"What about that bloke you met recently? Heard from him lately?" asked Kaite.
"Don't bring him up. Sometimes I feel he's out there watching my every move."
"You never did say much about him," said Kaite.
"There wasn't much to say. I met him on the dance floor three months ago. By the end of the night I figured him for a creep and ordered him out of my life."
Kaite walked to the window and looked out across the city skyline at the setting sun.
"He looked like a creep, all right," said Kaite. "We should go to the local nightclub and meet someone new."
Alyssa pouted and lowered her gaze to the street below. The people rushing past their building looked like ants as the sun slowly sank into the smog. She knew the streetlights would blink on soon and the city's nightlife would come alive. She loved the dancing and the smell of the many coffee shops and the restaurants, not to mention the theatres. She sighed as she turned from the window, then walked across the room and sat on the edge of the bed.
"I've made up my mind, Kaite. No more men," said Alyssa.
"You? No men? Don't make me laugh!"
"This time I'm serious," said Alyssa. "They're nothing but trouble. All they want is a quick roll in the hay, and when that gets boring, they dump me and go onto the next woman. I'm convinced there is not a man anywhere in Australia who cares enough for a woman to treat her like a lady. I've been searching for what feels like years, hoping to discover a man who is honest and will stay with me for the rest of my life, but I've yet to find him."
"You won't get an argument from me," said Kaite. "But there's only one thing wrong with the plan: you'll be lonely for the rest of your life."
Alyssa flopped onto the bed. "I think I've made myself depressed."
She eventually dragged her feet back to the window and held her hand open at the city skyline. "Surely I'm wrong. There must be a man out there somewhere, right?"
"If you quit trying so hard, then maybe he might surface," said Kaite. "Come on, my dear girl, get dressed; the two of us are going out to have a great time and find romance."
*
Jack stared at his reflection in the mirror as he leaned forward over the washbasin. He watched the figure wink back, and then he straightened his yellow tie.
"Buddy, I'll regret this, but where did you see this so-called gorgeous woman, the one that has caused your brain to go to mush?"
Brandt zipped his fly closed and walked over. His eyes sparkled as he slapped his best mate in the middle of his back. "I saw her on the train."
They were standing at the washbasin in the men's toilets on the tenth floor of the advertising building. The clock was ticking. The business meeting was in ten minutes, and they had yet to come up with a plausible slogan for their Japanese advertisement.
"Let me get this straight: you sat next to an angel on a train and you didn't say anything?" said Jack. "I have to teach you how to communicate."
"No, she was on a different train and didn't catch me staring at her."
"I need a drink," said Jack, massaging his temples. "Mate, you've given me a headache."
"To cut a long story short, I caught the same train I usually do, but this time I changed where I sat."
"Brandt, buddy, you need help." Jack rolled his eyes and stared at his flatmate with a glazed look.
"I sat at the window near the engine and there she was: my angel. You have to help me find her."
Jack snorted. "You're serious?"
"I sure am. I feel she's my soul mate."
"And you didn't catch her name?"
"No. How could I? She was on another train. I saw her as both our trains drew parallel to each other. Then she was gone."
"If she was that perfect, mate, you would've found a way," said Jack. "A note against the window would have done the trick."
Brandt shrugged.
"She's probably married, been knocked up for years with a long string of rug rats hanging from her hips."
"Jack, don't talk like that."
"If she was that good-looking and I was her husband, I wouldn't let her out of my sight for an instant." Jack opened the door and waited for Brandt to step out into the corridor.
"I can't wait for tomorrow morning."
"Give it up," said Jack. "You had your chance and you let it slip from your grasp."
"I can't stop thinking about her. Of the total number of women I've known over the years, she has to be the hottest babe ever."
"Answer me this," snapped Jack. "Out of a possible one hundred, what score would you give her?"
Brandt's eyes closed.
"What are you doing? I asked a simple question and you can't even give me a straight answer." Jack checked his watch. "The meeting's about to start and we're late. Take my advice: forget the woman. A new slogan had better be in that brain of yours. If it's not, we'll both be on the poverty line by lunch."
"That woman would have to be at least a two hundred."
"Snap out of it. No woman is that good a looker," said Jack, dragging Brandt by the shoulder to the office door.
Inside the room were five Japanese businessmen, all wearing the same style pinstriped three-piece suit. Brandt smiled at the group as they turned their heads, waiting for the meeting to commence.
Jack mumbled as he reached for the door handle. "Take my advice: next time you accidently see her, take a photo."
"Not without her permission," he said, alarmed.
"You really do need help. What's the harm? She won't have a go at you. She's on another train." Jack opened the door, stepped into the office and bowed to the Japanese businessmen.
*
The workers filed into the lift as they started a new day. They were all dressed in business attire. Jack was the last to step in and he watched the door close. As he stepped out onto the fourth floor, his boss looked up. He didn't look happy.
"Jack, where's your mate?"
"I've no idea. Brandt said he was catching the 8.00A.M. train."
"It's now 9.00A.M. He's late. Find him."
"Okay, boss."
"You've got until 11.00A.M. I want him in the meeting at noon."
"Yes, boss."
"He had better be in that room. If he's not, you're both fired. I won't tolerate another failure like yesterday. Do you understand?"
"Yes," said Jack.
"Good. I know you sweet-talked your way through yesterday's meeting, but the Japanese men want something concrete. I don't think they bought what you were selling. Fortunately, they gave us another twenty-four hours to come up with something spectacular."
"Right," said Jack quietly.
"Get out and find Brandt Dusting. Don't come back without him."
Jack raced to his office and slammed the door shut. He was pacing the floor as he stabbed the buttons on his mobile phone.
"Good, you're alive and you answered the phone. Brandt, where are you?"
"I'm walking the train line and I'll be at the Richmond railway station in about ten minutes."
"Why are you walking on the train line?"
"I've got to find her," said Brandt.
"Not again! Give it up and get here, now."
"No," said Brandt.
"You're due in a meeting."
"Find someone else, I don't care."
"Get off the rail line and when you arrive at the station, sit still. I'm on my way."
"I might be a shade longer than ten minutes."
"Why?" asked Jack.
"I'm at the junction where our two trains came together yesterday."
"You had better be at the station when I arrive. The meeting won't wait."
"Tell them I'm not well."
"You have to attend. If you don't show up, you and I can kiss our jobs goodbye. You might not care, but I do."
"I have to find her," said Brandt.
"Get a grip. You're starting to sound crazy."
Jack's secretary looked at him through the office window. She wore a stone-faced expres
sion. Jack turned his back and walked to the window. Parting the vertical blinds with the back of his hand, he peered out to watch the cars go past.
"You're obsessed with that woman," said Jack.
"I know, but she's-" said Brandt.
"What? What is she to you?" snapped Jack.
"She's my soul mate."
"You don't even know her name."
"I know in my gut she's for me," Brandt said.
Jack's secretary marched to the office door and knocked. She hesitated for a few seconds, then rudely pushed the door open. Her eyebrows shot to a point and her voice was flat.
"Is everything okay in here?" she asked.
Jack waved the secretary away and was silent while he waited for the door to close. He watched her settle herself behind the computer before whispering into the phone.
"Snap out of it, Brandt," said Jack. "If this girl is your soul mate, she won't want to know you if you don't have a job."
"Okay, you win so long as you help me. Tell the big boys I'm on my way."
A tall man wearing a brown suit stopped pacing the floor as the lift door opened. "Where have you two been?"
Jack kept a straight face and looked the man in the eye.
"Boss, Brandt has been in the men's toilet. He must have caught the bug that's going around."
"Get in that meeting and spill your guts on the new advertising spread. Be warned: it had better be good. You're both down to your last chance."
Brandt opened the door of the glass-walled office, walked to the front of the group and faced the five suits sitting at the table.
"Okay, people, my theme for the next advertisement is a train."
Jack closed his eyes and hung his head.
"Stay with me, Jack. This is good. The name of the TV advertisement is 'Fifteen Seconds on a Train.' The main character is a man. He sees a woman on another train as they draw level with each other. He opens the window to breathe the air. She smells his deodorant and gives him a huge white teeth grin. He holds up his deodorant spray can and she gives him her phone number. He arrives at her house holding a huge bunch of red roses. To sum it up, it's the scent of the deodorant that brings people together."
The men in the business suits were muttering to themselves as they were given more details of the slogan. The meeting lasted a further fifteen minutes, and by the time the office had been emptied, the contract for the slogan had been signed.
"Brandt, that's a brilliant idea," said his boss. He watched the lift door close on the group of businessmen and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "Seeing how you came through for the company, take the rest of the day off. I'll see you boys bright and early in the morning." He smiled as he headed for the stairs.
"Unbelievable," said Jack, melting into the nearest chair. "That was a close call." "
It never entered my mind that we'd be that close to being sacked," said Brandt.
"You had better believe it, buddy."
"We make a winning team, you and I," Brandt said.
"Yeah, great team," said Jack, raising both eyebrows. "I'm going home to relax. Coming?"
"Yes. I have to outline my plan."
"What plan?" Jack asked.
"I have to prepare every detail of my movements for tomorrow morning, so I can catch a glimpse of my soul mate."
"You never give up do you, Brandt?" said Jack, massaging his temples. "You give me a headache."
"I refuse to end my pursuit until I buy breakfast and coffee for the woman I saw on the train. And only if she then asks me to go away, will I stop," said Brandt.
"I don't believe you. For every woman that you've met, has there ever been one that you haven't obsessed over?"
*
"Excuse me, lady, you're in my seat," said Brandt.
Brandt was hanging onto an overhead strap, looking like a little boy who had lost the most precious thing in the world. He was swaying slightly as the train rumbled toward the city.
The woman, who was on the older side of middle age, had an expression like an approaching thunderstorm. She lifted her head and stared at the man hovering over her.
"I was here first, sonny," she said.
"I always sit in that seat," said Brandt.
"Do you really? Since when?"
A few people diverted their gaze from the fences zipping past the train windows and focused on the man towering over his female victim. He was dressed to impress in a plain, gray three-piece suit. He wore a bowler hat and a loud tie hung tight from his neck.
"Yesterday."
"Get a life."
"Please, I need to sit in that particular seat."
"Listen, fella, I can see at least twenty vacant places in this carriage alone," snapped the woman.
"I'm asking very nicely," pleaded Brandt.
"Go away, fly. I don't like it when men grovel. They sound pathetic and weak. Deep down, they're not real men at all."
A ruckus developed as the people in the train carriage erupted in laughter as more bored passengers turned their heads to listen.
"I know I'm making a fool of myself, but I'll pay you."
"Can't you tell I'm not interested?"
Brandt fished for his wallet. "Twenty. I'll be happy if you'd accept a twenty-dollar note. All you have to do is vacate your seat."
The lady turned her back and winked at the pregnant woman sitting opposite her.
"I'll pay you two hundred for the privilege of sitting exactly where you are," said Brandt.
The lady looked up.
"You must be desperate," she said.
"It's imperative that I sit in that seat. I've got exactly three minutes."
A man stepped forward. He had rolled up his sleeves revealing a large ugly tattoo of a skull and crossbones on each massive arm.
"Is this bloke annoying, you lady?" he said.
"Yes."
The tattooed man grabbed Brandt by the tie and dragged him in close.
"Fella, leave the old dear alone. There is a seat with your name on it at the other end of the carriage."
"But I need this particular seat," said Brandt.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't knock your block off."
"I don't need to give you a reason."
"I'll punch your lights out, mate, if you don't move away."
"No. I offered to pay for the seat," said Brandt
"How much?"
"This fly said two hundred dollars," said the lady.
The big man dropped Brandt and stared at the woman.
"Lady, I'd take the money."
She took his advice.
"Thanks for vacating the seat," said Brandt. "Here's the money."
The woman had only just stepped away from her seat when Brandt spied the train that was supposed to be carrying the angel of his dreams. Her train started to draw level with his train. The carriage was full of commuters who watched him staring out the window at the other train and faced the windows to look, too. They had one eye on Brandt and the other on the train. They were all watching with expectant looks on their faces. Their whispers echoed the same words.
"What's so important?" they asked.
The two trains drew level. Brandt couldn't hide his disappointment. He faced the people.
"She's not sitting where she always is," he said.
"Try another window," called the woman who had taken his money.
Brandt's eyes grew hopeful.
"That's a great idea." He ducked from window to window as the trains started to drift apart. At the other end of the carriage, he froze. It was as if a giant invisible hand had stopped him. He was staring out the window and, for a short two seconds, he saw her.
The woman looked at him. She gave a quick smile, and then the trains forked and went their separate ways. Brandt leaped in the air.
"I saw her, I saw her! She was looking at me and gave me a smile."
"I saw a good-lookin' sheila glance your way too, fella," said the man with the skull and crossbones tattoos. "She's all
right. If I were you, I'd track her down even if it took me the rest of my life. It was a short glimpse, but I reckon it was worth every cent of the two hundred bucks you paid."
The Young Lady
"Jack, I'm off to the office," said Brandt.
"Brandt, it's only six-thirty in the morning," he replied, glancing at the clock on the wall.
"I want an early start."
"No you don't; you're hooked on that woman from the other train. This is part two of the plan you were working on last night. Give it up."
"After spending two hundred hard-earned bucks to buy a seat, she directed a deliberate smile my way. Then I talked about her to dozens of people on four different stations. A few reported that they'd seen my angel. I'm more determined than ever before to find her."
"Why would you do that?"
"Do what?"
"Pay hundreds for a seat on a train?"
"I'd pay a thousand dollars just to catch a glimpse of her. It would be worth every cent."
Jack rolled out of bed and started to dress.
"Go back to bed," said Brandt. "I don't need your help to find the love of my life. I know the train she catches."
"Good. Don't forget the boss wants us in his office first thing. There's a rumor floating around that he wants to assign a more important project to you and me. If you're not in the office on time, I don't think he'll believe my excuses."
*
"How much do these flowers cost?" Brandt asked.
He had arrived at the train station fifteen minutes early and had walked over to an old woman who was selling flowers from under a blue-and-white striped awning.
"For you, fifteen dollars," the woman said with a strong Italian accent.
Brandt smiled, paid the money and watched business people bustling past. He was leaning on the wall of the ticket booth when the young lady he was searching for walked past him. He watched her stroll to the end of the platform, as if hypnotized by her movements. She was standing with her back to the booth, staring down the tracks for the train when Brandt made his move. He studied the color of her long auburn hair that had been tied expertly into a ponytail. He inhaled, stepped next to the woman and straightened his tie.
The Great Gift (Contemporary Romance - Urban Life) Page 2