Hat Trick

by Morris Fenris

  Cole turned to see who the crazy woman was talking about and his eyes collided with that of a startled doe, or so he thought at first glance. Woman, he thought as he blinked again surprised to find her standing right behind him. His eyes remained arrested on her face, the soft pretty features drawing him in.

  Mila huffed loudly, drawing away his attention. “What does she mean?”

  “I’m sorry. I was almost stepping on your toes. You kind of just appeared… I didn’t mean to startle you,” the young woman said nervously. “You can go first. I will wait my turn.”

  Her soft, husky voice sent shivers up Cole’s spine. He assessed her quickly from head to toe. She was not that young, probably closer to his own age. She looked like she’d just left the office in her formal suit and slacks. All she needed was a briefcase to complete the image of a businesswoman. He wondered briefly if she ran in his circles and how he had missed her if that was the case.

  “You don’t have to tell us to go first,” Mila snapped at her, eying her with a critical eye. “We were here first, so we are going first.”

  “Seeker of light and the bored skeptic, please step inside,” the psychic invited again. “Leave the foul mouth outside.”

  Cole had to stop the hint of smile from showing on his face as the brown-haired woman clapped a hand to her mouth to stifle her laughter at the psychic’s choice of words for Mila. Relinquishing his hand from the model’s tight grip, he turned towards the stranger.

  “I think we better go in and see what she wants,” he said, gesturing towards the doorway. He was not sure why those words came out of his mouth but something akin to curiosity had come over him. He felt a prickle of excitement on his skin. He had not felt that in a long time.

  Both Mila and the other woman looked startled. While Mila’s face took on a furious expression, the strange woman’s face transformed into a pretty smile.

  “Certainly,” she said softly, stepping inside the booth. She turned around to see if he had followed her in and the smile widened just a bit more.

  Leaving Mila sputtering in rage outside, Cole stepped inside the dimly-lit booth, following the woman almost on her heels. He caught a whiff of her scent and almost groaned as discomfort suddenly grew in his southern region. Maybe the night was about to get interesting after all!

  “Welcome,” said the woman seated behind the crystal orb. Colored smoke rose from around her, giving the room a wholly mysterious feel. “Please sit.”

  They each drew a rickety chair out and sat down gingerly. While Cole looked on impatiently, the formally dressed woman’s face showed nothing but pure curiosity and excitement. He did not care about the psychic. He wanted to know more about the woman next to him.

  “St. John. Claire. I felt a burst of energy when your paths crossed. Light, beautiful energy,” the woman behind the orb said, dropping her voice as though she was telling them a secret.

  So Claire was his neighbor’s last name. He scanned his brain trying to recollect if he knew any Claire from his associations and came up blank, which was good. Shifting his focus from her to the charlatan in front of him, the spoken words registered.

  “Really?” Miss Claire asked eagerly.

  “I’m sure you did,” Cole intoned at the same time.

  “You.” Lifting a bony finger, she pointed in his direction. “You think it’s a sham what I have here.”

  Cole snorted and then heard his neighbor gasp, possibly in shock which took him by surprise. To him she did not look the type to believe in fortune tellers but looks were often deceiving. He grimaced inwardly, feeling a bit of his excitement recede. He was not sure about a woman who believed in things like these. Unless this was a set-up and she was a friend of the supposed psychic’s, Cole had to assume that the woman was a believer.

  “Oh, c’mon? Are you seriously going to tell me you believe in all this crap?” The words came out of his mouth before he could stop himself.

  Seraphina stared in disbelief at the rude man sitting beside her. She had been deep in thought when she had nearly stepped on his toes. She had been about to apologize when he had turned around, causing her to almost gasp. It was Cole St. John, the billionaire entrepreneur. And he was even more handsome up close. She knew of him mostly from the society magazines. Until that evening, she had never gotten the opportunity to be within touching distance of him or otherwise, having never run into him at functions she was assigned to.

  As she silently judged him, her mantra suddenly hit her in the head. Don’t judge until you know the whole story. After all, it was her job to see beneath the façade and she was not doing that so well right then. Maybe he was feeling bad-tempered because he had been hanging out with Mila, The Foul Mouth. It was not her first time bumping into the model who had been attached to his arm just seconds ago, so she knew the bitchiness was not a cover but an innate thing. She smiled apologetically at the psychic and turned the same smiling face towards him.

  “It’s not crap. Just because you don’t believe in some things, doesn’t mean others should follow your lead.”

  The incredulous look on his face had her hastening to explain. She did not want him to think all she did was visit Fortune Tellers. Not that he should care what she did during her breaks.

  “I’m a photographer. I’m excellent at reading people, you see.”

  “Photographer, huh?” he asked, a dark eyebrow creeping towards his much lighter hairline. “Were you at the party?”

  “Yes, I was.” She flashed him another smile before returning her attention to the teller. “I’m sorry. We won’t waste your time. Please continue.”

  The darkly painted lips stretched into a glimpse of a smile. “You’re not wasting my time, dear. Now if you’ll please give me your hands.” She held out her hands towards them expectantly.

  Seraphina saw Cole throw her a hesitant look that also bordered on skeptical so she nodded encouragingly at him. She slipped her own hand into the woman’s bony one and shivered when she clasped it tightly. For almost a minute, there was nothing but silence and she could feel Cole beginning to get fidgety. She motioned him to shush just as he was about to open his mouth and watched in amusement as a look of surprise crossed his face. The dim room was making his features even more alluring.

  Suddenly the pressure on their hands decreased and blood rushed back to their organs. The psychic’s eyes opened and she looked at them intently.

  “Your lifelines more than cross. It’s written in the stars that you’re meant to be,” she said throatily like a parched traveler.

  Confusion filled Seraphina’s mind. “I’m sorry, you mean we were meant to be friends?”

  “Friends you will be. But more than that, you are part of each other’s souls. Without him, you’ll not be complete and without you, he’ll never be complete. Soulmates, my dear. You’re each other’s soulmates.”

  ♥●●♥

  * * *

  Chapter 2

  Cole now failed to resist the urge to roll his eyes. He should have seen this prediction coming. There was nothing people loved more than being told by a psychic that their romantic life was about to improve. However he did not care for romance and her trick was wasted upon him.

  He turned to see how his partner in the session had reacted to the news and a frown crept to his forehead. Mysterious Claire had a strange expression written all over her heart-shaped face. Her slightly pouty lips were parted as though she was finding it difficult to breathe.

  “Are you okay?” he asked worriedly, touching her bare shoulder lightly.

  The doe eyes turned towards him and she nodded silently.

  “Are you sure?”

  Another silent nod.

  He smiled tightly at the psychic and thrust his hands into his pockets looking for cash but came up empty. “I’m sorry, I don’t seem to be holding cash on me right now. Do you take debit cards?”

  He did not want to pay the charlatan but had a feeling the woman sitting beside him would and that did not sit
right with him.

  The smoke in the room seemed to have increased even more since they had entered. This combined with the dim lights made it difficult to see the face of the woman behind the orb. If she even was a woman, Cole thought as he stood up eager to get out of the confining space.

  The mute beside him spoke up finally. “I’ll pay! I have cash on me and it’s fair that I should be the one paying.”

  Cole was about to ask her the logic behind her statement when the psychic interjected.

  “Payment is not required. My prediction comes free of cost. Heed my words and be happy.”

  Well, that settled it. Cole inclined his head towards her in thanks and turned towards the exit.

  “But ma’am, that’s not right. I insist you take your payment,” Miss Righteous argued, unmoving from the chair.

  “I thank your thoughtfulness, child, but do not leave your man standing there impatiently. It was my pleasure to give you a happy ending,” she was told in barely a whisper.

  A soft gasp filled the room and Cole turned to see what the matter was. Miss Claire (he assumed because he did not see a ring on her finger) was standing now, her hands curled into tight fists. He strode over, unsure what the woman had told her but placed a comforting hand over her shoulder.

  “Let’s go. Come on,” he urged her, steering her into the night lights and out of the suffocating space.

  “Wow,” she finally uttered once they were in the open. “Unbelievable!”

  “Yeah, tell me about it,” Cole snorted as he loosened his tie. He closed his eyes for a moment, savoring the cool night air. All that smoke they had inhaled was probably toxic, he thought in disgust.

  She glanced at her watch and exclaimed loudly, “Shoot!”

  Cole opened one eye. “Is that photographer humor?”

  “What? No! My break is over. I have to get back to the party. We’ll discuss this later, okay?” With those hasty words she ran up the stairs and disappeared, perhaps right into the heart of the party.

  Cole stared after her in bemusement and then let out a small laugh. At least a small part of his evening had turned out to be interesting. After joining the party, he realized he did not know the woman’s first name. It would not matter anyway, since it was highly unlikely they would ever see each other again.

  However, he did want to see her again. She seemed like an interesting woman with interesting views. He grinned as he thought about the way she had put him in his place. Not many woman he met did that. They mostly simpered or put on fake masks to try to get his attention. Miss Claire was more open and he found that refreshing. He had to find her.

  As the party was wrapping up, Cole thought he heard his name being called from afar.

  “Mr. St. John!”

  That definitely was someone hailing him. He turned around and swallowed hard as he eyes landed on the person. It was the woman from before. His eyes narrowed a bit as he noted the camera swinging around her neck.

  “Mr. St. John…so glad I caught you before you left,” she said breathlessly like she had been running.

  “Miss...Claire, was it?” he asked politely.

  “Seraphina,” she gasped out. “Please…”

  She paused to catch her breath and then looked apologetically at him. “Please call me Seraphina. Sorry about that. It’s very crowded here and I caught sight of you from the second floor so I hurried down. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to give you this.”

  He glanced at the slip of paper she handed to him and then at her, taking in her flushed cheeks and what one might call an expectant but adorable smile. She had been running – to give him her number. He was completely thrown off. Woman always threw themselves at him but the casual way she was handing him her number right then rang some warning bells in his head. Maybe seeing her again would not be a good idea. His brain scrambled to think of ways to politely turn her down but then his eyes caught sight of her smile again.

  “Here’s mine,” he blurted out and then slipped her his business card with his personal number on it.

  The small smile turned into a full-blown one. “Oh, thank you! I wasn’t sure if you were on board with what our psychic told us but it will be fun figuring it out along the way, won’t it?”

  Our psychic? Cole tamped down the sudden feeling of alarm that shot through him. She wanted to get with him because of the psychic’s words. Before his mind could come up with something to deter her from the idea, his mouth spoke of its own accord.

  “It would definitely be fun.”

  She grinned that pretty smile, throwing him off again. “I’m sorry, I’ve got to jet off again. We’ll catch up later, if that’s okay?”

  “Definitely, Seraphina,” he replied unwittingly using his charming voice. “Have a good night, Seraphina.”

  “Oh, I will!” Her chin dimpled adorably as she spoke. “Have a nice night yourself, Cole.”

  He shuddered slightly as his name rolled off her tongue. There was something definitely bewitching about this woman. They hardly knew each other but she seemed to already be in charge of everything. Seemed like a dangerous but exciting kind of woman.

  “Did you have an interesting evening, sir?” his driver asked as he was being driven back to his condo.

  Cole was immersed in some other thoughts and the question made him review the evening. His mind flashed on one later part of the evening involving the brown-haired woman. The alarm bells had ceased and he found himself liking the idea of her. She was like a whirlwind of energy, surprising him at every turn and that was exactly what he needed at that point in his life. She could be the one who wiped away the boredom for him.

  He chuckled. “The ending was definitely interesting, Ethan.”

  “Glad to hear it, sir.”

  Ethan and Cole had a bond that was more than employee-employer. They went way back to college days. Cole highly respected and trusted the man who filled the roles of driver, bodyguard and friend whenever required.

  However, he did not fill Ethan in on the details of the evening knowing his ethical friend would not approve of him using Seraphina Claire as a mere tool to reduce his boredom.

  “I hope you didn’t jump over the bar and drink all the scotch, sir,” Ethan suddenly asked in a worried tone when Cole did not elaborate. He had picked up early on his boss’s need for excitement in life and the measures he went to when the excitement dimmed down.

  “How little you think of me, Ethan,” Cole said, pretending to be shocked. He had however contemplated on doing just that at some point during the evening.

  “Hardly, sir.” Ethan threw him a sharp look in the rear view mirror. “I just wanted to know if we needed to take shortcuts to escape any awaiting reporters.”

  “That won’t be necessary. And could you please drop the ‘sir’ when we are not in public?”

  “No, sir.”

  Cole glared at him as he chuckled and then shook his own head as amusement crept in.

  “I could fire you for not paying attention to my words, you know.”

  “Come now, what kind of friend would do that to another?”

  “Oh, so now you want to play the friend card.”

  “I’m not playing any card, sir.” Ethan pulled up outside the building and added cheekily, “We have arrived at your place…sir.”

  He laughed as Cole made a sound of frustration and threw threats at him. This was a regular occurrence for the duo.

  “You’re happier than usual,” Seraphina’s friend, Carli observed when they sat down for breakfast the next morning. “Did you get lucky?”

  “Ohhh, I did get lucky,” Seraphina said in a singsong manner. “But not in the sense you are thinking.”

  Carli raised an eyebrow.

  “I paid a visit to a Fortune Teller,” Seraphina elaborated. “And I wasn’t alone.”

  She told her friend about all the happenings of the evening involving the psychic, her prediction and the possible soulmate. After returning home, she had let out all her feelings
of glee by dancing around the living room till she was gasping for breath. When she was with Cole she had resisted the urge to squeal like a schoolgirl. The man seemed a bit of a skeptic and she did not want to scare him away before she could set things into motion.

  “The Cole St. John?” Carli asked incredulously.

  “Yes!”

  “Wow.”

  “I know!” Seraphina said enthusiastically. “I don’t know who his photographer is but I could take better snaps of him because he is so much better-looking up close than what the photos show.”

  “Really?”

  “Oh yeah.” The image of him in the well-fitting tux from last night flashed in her mind and she licked her lips unconsciously.

  “He sounds great and all, Seraph…” Carli started hesitantly.

  “But?”

  Throwing her an apologetic look, she continued. “But you shouldn’t fill your head with ideas just yet.”

  Seraphina frowned. “Carli, you know me. You know that unless I think something is right, I don’t pursue it.”

  “I do know that. I just don’t want you to get your hopes high on what this psychic may have told you.”

  “Why?” she asked her friend bluntly.

  Carli groaned in frustration. “You’re taking it the wrong way. Just tell me…did Cole seem on board?”

  Seraphina hesitated. “He is a bit of a…skeptic. But don’t worry,” she said cheerfully.. “I’m setting things into motion.”

  “Why does that worry me?”

  “Because you’re a worry wart. Seriously, things are going to be fine. I just know it,” she said confidently.

  “Okay… Good luck?”

  Seraphina grinned and leaned over to give Carli a one-armed hug. “You’re the best, you know.”

  “Oh, I do know!” Carli said playfully even though her mind worried. She did not want to see her friend get hurt.

  Seraphina started the dishwater and then hurried to get ready for the day which was looking brighter than usual. The air seemed fresher, the birds merrier and her heart felt content and lighter. There was a skip in her step as she reached the office.