The private boat slowed, leaning forward back into the water. The Captain spun the wheel and the boat pivoted in return. They drew closer to the pier where a deckhand was waiting to receive the line to secure the boat to the pier.
"Minister Oakley, we're here." His aide stated.
Jeffrey Oakley didn't even look up from his holo-pad.
"What's the latest on the insurrection on Cleyell? We haven't anything on the Battle of Pardia, have we?" Jeffery asked.
"We haven't received any new reports from the one last week. The battle is ongoing, insurrection has the upper hand." The aide responded. "Minister Yolanda will be well aware of this, it will put us in a strong position to renegotiate the arms deal."
Jeffery turned his holo-pad off and looked up. "Very good, then I have nothing to worry about." He said with a smile.
The aide gave an awkward smile back before closing the door. Jeffery's smile quickly disappeared. No amount of coffee could hide his baggy eyes, the two years in office hadn't been kind to him. He had hoped to avoid turning into the wrinkly old Ministers that represented most of the Inner Colonies. His holo-pad buzzed.
"For fuck sake." He groaned, accepting the call.
"Hey, honey! How are you?" The woman said smiling ear to ear.
"Hey babe, I'm a bit tired, but that comes with the job. How are you and the kids?" Jeffery responded with a fake smile.
"We're great, just dropped the boys off at school and I'm heading into work now. You shouldn't run yourself down all the time honey, it won't do you any good in the future. Eat some more fruit and veg. Have you been to see that fitness guru that I told you about? I told you that you should've hired a second aide, take some of the workloads off. When are you going to link up to the sleep timer app that I sent..."
"Sorry babe, I gotta run! My meeting is starting early! I'll call you when I'm free. Tell the kids I say hi and that I love them!" Jeffery cut his wife off.
"Ok honey, I'll let them know. Love yo..." Jeffery ended the call.
The Sydney Opera House had been renovated and turned into the United Earth Government Parliament building around the same time that the UNSC established its headquarters in Sydney. It made governing easier as more and more colonies were established.
Jeffery stepped off his boat and joined the mass of walking bodies in suits that surrounded the wide open standing in front of the stairs that led up into the iconic building. His aide followed behind him, texting away to a media correspondent or another Minister's aide.
"Sir, Minister Yolanda has arrived and is waiting in the Queen's Lounge."
"Perfect, let them know we are close." Jeffery responded. "I'll take this meeting by myself, go to the office and finalize the trading update back to Cyrus."
"Will do Minister. Good luck in there." He said peeling off towards the side of the building.
"I don't need luck." Jeffery sneered to himself.
Jeffery navigated his way through the crowd. He swiped his card through nodding to the security guard as he moved past. "Ronald, how's the family?"
"Good Sir, Kyle has gotten over his cold and is back at school." The guard responded.
"That's great to hear, stay safe."
"How's your family?"
Jeffery ignored the question and moved deeper into the chambers. The dull echo of polite conversation filled the main chamber. It quickly dissipated as moved into the narrow mahogany corridors. The smell of old carpet rose from the burgundy floor that seemed to cushion and swallow your foot with every step.
The Queen's Lounge was deeply embedded into the core of the North Wing. It was rarely used due to its small size and the fact that it wasn't attended to by any staff. It was generally respected as a quiet place to talk discreetly about those things that aren't talked about.
The heavy mahogany door dragged along the thick carpet. It closed with a soft knock. Jeffery turned the old brass lock clicking it shut.
"Jeffy, it's been a while." A soft purr muttered.
"What can I say I'm a popular man." He replied as he took off his overcoat and jacket.
"Don't get too ahead of yourself there. You think you're the only Minister I talk to?"
"No, but I know I'm the one that you talk to the most."
"Got me all figured out don't you Jeffy. Aren't you a big smart man."
Zoe Yolanda lay on the felt couch in the far corner booth of the lounge. Her top buttons were undone and the zip on her dress skirt was half unzipped exposing pink lace underwear. She cocked her to the side as Jeffery walked closer.
"You look tired Jeffy, been seeing someone? Or do you stay up at night and think of me?" She giggled as he leaned over the top of her.
"I talk to other Ministers as well you know." Jeffery mocked.
Zoe grabbed his tie and pulled him in for a kiss. She moved over allowing him to lay on top of her on the couch as they continued to smother each other. "Get your pants off now." She demanded.
Jeffery chuckled. "You're in a good mood today."
Jeffery leaned up and began to unbuckle his belt. Zoe ran a hand down his chest undoing the buttons on his shirt as she went.
"Well after the re-negotiation you may not want to see me again. So I want it all out one last time." Her hand stopped slightly over his waistline.
"Why would the re-negotiation make me not want to see you again. You're my best customer for sex and for weapons."
A small frown came across Zoe's face, it was quickly replaced with a condescending smile. "You don't know yet, do you? That's not like the Minister Jeffery Oakley I know."
"Know what?" Jeffery asked as he bent back down and began to kiss his way down Zoe's chest and stomach.
"We won the Battle of Pardia, the insurrection has been eliminated completely. Every single one of them went out fighting, just like you hoped." She started grabbing his hair more and more the further he went down.
Jeffery stopped. It took several seconds to compute the information that he had just heard. "What." He leaned back up and stared Zoe in the eyes.
Zoe smiled. She had him right where she wanted. "Aw hun, please don't stop."
"When did this happen? The last report was last week wasn't it?"
"Don't you read a newspaper babe?" She paused and grabbed Jeffery's tie again. "I want you to fuck my brains out today."
Jeffery slapped her hand away.
"Hmm, feeling powerful today, I like that. I want you to slap me as well." She continued.
Jeffery stood up and begun to put his pants back on. "What's the new terms? How much are you willing to pay?"
"Babe, can we do this after. You were really getting me into it. Pretty pleaseeee?" Zoe fluttered her eyes and pushed her elbows together, the matching pink lace bra struggling to contain.
"Shut the fuck up about the sex." Jeffery responded harshly. "How much are you offering?"
"Ugh, fine." Zoe gave up and sat up doing her shirt up and she went.
"It's on the table, along with a local newspaper from two days ago." She said nodding to the glass tea table.
Jeffery walked over ignoring his unbuttoned shirt. He picked up the newspaper un-originally named 'Cleyell Times'. The headline read: 'Pardia Victory. Hard Fought. Hard Won.'
"What the fuck?" He dropped the paper back onto the table and picked up the four-page document next to it.
He scanned the paragraphs of legal rhetoric mumbling as he went.
"That's cute, you still mumble whilst reading." Zoe giggled as she zipped her skirt back up.
He flipped to the last page and froze.
"I know it's harsh. I honestly did try and convince my government to pay more to keep our relations warm." Zoe said as she stroked Jeffery's neck. "But you must have seen this day coming. If not now, then in the near future. A UNSC taskforce was arriving in a month, then you wouldn't have gotten a new deal at all."
"You're cutting your arms purchases by 60%? What happens if the insurrection decides to have another go. Everyone knows you've got one of the strongest support bases for them."
"Did you hear me before? They're all dead. There may be some individuals out there that want to break free, but who will lead them? The ones that are still alive in prison are going to mysteriously die of sickness, or maybe even take their own lives once they hear their friends are dead." Zoe laughed. "We no longer need to stockpile arms. We're downsizing the Army, Navy and Air Force. Sending people home to their families'. How is your's by the way?"
"Fuck you."
"What? For the new deal or did I touch a nerve with the family comment?" She smirked.
Jeffery ignored the insult and continued to read the document.
"You're slashing the price as well?" He shouted. "How do you expect me to agree to this?"
"Shhh, don't be so loud. Someone might get jealous."
Jeffery dropped the papers onto the ground. He gave himself a second to collect himself. "When do you want a response?" He stated calmly.
Zoe looked at him with lust. "A day and however long you last."
"A day it is." He replied buttoning up his shirt and fixing his tie. "You can expect a reply within 24 hours." Grabbing his jacket and overcoat he made for the door. "You were right I don't want to see you anymore."
"How far away are we." Minister Zoran Zaev asked as he looked outside his limo's tinted windows.
"Should only be 20 minutes now Sir, there was an accident up ahead." The driver responded.
Zoran grumbled as he struggled to reach around his stomach to grab his phone from his pocket. The sounds of traffic continued to grow louder with his struggles.
"Turn the damn sound canceling on!" He snapped.
"Yes, Sir." The driver responded calmly.
"Fucking useless you lot are. Should've known to have done that." He snapped again as he finally pried the phone out.
With his fat stubby fingers, he jabbed in the name of a police station chief. Zoran took several deep breaths as he put the phone to his ear; the effort to grab his phone had tired him out. The phone rang and rang, there was no answer.
"Who the fuck does this bloke think he is ignoring calls from me!" As he redialled.
The phone rang several more times before there was an answer. "Apologies Sir, I was stuck in a meeting. I answered as soon as I saw it was you."
"Yea whatever shithead. There's traffic on Gilligan Street, I don't want to wait an extra 20 minutes. Police escort now." Minister Zaev spat before hanging up.
He lent over to his side again to slide the phone back into his pocket, struggling to make its way through the folds of fat. Beads of sweat began to form on Zoran's bald head as he struggled to catch his breath.
"Have the team get my usual order ready from McDonald's. Drive up to the back entrance, I won't be able to walk today."
"Of course, right away Sir." The driver replied before calling ahead.
The limo's inbuilt holo-pad pinged with a notification. Zoran begrudgingly lent over and opened it. "Battle of Pardia Won, Rebuild to Begin" The article read. "The Cleyell Government today announce victory over the Insurrection after the decisive defeat of rebel forces. This marks the end of the 5-year bloody conflict that has claimed many lives. Experts now predict that the Cleyell Government will shift their military spending to a massive rebuild effort..."
"Fucking hell." He muttered through his teeth.
Minister Zaev's fist clenched up and his body began to shake as all his muscles tensed at the same time. The veins that protruded from his head grew larger in size. "Fucking dumb mother fuckers!" He screamed at the top of his lungs punching the holo-pad consol.
The holographic image fizzled but remained intact as the weak force of the punches did not do much to damage the circuitry. Zoran looked up to see the driver staring into the rear view mirror. "What the fuck do you think you're looking at, huh!"
"Two police bikes are pushing through traffic behind us Sir." The driver replied, still remaining calm.
Zoran turned around to look out of the rear window to see exactly that. Two police motorbikes with lights and sirens were pushing through traffic to reach the limo.
"Finally, we can get out of here." He muttered to himself.
Jeffrey Oakley marched down the thick carpet corridor of the Parliament corridor. He stared directly to his front, his body posture and facial emotions clearly portrayed rage as Ministerial Aides moved to one side to let him pass. Towards the end of the West Wing near the entrance is where Jeffrey had been given his office. The longer your stay as a Minister meant that you were moved to offices closer to the Chamber in the East Wing.
His heavy but plain pine wood door flew open as he charged in. His Aide dropped the pile of paperwork that he had been carrying causing it to spread across the floor in a mess. He was clearly shocked, but by the look on his face, he knew why Jeffrey was angry.
"Sir, my apologies, I only found out once I came back to the office." He said dropping to his knees to frantically pick up all the papers.
"Leave the papers." Jeffrey said taking a deep breath.
"Sir?" Came the awkward reply.
"Leave the papers. And get out." He stood to the side and continued to hold the door open. "I'll have the Parliament staff bring your personal items to your apartment later today."
"Sir? Please give me anot…"
"Get the fuck out of my office now!" Jeffrey yelled cutting the Aide off.
Shaking with shock the Aide quickly scurried to his feet and scampered out of Jeffrey's office. The door slammed behind him. Jeffrey moved around to his desk before slumping into his high-back leather chair.
Pulling the new Cleyell arms contract from his jacket pocket he proceeded to read it again. "Cut from 200,000 small arms purchases to 80,000. Price cut per small arms weapon system purchased from the previous agreed flat rate of 750 per item to 600 per item. This, therefore, proposes a new deal of 48,000,000 per annum down from the previous deal of 150,000,000 per annum." He mumbled to himself.
Jeffrey slumped even further into his chair as he desperately thought of ways to improve his situation, but it was clear, nothing could be done. Begrudgingly he reached across the desk to his keyboard to log in. A call had to be made back to Cyrus. It was now clear that his career was over. He had convinced the government to put off another deal until the Battle of Pardia was over, against the odds he had lost. He reached to click on the call button - there was a knock on the door.
"I'm busy come back later or organize an appointment." Jeffrey called out frustrated.
The door opened slowly with a grunt as the man behind it struggled to move the heavy door along the think carpet. "You really need to replace your door, Minister Oakley." The man huffed.
Jeffrey looked confused as he attempted to recognize the whale of a man. Then it hit him. He stood up as quickly as he could.
"Minister Zaev, to what do I owe this visit?" He stated as best he could without trying to sound surprised.
Minister Zoran Zaev slammed the door behind him. He stared at the pile of papers strewn across the corner of the room. "Ah, so that was why there was a man leaving the corridor so quickly." He stated with a chuckle.
"Yes, sorry about the mess Sir, he was one of mine. I had to relieve him of his duties as he had failed to complete them to the best of his ability." Jeffrey replied calmly remaining standing.
Zoran nodded towards the empty chair opposite the desk. "May I take a seat Minister?"
"Yes, of course, my apologies." Jeffrey replied in a hurry.
They both took their seats, Minister Zaev clearly uncomfortable with the narrow leather armrests. After shuffling around for a second he rested and stared at Jeffrey. His mind racing with his intentions.
"I'm sorry to hear about the loss of the Cleyell contract." Zoran started, much to the shock of Jeffrey. "I assume that is why your aide left in such a hurry? Forget to check the local papers did he?"
"Uh, um, ye… yes, that's correct." Jeffrey replied confused.
"Now, as you already know Skopje is one of the largest producers of a wide variety of arms within the Inner Colonies." Zoran cleared his throat. "I want to propose a deal, a secret one to be precise."
"Sir, I don't understand." Jeffrey replied confused. "I'm your main competition in the Outer Colonies."
"Exactly! Which is why no one will suspect a thing! I see no reason for us to wear each other down with a price war that will do neither of us any good."
"So what type of deal are you proposing then Sir?" Jeffrey's heart began to race.
"Well, that's why I'm here boy! I want you and me to work something out." Zoran smiled. "All my old tricks have been found out by the other Ministers, I need your young brain to help come up with something!"
Jeffrey lent back into his chair. His eyes momentarily moved to the Cleyell contract on his desk. He quickly darted back to Minister Zaev so as not to give anything away.
"Do you have any contracts the I could help supply or additional contracts that your government won't allow you to supply?" Jeffrey asked innocently.
Zoran almost laughed to himself as he saw Jeffrey look down at his desk. He had the young Minister right where he wanted him. He could tell that Minister Oakley was desperate for any contract, and wouldn't refuse anything.
"No, no boy, come on! Use that young mind of yours. Those are old tricks used many times before." He paused tapping the table with his fingers as if in thought. "What is your biggest contract right now, I have an idea."
Jeffrey opened his mouth to speak before stopping as if frozen. His largest current contract was to Harvest, supplying the Colonial Militia in its fight against its own Insurrection. His eyes wandered back over to the Cleyell paperwork. This was his chance to save his career.
"Well Sir, if we are doing a mutual deal then you may want to look at this." He said as he slid the document over the desk.
Zoran grunted as he leaned forward to grab the paperwork from the desk before sitting back down with a sigh. He skimmed over the paperwork, making it seem as if he was actually reading it, but he already knew all the details.
"Oh, deary me, this is not good for you at all." He stated in 'shock'.
"Now Sir, not to abuse the power that you currently possess, but I believe that if you could convince the Minister for Cleyell to reconsider her deal then I believe that I could offer you a large portion of the improved deal." Jeffrey said leaning back into his chair comfortably.
"Now there it is boy! That's the brains I'm looking for!" Zoran said almost jumping out of his chair to sell his excitement. "You leave this rubbish deal with me and I'll come back with something better, then from there, we will work out our side of the agreement. How does that sound?" He said standing up and holding out his hand.
Jeffrey had to contain himself from bolting out of his seat to shake the Minister's hand. "That sounds like an excellent idea Sir." He said calmly shaking hands firmly.
"You're a natural kid, you've already got me on board." Minister Zaev said turning for the door.
"Thank you very much, Sir." Jeffrey replied politely.
Once again Zoran struggled to open the door, waving his hand before dragging it shut with all his strength.
Jeffrey fell into a slump in his chair, adrenaline ran through his veins. "Fuck me, what the fuck just happened." He asked himself. "He looked around his office, the papers were still strewn across the floor and his desk was still a mess of paperwork that was in the process of being sorted. "Fuck it time to celebrate."
Jeffrey leaped from his chair and took four big steps to the door to lock it. He quickly returned to his desk, opening the bottom right draw from the ebony wooden structure. He pulled the drawer completely out and placed it on the floor. A small space was now exposed where an assortment of plastic bags filled with pills and a plain wooden box.
Jeffrey carefully pulled the wooden box from the compartment placing it on the desk. He pulled the chair closer in before sitting down. As he opened the box he licked his lips as he spotted the white pile of cocaine. Carefully he laid a line down on the desk, closing the box and placing it back into the compartment along with the drawer.
With eagerness he snorted the line in one go, snapping his head back holding his nose as his eyes started to water. "Woooooooooo!" He yelled.
The door banged loudly. "Minister Oakley." A voice boomed
"What the fuck." Jeffrey said to himself as his heart dropped. "One second!" He yelled out as innocently as he could.
Making sure that the draw was back in place, he got up from his chair and moved to unlock the door. It swung open swiftly along the fighting carpet and a woman moved in past him.
"No need to close the door this will only take a second." She said with a thick African accent.
"May I ask who you are and what do you think you're doing barging into my office?" Jeffrey asked angrily as the cocaine started to kick in.
"My apologies Minister, just old habits die hard." The woman said turning around to face Jeffrey. "Agent Smith, ONI Parliament Office. A pleasure to meet you."
Jeffrey shook her hand. "Pleasure is all mine." He replied staring her in the eyes.
"I hope that you are not representing the interests of Cyrus whilst under the influence of any illicit substances Minister, it would look bad on your record." She smirked.
"I would hope I wasn't either." The cocaine had kicked in and Jeffrey simply deflected the comment. "To what do I owe this visit, Agent. I haven't had any previous dealings with ONI, nor have I wanted any."
"Now there is no need to be hostile Minister. Although I do understand that ONI is not the most popular agency within Parliament." Agent Smith replied. "However, ONI, even with all its resources, still requires a helping hand within Parliament from time to time."
"You expect me to help you?" Jeffrey chuckled. "Try not to barge into people's offices' next time Agent, it might help with your diplomatic skills."
"Erratic behavior, not common amongst the subject is a sign of possible cocaine use. I think I remember that correctly from my training." She said pacing the room. "You see Minister, ONI would not get anywhere by being diplomatic, it's not - shall we say - 'in our blood'."
"So you're going to blackmail me with your spidey senses telling you that I'm under the influence. You'll have to do better than that." Jeffrey rebuffed.
Agent Smith stopped and turned to face Minister Oakley again. "Oh no Minister, I don't blackmail at ONI, it's an outdated method, I have people to do that for me; we simply expect that you and others to vote in such a way that benefits humanity in the long run." She stated. "As for your erratic behavior… I'm sure it's down to your sexual frustrations after your tense run-in with Minister Yolanda."
Jeffrey opened his mouth to respond but stopped when he saw Agent Smith smile.
"I'll let you get back to the busy work that you were up to before I interrupted you, Minister. I'm sure that when the time comes you will support ONI and humanity's cause. My office will be in touch." She smirked as she left closing the door with ease behind her.
The sky glowed bright pink as the sun fell deeper into the horizon. Zoe Yolanda stood out the front of the Sydney Opera House typing away on her phone. Ministers and Aides passed her without a second thought.
"May I offer you a ride home?" Came an unfamiliar voice.
Zoe turned to see an Aide that she had met whilst working back to her office after seeing Minister Oakley in the Queen's Lounge.
She smiled. "Oh hey! Thank you for the offer, but I'm waiting for my car now. Good to see you again."
She turned away without another thought and walked off leaving the Aide behind her. Zoe walked along the harbor wall towards the main street. There was the steady sound of footsteps behind her; she peered over her shoulder to see the Aide following her. His gaze locked onto her.
"Ah, Minister Yolanda. Just the lady I was looking for." A thick African voice announced.
Zoe turned back around to see a black woman in a suit sitting on one of the benches with a folded newspaper in her lap. Without a second thought, she walked towards her, as to avoid another confrontation with the Aide.
"You were looking for me? I'm sorry, have we met before?" She asked taking a seat next to her.
The woman smiled. "No, we haven't, I'm Agent Smith from the ONI Parliament Office. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Zoe looked over her shoulder. The Aide had disappeared. She sighed with relief. "Are you looking for someone in particular Minister?" Agent Smith asked.
"Who me? Oh, no, no, I mean… no. Sorry, I'm just a bit flustered, a pleasure to meet you, Agent Smith." She replied with a sigh of relief. "You said you were looking for me? Have I done something wrong?"
"Oh no Minister, nothing wrong that I know of. I simply want to introduce myself." Smith smiled. "I'm trying to increase ONI's presence within Parliament; we've operated in the shadows for too long."
"Oh well, that's nice of you. Well, it's nice to meet you." Zoe replied looking over her other shoulder.
"Are you waiting for someone Minister? Perhaps Minister Oakley?" Smith asked innocently. "Sorry, excuse me, that was inappropriate. Back to the reason I wanted to speak to you…"
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Minister Yolanda replied surprised.
"ONI is looking to have a more active role within Parliament and we are looking for Ministers that will have humanity's best interests in mind. That's a beautiful engagement ring by the way."
"Ok, bitch, hold right up. If you think that you can blackmail me then you're wrong. If you try and release anything I will take you to court and win. No one will believe your ONI shit anyway." Zoe snapped standing up and storming off.
"That's a shame then Minister, I hope that you will change your mind. My office will be in touch." Agent Smith called out after her.
Zoe stormed her way all the way to the train station over the road from the end of the waterfront. She boarded the last empty carriage and slumped into the cushioned chair. She pulled out her phone and typed in Jeffrey's name before typing her fiance's name in. It dialed twice.
"Zo! Well isn't this a surprise!" An excited voice exclaimed.
"Hey babe, sorry I just needed to chat to someone on the train home. It's been a weird day." Zoe replied.
"Hey Zo, it's alright you know you can tell me anything."
"Yea, well, it's just the whole thing about the new trade deal and the Insurrection." Zoe lied.
"Dad told me today that the Insurrection is just the poor people who are just angry they're poor."
"You don't believe that do you?" Zoe asked.
"Well, when has my Dad been wrong. He was right about the soccer game last week - let me tell you, it was amazing how Dad predicted the last couple of minutes of the game. You should've seen it! Sometimes I wish you just took the Government Liaison position Dad offered you at his company, so you could be here of course."
Zoe sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose in irritation. "Hey babe I'm going into the tunnel now and will lose signal; I'll call you later ok? Bye babe." She said ending the call; the tunnel wasn't for another four stops.
She typed in Jeffrey's name again and her finger hovered above the call button before she locked her phone and put it back into her purse. The train began to slow as it entered another station. Zoe closed her eyes and rested her head against the window.
"You lying bitch!" Zoe was yanked from her seat and dragged across the floor and out the door onto the platform. She let out a scream.
"You fucking liar. Am I not good enough for you!" It was the Aide.
"Help!" Zoe screamed.
The Aide slapped his hand across her mouth. "Shut the fuck up." He forcefully dragged her towards the toilets.
She tried to fight her way free but he was too strong. Tears began to form in her eyes and she became more and more desperate. She managed to pry the Aide's hand from her mouth allowing her to gasp for air. "Please. Please don't do this." She sobbed.
The Aide dropped her into the wet corner of the men's toilet. Zoe curled into a ball and closed her eyes. She began to sob waiting for the Aide to force himself upon her.
"I told you my office would be in touch." The thick African accent said. "I hope you see the error in your ways."
Zoe remained curled in her ball sobbing.
"There will be a car waiting downstairs, it will take you anywhere you want. Take your time to compose yourself the car will wait however long it takes. I'm sorry it had to come to this. I look forward to working with you in the future."
The bathroom door squeaked open and then swung shut.
Zoe remained in her ball, uncontrollably shaking.
Jeffrey finished the last bit of beer from the bottom of the bottle. He placed it with the dozen other empty bottles on the coffee table as the 24/7 news played on his TV.
"The victory for the Cleyell Government signals a significant turn in the fortunes of the Insurrection. Whether or not this has an effect on the Insurrection movements in nearby systems has yet to be seen…"
Jeffrey picked up a bottle and threw it at the TV. It passed through the hologram and smashed against the wall behind it. "Fuck Cleyell."
He opened his phone and ignored the messages from his wife. He went into his contacts and typed in Zoe's name. He pressed call and held the phone to his ear. It rang out. He recalled, but to no success.
"Ugh, fuck it time for bed." He told himself, struggling to his feet.
The doorbell rung. It continued to ring as if someone was pressing it multiple times.
"Huh, she came quick." He chuckled to himself.
Jeffrey stumbled to the door slicking back his hair as he did. He opened to door to see Zoe, but something was wrong. She wasn't smiling in a skimpy dress like he was expecting. He sobered slightly quickly.
"Jesus Zoe, what happened to you."
Zoe broke into tears grabbing Jeffrey's shirt and pulling in close. He closed the door before wrapping his arms around her. The right side of her body was wet and she was still in her work clothes.
"Hey, hey, Zoe. I'm here, I'm here. Nothing is going to happen here. I'll lock the door see." He said locking the door behind her. "You're shivering, come with me and I'll run the shower. I'll cook something up as well ok - I'll cook up some ravioli your favorite."
Zoe's body collapsed from shock almost pulling Jeffrey down with her. "Sorry, I'm a bit drunk." He chuckled trying to lighten the mood, but he couldn't hide the worry in his voice.
"Thank you Jeffy, thank you so much." Zoe said before bursting back into tears and burying her head into his chest as he guided her towards the bathroom.