to market alien goods for the general public. Now that is a challenge."

  "You would be required to be on hand here," She explained. "Especially during the initial phases."

  "I have no problem re-locating."

  "Actually the building we are going to be using is the one next door. The upper floor has a couple of apartments. One I was looking at converting into work space, since we will need much more space to do layouts and hold meetings." She waved her hand through the air. "Obviously this won't do. We can have one of the apartments fitted to your use. You are welcome to stay there or look elsewhere once you feel a little more settled."

  "Talk about a short commute," he said. "It would save me a bundle on gas and I wouldn't have to worry about car problems making me late. Sounds like a great deal." Idly, Elena wondered what was wrong with his car. He had to be making enough at the firm he was with to afford an upgrade. In her experience, men usually ended up spending their disposable income on automobiles and electronics. She decided to hold the question. "I'd have to see the place first."

  "Of course. Although I have to say there will be work going on to get the building ready for opening." He shrugged off the construction and they settled into salary negotiations. The terms weren't that difficult to work out. She had a feeling she was paying less than his current employer, even with the apartment thrown in, but he seemed happy with the arrangement.

  "I'll have to give two weeks at the firm," he told her. She smiled.

  "That should give us enough time to set things in order and get the items you are going to be working with together. I'm afraid I am not quite certain what goes into outfitting your workspace. If you could send me a list of needed supplies I would appreciate it." They walked out into the front of the store. There seemed to be a bit of a lull in patrons. Most of the staff was busy replacing missing elements in the display cases. Elena introduced Andre and let them know he was going to be working on the designs for the new store.

  "Speaking of which," Emily said. "Ruby dropped these by." She handed Elena a stack of legal looking papers and a set of keys. Elena thought that was awfully trusting. 'But then again, they have all my bank information and it isn't like my store is going to disappear over night like a gypsy wagon.'

  "I can show you the apartment if you'd like." She told Andre.

  "That would be great," he answered. She led him around to the front, unlocked the door and led him upstairs.

  "I was thinking of converting the back apartment and leaving the front," she said leading him up. "It would of course be cleaned and re-painted by the time you moved in." He seemed pleased with the place and she was relieved. They left and she locked up behind them. He was bundled up in his winter garments, but Elena once again forgot to grab a jacket for the short hop next door.

  In deference to her shivering they made their farewells short. She watched him walk away for a second, just another shapeless mass of dark hurriedly moving through a world of white, before she darted back inside to warm up. She had a meeting with Smith and company and she had a feeling calling in sick would not be a possible option.

  "Even with a doctor's note," she muttered under her breath, reaching for the mug of cider Max held out to her. "Thanks," she said, pleased he either hadn't heard her mutters or was willing to ignore them. She mentally checked meeting with Andre off her to do list. Unfortunately that really just left her with one big thing on the day's list. She tried very hard not to think about Smith and the potential verbal landmines that were waiting for her after work. Instead, she took the papers Ruby had left for her back to the office and focused only on the legalese.