Chapter Five: The First break
811 Words
Joshua’s POV
"Joshua, do you know a woman called Symphony?"
Daniel's voice was calm but there was something about the question that made my feet still.
“Is everything okay?” she asked me looking all concerned.
I had to assure Symphony that everything was fine.
“Something urgent just came up, and Daniel needs me”. I came up with that excuse to leave the salon.
I looked through the glass and I could still see Symphony cleaning her ready to close up.
She looked so peaceful and normal.
Not like someone Daniel would suddenly be asking about.
"Yeah," I answered slowly. "Why?"
There was a short silence.
"How long have you known her?"
"Two days."
Daniel laughed.
I felt he didn't believe me.
"You're lying”
“No i’m not”
"You've only known her for two days, but you've already mentioned her six times today."
"I have?" I said frowning.
"You have."
I couldn't remember doing that.
Daniel chuckled.
"I haven't heard you talk this much about anybody since..."
He stopped talking.
"Since Vanessa?"
"Exactly."
"Don't make it something it isn't." I sighed.
"I'm not making it anything. I'm just saying she's on your mind."
I looked through the salon window again. Of course i haven’t left but Symphony didn’t notice.
Symphony was wiping down a mirror.
She looked up for a second and saw me.
She smiled.
I smiled back without thing.
Daniel cleared his throat through the phone.
"You just smiled, didn't you?"
"How do you know that? you jerk"
"I know you."
I laughed.
"Maybe I did."
"I thought so."
He became serious again.
"Listen, I'm happy you're smiling again to be honest just don't lose your head because someone is pretty."
"I'm thirty two, Daniel."
"I know."
"I'm not some teenager."
"I know."
"So stop worrying."
"I'll try."
We ended the call, and I slipped my phone into my pocket.
Before driving home, I looked at the salon one last time.
Symphony was still standing inside.
She wave at me.
I waved back and finally got into my car.
The next morning started the same way every Tuesday did.
It was emails, meetings, coffee and stuffs.
By ten o'clock, our conference room was full.
The company's newest investors had flown in from New York, and everyone wanted the presentation to go perfectly.
I stood in front of the large screen.
"Good morning, everyone."
For the next forty minutes, I explained our expansion plans, answered questions, and negotiated numbers that made some people in the room nervous.
By the time the meeting ended, one of the investors shook my hand.
"I've heard good things about you, Joshua."
"Hopefully they're true."
"They are."
That felt good to hear.
I had worked too hard to build my reputation for someone else's mistake to destroy it.
As people slowly left the room, Daniel walked beside me.
"You were good in there."
"I've had practice."
"You made them agree faster than I expected."
I smiled.
"That's the job."
We stopped outside my office.
"You free for lunch?"
"I'll see."
"You already have plans, don't you?"
“What plans?" Daniel folded his arms.
"You've looked at your phone four times in the last five minutes."
"I have work."
"You also have someone waiting for your text."
"I don't." I rolled my eyes.
"You're impossible."
"So I'm right?." Daniel said feeling he had won.
Before I could answer, my phone buzzed.
It was a message from an unknown number.
Hope your meeting went well.
I stared at the screen.
Daniel noticed.
"What?"
I didn't answer but instead, I opened the message again.
There was no name or profile picture.
Just “Hope your meeting went well”.
Daniel leaned closer.
"Who is it?"
"I don't know."
He looked at the message.
"You expecting someone?"
"No."
A strange feeling was in me.
Only three people knew I had a meeting this morning.
Daniel, Elizabeth, and...
I shook my head.
No, that wasn't possible.
I typed a reply.
Who is this?
The response came at once.
Someone who knows you skip breakfast before important meetings.
I became frozen.
Daniel frowned at me and asked."What?"
I looked at him slowly.
"I didn't tell anyone that."
"You've never told me either."
I read the message again.
My meeting, my breakfast. They were both true.
But how?
I looked through my recent conversations.
Nothing was there.
I had never mentioned either of those things to Symphony.
I didn't think I had.
My phone buzzed one last time.
It was another message.
“Eat something before your next meeting, Joshua”.
“You'll get a headache if you don't”.
I suspected it could have been Symphony.
I couldn't remember whether she had learned that about me.
Or if she had somehow known it all along.
But how did she get my number?
- Writer
