Frankfurt am Main, GermanyMay 8
Klaus Schenker, the good-looking blond head of trading at HZ Bank, had stopped smoking many years ago. He was in his prime and his wrinkles were still signs of manliness rather than old age. (At least that’s what he kept telling himself.) He didn’t want to make them deeper by smoking cigarettes. So he’d definitely finished with cigarettes. Definitely until today.
When he’d asked his colleague for a cigarette after the morning meeting, he’d thought it was a one-time pick-me-up. Less than an hour later, the secretary was sent to the nearest stand to buy a box. From that moment he hadn’t emerged from the cloud of bluish smoke. Secretly he hoped it would rip his lungs out.
Unfortunately, his lungs held up valiantly. More valiantly than Klaus himself.
On Frid
