Someone Like You (7 page)
Authors: Andrea Carmen
There was only one response: Great.
He smiled, shook his head and headed out, buying lunch for everyone at the photo shoot from the Mandarin Tea House. He arrived a little while later at around noon, in the middle of Alex wearing a two-piece jogging outfit.
He didn’t show himself yet. He admired her from afar. Well, isn’t this a bit stalker-ish? He thought to himself. But he couldn’t help it. She was just so adorable to look at. And everyone at the session was making her laugh to make it look more candid. He saw her mega-watt grin for the first time and not the shy smile he had been starting to get used to. His heart hammered a little.
“Mr. Conrad!” a Trekker executive called out, breaking his trance.
“Hey guys, got lunch for everyone. Hope you like dim sum.”
“I’m Italian, starved and I love dim sum,” Vincenzo laughed. “Alright everyone, break!”
He walked towards Alex who was now sitting in a corner. “How are you doing, Alex?”
“It’s been fun…”
“Glad you’re having fun. This is what Trekker is about,” he said. “Shall we eat from paper boxes?”
Alex laughed. “I’d be glad to. My mom loves dim sum.”
“Why’s that?” he asked as he handed her a box of savoury looking noodles.
“She’s Half-Chinese. Her maiden name’s Chen, Fay Chen. My dad’s a quarter Lebanese aside from being Scottish.”
“Not kidding?” She was getting more and more interesting every time he was with her.
Alex shook her head. “I’m a bad liar remember?”
He laughed. “So you know how to speak Chinese?”
“A little Mandarin,” she said, deftly using her chopsticks. “What about you?”
“My mom? She was British born and Manhattan bred. My Dad’s folks also came from England, settled in New York after World War Two. So I’m basically full-blooded British, but I love hotdogs like every other American and I speak really good English.”
She laughed. “I’m glad you do.”
“I would love to have brunch with you this weekend if you would be so kind as to acquiesce?”
“Is this your English way of saying you want me to go on a date with you?”
He nodded.
She bit her lip. “Mr. Con—Luke, I’d like to but- I’m working for you.”
“Shall I un-hire you?” he joked. Then he sighed, “Am I making things complicated?”
Alex shrugged a little. “I…”
They weren’t within the earshot of the other people at the studio but little did they know that a discussion about them was going on.
“He’s gonna break her heart,” Lucia said. “She’s too sweet for such a guy with a playboy reputation-”
Vincenzo bit from a dumpling. “No. He likes her.”
“How do you know?” a Trekker assistant asked.
“He’s been my client for years and I’ve never seen him so besotted with anyone,” Vincenzo simply replied with a grin.
* * * *
Alex had finally agreed to a lunch date, a very casual one, but he felt nearly light-headed all the same. They went to a museum, sitting in a café; eating vegetable panini’s and drinking freshly squeezed orange juice. They walked in Central Park and jogged the following day and she outran him by a mile. The date lasted for the whole weekend. Their conversations ranged from art to travelling, to books and even philosophy.
“So you’re actually fluent in French?”
Lucas nodded. “Had to be. I was in Switzerland for a few years. I’m also conversational in Italian and Spanish.”
“With English roots,” she added.
“With English roots and an American diet,” he laughed. “When did you become semi-vegetarian?”
“Grade school,” she replied. “Probably from the nature of my parent’s work. I still eat red meat rarely, though. Especially when I’m with my Chinese relatives.”
He smiled. “That must be a fun sight.”
“Fun and loud. What about you?”
“Quiet. Formal,” he replied. “My father has two siblings, male and female, he’s the eldest. I have two male cousins and four female cousins. We’re not really close; we live far away from each other. Some are in England, some are in France, mostly working in the Conrad Group of course.”
“So it really is a family corporation?”
“It is. Fortunately. Keeping it all in the family.”
“So marriage has to be carefully matched?”
He shrugged. “Sort of. I’ve only had one cousin marry so far. He’s my age. He married some countess in Germany. We call him lucky. He married for love and not just for status.”
“You’re afraid you’ll end up marrying someone you dislike?”
He imagined himself being married to Jennifer and he shuddered. “Hell, yeah. My brother’s doing a great job at avoiding it.”
“He’s very famous,” she smiled.
“You mean infamous,” he corrected. “But that’s less pressure on him since my father’s been so used to his antics since grade school.”
“So you’re the good son?”
“The more obedient one is more like it. I really do respect Charles,” he said, “It’s just that he’s so…austere. He barely talks.”
“You seem like you have good people skills.”
“Well, so does my dad. People say I’m the likable one compared to my brother. Sometimes it’s a façade, especially when I dislike people and situations.”
“Are you faking your niceness now? To me?”
“Hell no,” he said with a laugh. “I show the real me when I like people. So you’ll hear me swear and make fun of people—which I reserve for those close to my heart,” he laughed.
“I just heard you swear,” she grinned.
“Well, you’re inching closer to my heart, Alex.”
Alex smiled a little, feeling her ears go red.
“You’re such a blusher.”
“It’s a defense mechanism.”
“A cute defense mechanism.”
A wind picked up and she shivered. The leaves on the trees fell like slow orange and yellow snowflakes around them.
“Cold?” he asked her and he took off his coat and placed it over her shoulders.
“Thanks. You sure you won’t need it?”
“Still have a vest on,” he said with a smile. “I feel like eating Italian. Wanna go?”
“It’s barely four in the afternoon.”
“Think of it as a really early dinner. What do you feel like having?”
“Aglio Olio. What about you?”
“I feel like having….you. Ha, I’m kidding,” he smirked, “Marinara. And fresh lemon juice. Shall we?” he held out an arm.
She took it.
“I like this business date,” he joked. “Feels like a real date.”
“I haven’t been on a date for a long time, business or personal,” she said. “So it’s pretty fun.”
Suddenly, thunder cracked overhead and the rain poured over Manhattan without further warning.
“Shit,” Lucas exclaimed. “All right, my apartment’s closest. Wanna make a run for it?”
Alex nodded and together they ran through puddles, wet grass and other people also trying to find shelter from the storm. The rain soaked into his sneakers and hers, into their autumn wear—they were both practically drenched by the time they got to the Stanhope Building.
He lives here? She thought, amazed.
She was shaking by now, her lips a little blue.
“Jesus, look at you. You look like a sewer rat,” he joked.
“Well, you’re not exactly looking GQ yourself,” she laughed.
They got into the building; the floor was glistening with water dripping from their clothes and hair. He quickly pressed the elevator button. As soon as they reached his apartment, he quickly gave her a towel and directed her to a guest bathroom. It was larger than her studio, and tastefully decorated in pastel colors.
“Everything you need’s here,” he said.
“Except clothes.”
“I have some of my high school stuff left, I think. I’ll lay it out for you. Man, it is cold. Excuse me.” He left shaking. She quickly stripped out of her clothes and got into the steamy shower.
Now, that felt better. As soon as she finished, she saw a pair of striped pajamas neatly folded on a chair. She smiled. It was still two sizes too big for her. She heard a knock on the door.
“Hey, you done?”
“Yes,” she said.
“Let’s launder that up. I guess we’ll have to order take out now. Or we can cook if you aren’t too hungry.”
“Still feel like having pasta?” she grinned.
He laughed, seeing her in his high school pajamas. “Not bad, Miss Forbes. Could make for a lingerie model.”
“Shut up,” she said, playfully punching his arm.
They walked into the kitchen.
“Nice…” she said.
“My mom’s favorite place, mine too.”
Alex saw black and white photos hanging on a wall. “Is this you?” she smiled, seeing a photo of a little boy missing a tooth, smiling beside his mother on a yacht. “Your mom’s pretty. You look like your mom.”
“Pretty? That won’t do my reputation good,” he said. “But yeah, people say I look like my mom. I think that’s why my father doesn’t talk to me much.”
“Why?”
“He misses my mom, I guess. He was different before. I only remember a little, but he used to laugh more, genuinely. We barely talk these days, except for business. My older brother feels the same. We’re kinda close. We call each other ‘asshole’.”
They both laughed at the same time. He took out two glasses and filled it with filtered water. “Here, not too cold, don’t want you turning blue even more.”
“Thanks. You have a lot of family photos.”
“Only old ones. Not many new ones. My mom loved taking photos and being photographed. Charles- I mean, my dad- he left these photos here. He left all the photos here and at our house in Montauk.”
Alex saw another one, a picture of Luke’s mother and his father. His father was smiling, frankly in love. “When was this?”
“I think…that was during their engagement celebration. I think my mom would like you, if she were still alive.”
“Why’s that?”
“You’re cute,” he said with a smile.
“Right.”
“I just think she would.”
He began to rummage through cupboards and cabinets. “Alright, choose,” he said, opening every cabinet and shelf in the kitchen.
“I think we can have Italian tonight,” she said with a smile.
They took out all the ingredients to make a pasta dish. Lucas turned on some music on an iPod dock that lay on the kitchen counter.
He smiled, shook his head and headed out, buying lunch for everyone at the photo shoot from the Mandarin Tea House. He arrived a little while later at around noon, in the middle of Alex wearing a two-piece jogging outfit.
He didn’t show himself yet. He admired her from afar. Well, isn’t this a bit stalker-ish? He thought to himself. But he couldn’t help it. She was just so adorable to look at. And everyone at the session was making her laugh to make it look more candid. He saw her mega-watt grin for the first time and not the shy smile he had been starting to get used to. His heart hammered a little.
“Mr. Conrad!” a Trekker executive called out, breaking his trance.
“Hey guys, got lunch for everyone. Hope you like dim sum.”
“I’m Italian, starved and I love dim sum,” Vincenzo laughed. “Alright everyone, break!”
He walked towards Alex who was now sitting in a corner. “How are you doing, Alex?”
“It’s been fun…”
“Glad you’re having fun. This is what Trekker is about,” he said. “Shall we eat from paper boxes?”
Alex laughed. “I’d be glad to. My mom loves dim sum.”
“Why’s that?” he asked as he handed her a box of savoury looking noodles.
“She’s Half-Chinese. Her maiden name’s Chen, Fay Chen. My dad’s a quarter Lebanese aside from being Scottish.”
“Not kidding?” She was getting more and more interesting every time he was with her.
Alex shook her head. “I’m a bad liar remember?”
He laughed. “So you know how to speak Chinese?”
“A little Mandarin,” she said, deftly using her chopsticks. “What about you?”
“My mom? She was British born and Manhattan bred. My Dad’s folks also came from England, settled in New York after World War Two. So I’m basically full-blooded British, but I love hotdogs like every other American and I speak really good English.”
She laughed. “I’m glad you do.”
“I would love to have brunch with you this weekend if you would be so kind as to acquiesce?”
“Is this your English way of saying you want me to go on a date with you?”
He nodded.
She bit her lip. “Mr. Con—Luke, I’d like to but- I’m working for you.”
“Shall I un-hire you?” he joked. Then he sighed, “Am I making things complicated?”
Alex shrugged a little. “I…”
They weren’t within the earshot of the other people at the studio but little did they know that a discussion about them was going on.
“He’s gonna break her heart,” Lucia said. “She’s too sweet for such a guy with a playboy reputation-”
Vincenzo bit from a dumpling. “No. He likes her.”
“How do you know?” a Trekker assistant asked.
“He’s been my client for years and I’ve never seen him so besotted with anyone,” Vincenzo simply replied with a grin.
* * * *
Alex had finally agreed to a lunch date, a very casual one, but he felt nearly light-headed all the same. They went to a museum, sitting in a café; eating vegetable panini’s and drinking freshly squeezed orange juice. They walked in Central Park and jogged the following day and she outran him by a mile. The date lasted for the whole weekend. Their conversations ranged from art to travelling, to books and even philosophy.
“So you’re actually fluent in French?”
Lucas nodded. “Had to be. I was in Switzerland for a few years. I’m also conversational in Italian and Spanish.”
“With English roots,” she added.
“With English roots and an American diet,” he laughed. “When did you become semi-vegetarian?”
“Grade school,” she replied. “Probably from the nature of my parent’s work. I still eat red meat rarely, though. Especially when I’m with my Chinese relatives.”
He smiled. “That must be a fun sight.”
“Fun and loud. What about you?”
“Quiet. Formal,” he replied. “My father has two siblings, male and female, he’s the eldest. I have two male cousins and four female cousins. We’re not really close; we live far away from each other. Some are in England, some are in France, mostly working in the Conrad Group of course.”
“So it really is a family corporation?”
“It is. Fortunately. Keeping it all in the family.”
“So marriage has to be carefully matched?”
He shrugged. “Sort of. I’ve only had one cousin marry so far. He’s my age. He married some countess in Germany. We call him lucky. He married for love and not just for status.”
“You’re afraid you’ll end up marrying someone you dislike?”
He imagined himself being married to Jennifer and he shuddered. “Hell, yeah. My brother’s doing a great job at avoiding it.”
“He’s very famous,” she smiled.
“You mean infamous,” he corrected. “But that’s less pressure on him since my father’s been so used to his antics since grade school.”
“So you’re the good son?”
“The more obedient one is more like it. I really do respect Charles,” he said, “It’s just that he’s so…austere. He barely talks.”
“You seem like you have good people skills.”
“Well, so does my dad. People say I’m the likable one compared to my brother. Sometimes it’s a façade, especially when I dislike people and situations.”
“Are you faking your niceness now? To me?”
“Hell no,” he said with a laugh. “I show the real me when I like people. So you’ll hear me swear and make fun of people—which I reserve for those close to my heart,” he laughed.
“I just heard you swear,” she grinned.
“Well, you’re inching closer to my heart, Alex.”
Alex smiled a little, feeling her ears go red.
“You’re such a blusher.”
“It’s a defense mechanism.”
“A cute defense mechanism.”
A wind picked up and she shivered. The leaves on the trees fell like slow orange and yellow snowflakes around them.
“Cold?” he asked her and he took off his coat and placed it over her shoulders.
“Thanks. You sure you won’t need it?”
“Still have a vest on,” he said with a smile. “I feel like eating Italian. Wanna go?”
“It’s barely four in the afternoon.”
“Think of it as a really early dinner. What do you feel like having?”
“Aglio Olio. What about you?”
“I feel like having….you. Ha, I’m kidding,” he smirked, “Marinara. And fresh lemon juice. Shall we?” he held out an arm.
She took it.
“I like this business date,” he joked. “Feels like a real date.”
“I haven’t been on a date for a long time, business or personal,” she said. “So it’s pretty fun.”
Suddenly, thunder cracked overhead and the rain poured over Manhattan without further warning.
“Shit,” Lucas exclaimed. “All right, my apartment’s closest. Wanna make a run for it?”
Alex nodded and together they ran through puddles, wet grass and other people also trying to find shelter from the storm. The rain soaked into his sneakers and hers, into their autumn wear—they were both practically drenched by the time they got to the Stanhope Building.
He lives here? She thought, amazed.
She was shaking by now, her lips a little blue.
“Jesus, look at you. You look like a sewer rat,” he joked.
“Well, you’re not exactly looking GQ yourself,” she laughed.
They got into the building; the floor was glistening with water dripping from their clothes and hair. He quickly pressed the elevator button. As soon as they reached his apartment, he quickly gave her a towel and directed her to a guest bathroom. It was larger than her studio, and tastefully decorated in pastel colors.
“Everything you need’s here,” he said.
“Except clothes.”
“I have some of my high school stuff left, I think. I’ll lay it out for you. Man, it is cold. Excuse me.” He left shaking. She quickly stripped out of her clothes and got into the steamy shower.
Now, that felt better. As soon as she finished, she saw a pair of striped pajamas neatly folded on a chair. She smiled. It was still two sizes too big for her. She heard a knock on the door.
“Hey, you done?”
“Yes,” she said.
“Let’s launder that up. I guess we’ll have to order take out now. Or we can cook if you aren’t too hungry.”
“Still feel like having pasta?” she grinned.
He laughed, seeing her in his high school pajamas. “Not bad, Miss Forbes. Could make for a lingerie model.”
“Shut up,” she said, playfully punching his arm.
They walked into the kitchen.
“Nice…” she said.
“My mom’s favorite place, mine too.”
Alex saw black and white photos hanging on a wall. “Is this you?” she smiled, seeing a photo of a little boy missing a tooth, smiling beside his mother on a yacht. “Your mom’s pretty. You look like your mom.”
“Pretty? That won’t do my reputation good,” he said. “But yeah, people say I look like my mom. I think that’s why my father doesn’t talk to me much.”
“Why?”
“He misses my mom, I guess. He was different before. I only remember a little, but he used to laugh more, genuinely. We barely talk these days, except for business. My older brother feels the same. We’re kinda close. We call each other ‘asshole’.”
They both laughed at the same time. He took out two glasses and filled it with filtered water. “Here, not too cold, don’t want you turning blue even more.”
“Thanks. You have a lot of family photos.”
“Only old ones. Not many new ones. My mom loved taking photos and being photographed. Charles- I mean, my dad- he left these photos here. He left all the photos here and at our house in Montauk.”
Alex saw another one, a picture of Luke’s mother and his father. His father was smiling, frankly in love. “When was this?”
“I think…that was during their engagement celebration. I think my mom would like you, if she were still alive.”
“Why’s that?”
“You’re cute,” he said with a smile.
“Right.”
“I just think she would.”
He began to rummage through cupboards and cabinets. “Alright, choose,” he said, opening every cabinet and shelf in the kitchen.
“I think we can have Italian tonight,” she said with a smile.
They took out all the ingredients to make a pasta dish. Lucas turned on some music on an iPod dock that lay on the kitchen counter.
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