Chapter 35 MONDAY MORNING PART 2
"So," Alexander continued, "I specifically chose this location because it's closer to your neighborhood. I thought the commute would be easier than having you drive to Manhattan every day."
Vivienne stopped walking for a second, genuinely surprised. "You picked this place because of me?"
"Not just you, though. It made sense in terms of logistics. But yes, how close you were was a factor." He said it like it was no big deal, but Vivienne felt it.
He had been thinking about her.
"That's... thank you," she said, not knowing what else to say.
Alexander shrugged. "It's practical. And I'm glad I did. I didn't even know you had a son to go home to at the time. If I can help it, I'm not going to make you sit in rush hour traffic for two hours a day."
They walked in silence for a while, and Vivienne felt a little better.
"Do you know this area?" he asked, pointing vaguely at their surrounding. "Red Hook?"
"A little," Vivienne said. "There's a great little coffee shop not too far from here. When I first started CrossLight, I used to come here to look for places to take pictures."
"The one with the blue roof?" Alexander asked.
Vivienne looked at him in surprise. "Yeah. How do you know it?"
"I got coffee there this morning before coming here." He smiled. "Small world."
"Small world," Vivienne said, but her mind was racing. They might have been in the same coffee shop this morning, maybe even at the same time, and they didn't even know it.
The thought made her feel uneasy for reasons she couldn't quite put into words.
As they approached the lobby, Vivienne couldn't help but notice the way the security guard's entire demeanor changed when he saw Alexander.
"Mr. Hunt! Good morning, sir," the guard said, straightening up immediately. "Everything's ready for you upstairs. The team arrived about twenty minutes ago."
"Thanks, Marcus," Alexander said with ease. "This is Ms. Cross. She'll be with us for the next few months, so make sure she's on the access list."
"Of course, sir. Please show me some ID, Ms. Cross."
Vivienne searched through the mess of receipts, pens, and other papers she had thrown in her bag over the past week to find her driver's license.
She finally found it and gave it to him.
The guard looked it over, typed something into his computer, and then gave her a temporary badge. "You'll get a permanent one by the end of the week. For now, this will let you into the building and up to the studio floors."
"Thank you," Vivienne said, and pinned the badge to her shirt.
They walked toward the elevators, and Vivienne again noticed how people in the lobby moved aside for Alexander like the Red Sea. As they walked by, a woman in a sharp business suit nodded in respect. A man in a maintenance uniform quickly stepped aside and said, "Morning, Mr. Hunt."
Vivienne felt like an impostor next to him.
They walked into the elevator when the doors opened. Alexander pushed the button for the third floor, and the doors closed, making the small space quiet.
Vivienne watched the numbers on the floor as they went up. One. Two.
"How did your son handle you leaving this morning?" Alexander suddenly broke the silence and asked.
Vivienne looked up, surprised by the question. "Noah?"
"Unless you have another son that I don't know about." There was a hint of amusement in his voice.
"Right. No, just Noah." She moved her bag to her other shoulder. "He was... upset. He didn't want me to leave."
Alexander's face softened. "It must be hard."
"It is," Vivienne said, before she could stop herself. "He's used to me being around. And now suddenly I'm gone all day, every day. I feel like I'm failing him."
"You're not failing him," Alexander said softly. "You're taking care of him. That's what parents do. And he has his dad to take it from there."
Vivienne looked at him and was surprised by how sure he sounded.
"My dad was always busy," Alexander said, still looking at the elevator doors. "I hardly ever saw him when I was growing up. I used to resent it when I was a kid. But now that I think about it, I get it. He was building something. Leaving a legacy. It didn't mean he loved me less."
Vivienne could see through him like she used to. There was something raw and open in his voice. He was once a kid who missed his dad.
"Did you ever say that to him?" she asked quietly. "That you understood?"
Alexander's jaw tightened. "No. I didn't get the chance to tell him before he died."
The elevator dinged, letting them know they had reached the third floor, and the doors opened.
"I'm sorry," Vivienne said, and she meant it.
"It happened a long time ago." Alexander stepped out of the elevator, and his professional mask fell back into place. "Come on. Let me introduce you to the team."