Thanks very much to everybody who reviewed my fanfic. Here are the next two
chapters.
Chapter 3.
Nicole Berg did not have a good day. She spent all weekend doing financial projections for her boss but when she gave it to him on Monday morning he found lots of things wrong with it and criticized her non stop for 40 min. Nicole was ready to tell him that if he was so unhappy with her work it was surprising he hadn't fired her yet. But the thought that if she kept working in 3 months she would have enough money to put in a deposit for a very nice two bedroom flat had made her keep this thought to herself. Not having flatmates was worth much more than a spoiled mood. Anyway by the time Nicole got out of her bosses office she felt knackered and not in any mood for work. She just got back to her desk when the phone rang. She dropped the report on the desk and grabbed the phone. "Hello!"
"Good morning!" said a very well modulated voice, "can I speak to Miss Berg?"
"Speaking."
"Good morning Miss Berg, my name is Andrew Gardner. I am a senior partner in the law firm Sly&Sally. We represent Mr William SÑhwarzlight."
"Uncle Will?" Nicole uttered interrupting him.
The noise in the phone told her that he smiled. "Well, I suppose that for you he is uncle Will," becoming official he said, "can you please confirm to me your full name and date of birth so I know I am speaking to the right person."
"My name is Nicole Angelina Berg. Born 17th April 1974. "
"And your parents' names?"
"My mother is Katherine Berg and my father's name was Robert Schwarzlight."
"Thank you very much. Well, miss Berg, I am afraid I have bad news. Your uncle passed away on Friday night. I am very sorry."
Nicole bit her lip. It was a strange feeling. She did not know uncle Will very well. To tell the truth she did not know him at all. He was her idol for so long and then became somebody she hated so much. She made herself not to think about him but now she suddenly felt that she lost somebody very important in her life.
"Miss Berg," she heard the lawyer's voice, "are you alright?"
"Yes," she tried to get her thoughts back into the conversation, "I am fine. How... how did he die?"
"It was a heart failure. He died in his sleep."
"Oh..."
"Miss Berg, I know it is not easy for you. But I have some news about your uncle's will. Our American colleagues passed them to me. It is important that you hear it as soon as possible. Will it be possible for you to meet with me in my office sometime today?"
"Yes," she nodded, "of course. What time?"
"If it's convenient for you than as soon as possible. I believe that this is a very urgent matter. I will also ask you to kindly bring with you your passport and birth certificate."
"Yes, I will pick them up on the way to your office."
"Then I am looking forward meeting you. And I am sorry again to bring such bad news."
"That's OK," she squeezed out a small smile.
Two hours later Nicole was entering the offices of Sly and Sally. "Uncle Will must have been loaded if he could afford such lawyers", she thought. The office she entered was very big and spacious even by London standards. Designer furniture, beautiful plants and 3 secretaries in the front desk told her that the charges for this lawyer's time must have been pretty high. She was led into the big meeting room. Almost immediately the door in the opposite wall opened and a man in his late forties walked in.
"Miss Berg?" he stretched his hand, "my name is Andrew Gardner. We spoke on the phone earlier."
"Yes," she smiled, "Nice to meet you."
He smiled broadly, eyeing her figure with obvious approval. "The pleasure is all mine. Please sit down. Would you like a coffee?"
"Water, please."
He poured her a glass and set in the chair. He opened a big file lying in front of him. "Miss Berg, your uncle was a client of our firm for several decades and I had a pleasure of meeting him several times myself. We are truly sorry for his death. He was very nice man."
She smiled at him again. "Thank you."
"Your uncle mainly dealt with our office in San Francisco. So his main will is going to be announced there. We are here only to arrange your journey to the States."
"You mean I have to go to the States to hear his will?"
"I am afraid so. It was particular wish of your uncle that the entire will should be announced in the US after the funeral. It is also a condition of the inheritance that if you do not attend his funeral you will lose all rights to your share of the inheritance."
Nicole was surprised. "Isn't it a bit strange?"
He shrugged. "If you practice law for 25 years you find that there are much more strange wishes. Your uncle had a lot of business interests in the US and therefore if you are going to inherit some of them you would probably have to move to the US anyway. He just wants to secure that the heir will be able to take an active part managing his interests. I have to admit that my colleagues probably have advised your uncle to put this condition in. Any corporate lawyer would have done the same."
"Oh, I understand now."
"The funerals will take place in 3 days. So if you agree we will book you a flight for tomorrow morning. This will leave you plenty of time to cope with the jet lag before the ceremony. The announcement of your uncle's will is going to take place straight after the funeral in our offices in San Francisco."
Nicole felt that an avalanche was falling on her head. "Wait a minute, it means I will have to fly tomorrow! Tomorrow I have to fly over the Atlantic?!"
"Well, yes. Is there a problem?"
Nicole felt a bit embarrassed. "Yes, there is a problem. I don't fly. I have never flown since... since I was a child and I don't want to start now. And please don't laugh. It's not funny. My farther died in a plane crash."
"I am not laughing miss Nicole and I understand your fear but we need to find a way out because unless you are present at your uncle's funeral on Thursday you will be simply deleted from his will. And you don't want to do it, believe me. Your uncle was a very wealthy man, miss Berg. I don't think it is going to be wise of you not to go just because you are scared of flying."
"I am not just scared of flying; I am absolutely terrified of it. I will not survive a 12 h long flight over the Atlantic. My dad was flying to San Francisco but he never got there. They said it was a pilot's error. Now there are terrorism threats, companies are short of cash, planes fly for longer and with less service. Trust me I will be absolutely insane by the time I get to San Francisco and if I am locked in the mental institution I don't think my inheritance would be of much use to me there."
Andrew frowned. His look became thoughtful. Then he quickly got up. "Would you wait here for a second? I just need to check on something."
Before she could answer he left the room. Nicole was grateful for a few moments of solitude. This morning was completely out of normal. So many things happened and so many more things were about to happen. A whole new life was just 24 h away. However, 12 h of those she would have to spend stuck in the plane. One thought of being stuck in the little dot 30 thousand feet above the Atlantic made her shiver. But not going meant to be stuck in the life she had forever. It meant she would never find out anything about uncle Will. It meant that her mother would succeed in separating her from everything and everybody related to her farther forever and Nicole was determined she would not give her mother such pleasure. She so much hoped Andrew will find a solution and if not she will get completely plastered on the plane, so it will knock her off. At this moment Andrew came in into the office and he had a smile on his face.
"I have got good news miss Berg. I just remembered that one of our junior staff has serious problem with flying as well. I have just spoken to her and she gave me address of this doctor who prescribed her very strong sedative. Basically she took one pill the moment she got on board of the plane and slept through the whole flight. You will be obviously a bit sleepy when you get to San Francisco, however we will arrange somebody from our staff to pick you up, help you through customs and drop you off at the hotel. You will have plenty of time to recover before the funeral. So what do you say?"
Nicole smiled broadly, "I think it's an excellent idea."
"Well, thank you, and I am very glad. We will order you a ticket straight away. 1st class obviously, so you will be comfortable."
"That's sounds great." Nicole smiled happily. She could feel that it was the beginning of a new life very different from how she lived so far.
Thirty six hours latter Nicole Berg landed in San Francisco, she felt a little bit dizzy after two sedative pills but was happy to finally arrive. She was picked up by a young girl who turned out to be a secretary and put into the luxurious hotel De Wille. Nicole slept 15 hours straight and also dreamed for 15 h straight. These were very strange dreams with lots of flames and fire and with visions of people she never met. In the morning Nicole took a cab to the San Francisco office of Sly&Sally, which turned out to be even plusher than the one in London. She was greeted by the secretary and summoned into the large meeting room. There she was greeted by a middle-aged man who looked at her with polite smile.
"Miss Berg, pleasure to meet you. My name is Eric Sally. I am a senior partner and you uncle's attorney."
"Nice to meet you," Nicole smiled.
"I am really sorry about your uncle. He was our client for the past 40 years."
"Thank you."
He offered her a seat and opened a big file in front of him. "As, you know, miss Berg, your uncle died last Friday. His funeral will be held tomorrow and the details of his will are going to be announced straight afterwards. According to the will of you uncle your presence is required for the funerals. And unless this condition is met you will be excluded from the will. My colleague probably mentioned to you that your uncle was a very wealthy man therefore it is in your interests to be present at his funeral."
Nicole nodded, "Yes, Mr Gardner has already mentioned this."
"Good," he smiled. "The funeral will take place tomorrow morning at the mausoleum of Schwarzlight family. Here are the instructions how to get there. If you prefer, we can arrange to pick you up."
"Thank you," Nicole smiled.
"Well," he continued, "at the moment I can't tell you much else except I have something for you from your uncle." He handed her a thick envelope. "You can read it here or take it with you, whatever is more convenient."
Nicole thought for a minute. "I think, I'll read it in my hotel room."
"As you wish...," he smiled coolly and got up, "then I'll see you tomorrow."
Nicole could not wait to get to the hotel and finally read the first letter from her uncle, the first letter from anybody from her father's side of the family. Finally she got to her room and ripped the envelope.
"Dear Nicole,
I know that if you are reading this letter it means that I was not able to tell you all this myself. I don't know how much you know about me or if you ever think about me. I also don't know if you are mad at me or indifferent to me but I will try to explain everything the best I can.
When my brother met your mother and they fell in love I was very happy. They got married very quickly and then had you. It was a happy time in Schwarzlight's family. You were such a lovely baby. But then things went wrong. When my brother died Katherine was devastated. And then all her anger turned into our family and me. She said that we brought her only grief and wanted nothing to do with any of us. She packed everything, took you and left back to England. In the beginning I thought she would recover but as time went by she became even more bitter and averse. I tried to reason with her but she refused to speak to me. Moreover she threatened that if I attempted to contact her ever again she will take you away where none of us will ever find you. At that moment I gave up. I know it was wrong of me but I thought at least this way I could know that you were OK. I paid the private detective and he always kept an eye on you. So I had pictures of you all the time when you were growing up. They are in this envelope so you know I am not lying.
When you went to University and I knew that you did not have good relationship with your mother, I thought that I would be able to give you some support and hoped that you would accept it. When I received your letter I was so happy but the same day I met Katherine. She basically threatened that if I attempt to respond to your letter she will do something which destroys you and everything I worked for in my life. I can't explain everything in this letter but you will find everything out in time.
I know Nicole that we never really met I have not seen you since you were 4 years old. I know it was my fault at some part but hope that you will find the heart to forgive me.
This letter may seem a bit strange to you but I have little time and want to let you know important things. Everything around you is very unfamiliar to you. So if I can't be with you I hope you will accept help from my friend Cole Turner. He lives at the XXX St,321. So don't wait too long before you go and see him. He can be of great help to you. And bring him with you to the funeral. You will need some support there.
And just remember I always loved you and even if far away I knew about your success and I am very-very proud of you.
Your Uncle
William Schwarzlight"
She looked at the pictures in the envelope. All of them looked like they were used a lot. Tears formed in her eyes. It was not fair that somebody who used to love her so much was never close to her. She looked through all the pictures and her whole life came in front of her eyes. Emotions overwhelmed Nicole and she started crying like she has not cried since she was a child.
Chapter 4.
Cole had a long and busy day at work. When he finally got home all he wanted was a hot shower and a drink. He poured himself a scotch and was about to get changed when he heard a knock on the door. He looked through the pip whole and frowned. He did not know this woman but something about her was familiar. He opened the door, "Can I help you?"
Nicole was impressed. She did not think that her uncle's friend would be young and that handsome. She realized that she was still staring at him and tried to compose herself, "Mr Turner?" her voice sounded a bit husky and had a distinct English accent, "Cole Turner?"
"Yes," Cole looked at the woman. She was tall and slim in her late twenties with shining blond hair and big green eyes, which twinkled in the light.
"My name is Nicole Berg; I am the niece of William Schwarzlight. I believe that you knew my uncle well."
It was Cole's turn to stare at the woman. Now that she said it Nicole did remind him of the late Lugel. However, he never thought she would be so young and beautiful. For some reason he had imagined her very differently. Finally Cole found his tongue. "Uh, Miss Berg, I am glad to see you. And sorry about your uncle."
"Thank you," she put on a small smile.
"Please come in," he stepped aside allowing her to enter his penthouse.
"You have a nice place here," Nicole commented.
"Yes," he smiled politely, "I like it here."
They both paused. Cole did not know what he was supposed to say or do. So he left it to Nicole to start the conversation. Nicole herself felt very nervous. She did not imagine Cole Turner like this. She thought her uncle's friend would be an old man telling her stories about the childhood of her uncle and may be her father. Anyway she had to say something. "Well, Mr Turner..."
He interrupted, "You can call me Cole."
"Oh, thank you," her smile broadened a bit, "I don't know how much my uncle told you about me. I am his niece, I was brought up in England and actually arrived just yesterday to San Francisco," she paused, "for the funeral."
His expressions sobered. "Yes, I got the card as well," he pointed to the table.
"So you will be coming as well?"
Cole hesitated, he did not really intend to go but he saw a hopeful expression in her eyes. For a long time nobody looked at him with such eyes. "Yes, of course, I am going to be there. I can give you a lift if you want."
"Oh that'd be great," she smiled again. "I don't really know anybody from my uncle's circle of friends and acquaintances."
He smiled, "Oh, I know how it feels."
She returned his smile. Cole smiled back and caught himself that he was smiling a lot since Nicole came into her apartment. On the other hand he was alone now for so long. Colleagues from work did not count. He never really had a chat with anybody outside work since, well, since his divorce with Phoebe. And even before then their conversations more reminded him of a kick boxing exercise. He stopped his thoughts from swooping onto his wife, well, ex-wife, Cole reminded himself. "Miss Berg, I was just planning to have something to eat so if you would like to join me we can talk over dinner."
"You can call me Nicole and I'll be delighted to join you. "
They made their way downstairs to Cole's car.
"It's a nice car you have."
"Thanks, I like it too," he grinned.
After they placed their orders, Cole asked, "So you live in London," he asked Nicole, "what do you do?"
"Oh, I am an investment manager for XXX Plc."
"Oh!" Cole was surprised.
"What?" Nicole looked curiously at him
"Nothing." Cole pulled a blank expression on his face. But Nicole stared at him and curtly asked.
"You never thought that a blond girl like me could have a serious job?" her eyebrows shot up.
"No," Cole could have bitten his tongue but then softly chuckled. "Look, I'll be honest, I had no idea what job you did, but all investment managers I've ever seen in my life, and I have seen quite a few, were very boring men in expensive suits and you don't look particularly boring."
Nicole laughed. "Good move. You managed to wiggle your way out of a very tricky situation and even score points." He did not answer, only smiled. Nicole looked in his piercing blue eyes and felt her heart speed up a bit. Cole Turner was very good-looking and therefore very dangerous. To calm herself down Nicole took a sip of her drink and asked, "So what do you do?"
"I am a partner in a law firm."
"Thought so," Nicole had a very pleased smile on her face.
"You thought so?"
"Yes, from the moment I saw you."
"Why?"
"Well, you look like a professional, you live in a very plush penthouse, you drive an expensive car. So you must be either a lawyer, a doctor or a finance person. Your comment about finance people meant you were not one yourself, so it left me with the choice of a lawyer and a doctor. But you are not a doctor that was obvious, which left me with a lawyer."
"Why not a doctor?" Cole asked curiously.
Nicole shook her head. "No way, you don't have this "you can be my next patient" attitude as all doctors have."
Cole laughed. "Well, you were right. I am a lawyer."
"Good, than you can probably answer my question. My uncle has put a clause into his will that if I don't attend his funeral I will lose out on my inheritance. Is this normal?"
"When it comes to wills there is nothing normal. They are very interesting documents and sometimes contain the most bizarre conditions. I think that this one is one of the most normal ones."
"Good, I am glad that uncle Will was not a weirdo. So how was he?" Nicole took a sip of her martini. "Please, tell me about my uncle Will, how did you two meet?"
That was the question Cole did not really want to answer. He had a feeling that Nicole had no idea that her uncle was a Lugel. Hell, she had no idea what magic was other then tricks of David Copperfield. So he could not really come up with "hey, your uncle and I met in the place mortals call "Hell" where my soul went after my wife and her sisters vanquished me". However, he did not really want to start their acquaintance with a big fat lie. After a moment of hesitation Cole decided to lie but stay as close to the truth as possible.
"Well," he paused, "we met about a month and a half ago. I was out of the job and generally not going through the best part of my life. Your uncle got me my job back. So I kind of owed him a favour. He was really worried about you and asked me to help you when you'd get to San Francisco".
She frowned, "You mean that he knew he would not be able to do it himself?"
"Damn," Cole scolded in his head. What did William Schwarzlight think about! What the hell had he meant by "helping"? Helping a young Lugel to master her powers was one thing. But explaining to a woman who had always thought she was normal and mortal that she is one of the most powerful magical beings in the world was a very different story. Schwarzlight should have told her himself. Cole felt guilty. He should have thought about it before. He was so preoccupied with himself and Phoebe that he never even thought about the promise he made to William Schwarzlight. He knew that he would have to help his niece to master her powers. And he was totally prepared to keep his promise. But he never thought about her as a human being, a woman, who had beautiful green eyes and nice smile.
"Cole?" Nicole's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Is everything OK? Did you hear my question?"
"Yes, everything is fine. It's just I did not think about it before," that was a complete truth, "but now, when you mentioned it I understood that you were right. He must have known that he would not see you himself. I am sorry."
She took a sip of her drink and said in a calm voice, "You have nothing to be sorry about. It's a peculiarity of my family and has nothing to do with you."
Cole could hear tension in her voice, Nicole also felt it and to calm down had downed her glass of martini. "I might as well tell you," she continued, "or you'll start wondering about my family. I don't know much about them. My mom is English. She is a lawyer and in the 70's she went to the US on probation. There she met my father. He was a lawyer as well. So they fell in love, got married and had me. They were apparently very happy though I don't know much about it. My mother never told me much. I remember though that Uncle William visited us very often. He brought me these fantastic toys. When I was 4 years old my farther died in an accident, plane crash. And then everything changed. My mother got completely mad. She thought that my uncle and all the family here were guilty of the grief she experienced. She packed everything and moved to England with me. I know that Uncle William came to England shortly after we moved there. But my mother did not want to talk to him. He never came back. And now I found out from the letter of Uncle Will today she threatened to take me away. So he never tried again. That's how it happens that I don't know my uncle. When I arrived here I got the letter from my uncle in which he advised me to meet with you, that's you are his friend. So I hoped you could tell me something about him."
Cole frowned. He felt sorry for Nicole but also very unsure of what to do. Should he tell her the truth now, or should he wait until after the funeral. Their food arrived and this gave Cole time to collect his thoughts. He understood that she was determined to find out everything she could about Schwarzlight. He sighed and spoke up carefully choosing his words. "Look, Nicole, as I said before I know very little about your uncle. We met only a month and a half ago. "
"But than why Uncle Will picked you among all his friends to help me?"
Cole mentally left an exasperated sigh and felt the urge to blur out of the restaurant. Nicole for some reasons felt guilty. "Look Cole, I am sorry. I did not mean to intrude on you with all these questions. I guess I am very nervous. Tomorrow is the funeral. There will be lots of people there and I don't know anybody. I don't even know how my uncle looked. I never had any pictures of him and the envelope I got from the lawyers did not contain one and I did not want to ask them. I just hope he has not changed much in the last 25 years. You are the only link I have to him and I am desperate to find out what was my uncle like? What did he do in life? I have feeling like there is some sort of big secret behind this and nobody tells me. I suppose I always searched for the explanation of who my father and my uncle were and why my mother hated him so much and why she never allowed us to be in touch. I hoped that one day Uncle Will would tell me about all this but now there is little chance, is it?"
Cole was really touched by her outburst. "Nicole, the way you feel is completely normal. I am sorry I can't help you much at the moment. But I honestly believe that a lot will be explained in your uncle's will. Wait until tomorrow and a lot will become clearer. Your uncle had his reasons when he asked me to help you and believe me I will do my best. But at the moment we just have to wait."
Nicole looked deep in his eyes and believed him. She was sure that Cole knew more than he said. He did not try particularly hard to hide it. But for some reason he did not want to tell her now. And at the moment Nicole decided to believe his reasons. "Fine," she said. "I'll wait till tomorrow as you want."
Cole took a deep breath. He knew that Nicole did not believe him but she was prepared to wait and at the moment it was all he needed. His cell phone rang, he excused himself and picked up the phone. "Cole Turner."
"Good evening, Mr Turner, sorry for phoning so late. My name is Eric Sally. I am a senior partner in the law firm Sly&Sally."
Cole had heard about them, it was one of the biggest law firms in town and they had a very good relationship with Jackman, Carter. and. Kline himself used to work for Sly&Sally in the past and moved to become a partner in Jackman and Carter about 5 years ago. But he still had a lot of friends in Sly&Sally. So Cole replied very politely. "How can I help you Mr. Sally?"
"I am sorry that I bother you so late. But this matter is quite urgent and I asked Paul Kline for your cell number. I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all," Cole replied wondering what urgent matters could Eric Sally have with him?! He did not have to wait long for the explanation.
"Well, we have just been looking through the will of our client, Mr. Schwarzlight. I presume you knew him."
Cole was surprised. "Yes, I knew him."
"Well, we looked through the will and it seems that our junior partner made a mistake and missed your name among the people, mentioned in his will. Mr Schwarzlight requested your presence at his funeral and also at the announcement of the will. Both events take place tomorrow and I sincerely hope that you can make it. I have already agreed with you bosses that you meetings will be rescheduled for another day."
Cole was astonished. Schwarzlight had mentioned him in his will?! That was weird. The late Lugel had already fulfilled his part of the deal.
"Mr. Turner," the lawyer's voice interrupted Cole's thoughts, "do you think you will be able to make it. It's really important that you attend the funeral because the will contains a clause in it that if you don't you will be deleted from the heirs."
Cole was not surprise to hear about this clause. He already heard about it from Nicole. The only thing he wondered about was whether the same clause applied to other heirs. "Yes, I will be attending the funeral and the will announcement afterward. I was planning to attend it anyway; I got the card earlier this week."
"That's great." Eric sounded relieved. "Well, I will not interrupt your evening any more. I'll see you tomorrow."
Cole hung up the phone and returned to the table. Nicole looked curiously at him. "Everything OK?"
"Yes," Cole sat down. "It actually was you uncle's lawyer. They seemed to have missed part of the will before, so apparently I am mentioned there as well and I have to attend the funeral and should come to the will announcement."
"Oh," Cole expected Nicole to be surprised but she was not.
"You are not surprised?" he exclaimed.
"No, not really. Don't know why. I think I have passed the surprise stage. There have been way too many of those recently."
He nodded and then stiffened. A couple just entered the restaurant. And this couple was Phoebe and her new boyfriend Jason Dean. Cole had not seen Phoebe since their divorce five days ago and now he was not prepared for it. Nicole who was looking at Cole saw him freeze and stare at the entrance. She followed his gaze and saw a dark haired petite woman and a blond tall guy next to her. The waiter invited them to follow him and she saw Cole's eyes following the couple.
"Is this your ex?"
The sound of her voice pulled Cole out of his stupor. "Ah?" he looked up at her. "What did you say?"
"Is this your ex?" she nodded towards Phoebe and Jason.
"Yes," he took a deep breath, "it's my ex wife."
"I am sorry," she said sincerely, "do you want to go?"
"No," Cole tried to concentrate his attention on Nicole. "There is no need." he smiled at her. "Do you fancy some desert?"
"After all that food? No way I won't be able to get up."
Cole felt somebody staring at him and he did not have to guess twice who it was. Phoebe had finally discovered his presence and he could feel her eyes boring into the side of his had. His features tensed and Nicole noticed it. "Cole, you are trying so hard not to look at your ex wife and your smile is so tensed that I am surprise how are you not exploding. Look, I don't want to interfere in your life and don't want to cause any offence. I just think that either we can stay here and ruin perfectly pleasant evening or we can go and enjoy a drink somewhere else."
He appreciated her honesty, she did not try to ignore the situation but also did not try to ask any questions and the most important she was right. It was also right that he didn't run every time he'd see Phoebe but at the moment he was tired, he had had a long day and it was going to be a long day tomorrow. He sighed and nodded. "You're right. Let's go." he pulled his wallet out and the waiter immediately appeared on his side. When they were leaving the restaurant Cole shot a quick glance at Phoebe. She was smiling at Jason Dean and shot similar quick glance at Cole. Their eyes met and then Cole turned his gaze away. There was no point trying to see feelings, which were not there. The night breeze touched his face.
"So where do you want to go?" he asked trying to sound casual.
"I guess you want to go home," Nicole said, "that's fine by me. You already have cheered up my evening. Otherwise I would be sitting in my hotel and enjoying the 400th rerun of Cheers."
Cole chuckled. After the encounter with Phoebe he expected that he would want to go back to the Penthouse and sit there feeling miserably. But for some reason he did not feel like it at the moment. For a long time he has been stuck in a complete solitude and it was the first time he enjoyed a dinner and chat with somebody who was not a client and who was not telling him that he was an evil bastard. He definitely welcomed the change and said in a slightly mocked voice. "Who says I want to go home?"
She looked at him curiously, "You kidding me? I thought it was a rule: meet your ex – want to be alone?"
Cole shook his head. "Been there, done that. So unless you are not too tired we can go for a drink. I actually know a nice place just round the corner."
"No, I am not tired. After sleeping for 30 h straight you have a lot of energy."
"Thirty hours?"
She laughed, "Yes, see, I'm scared of flying, absolutely terrified to be honest. So I took a sleeping pill, actually two, and slept for 14 hours on the plane and 15 hours afterwards."
"That's impressive. So flying is your phobia? Anything else?"
"No, this is the only one. What about you?"
"I don't really know, never came across one."
"Lucky you."
They kept talking until very late and when he dropt her off at the hotel it was already past midnight. Nicole went to her room and in her head she still saw Cole, how he was in this bar they went to: relaxed, confident, funny. On the other hand back at the restaurant he looked completely hung up on his wife and therefore slightly vulnerable. This was dangerous, very- very dangerous. So it was a nice night out and it should be the only night with him. She could remember how it started with Chris and where it led. One "just divorced man" in a lifetime was enough.
Chapter 3.
Nicole Berg did not have a good day. She spent all weekend doing financial projections for her boss but when she gave it to him on Monday morning he found lots of things wrong with it and criticized her non stop for 40 min. Nicole was ready to tell him that if he was so unhappy with her work it was surprising he hadn't fired her yet. But the thought that if she kept working in 3 months she would have enough money to put in a deposit for a very nice two bedroom flat had made her keep this thought to herself. Not having flatmates was worth much more than a spoiled mood. Anyway by the time Nicole got out of her bosses office she felt knackered and not in any mood for work. She just got back to her desk when the phone rang. She dropped the report on the desk and grabbed the phone. "Hello!"
"Good morning!" said a very well modulated voice, "can I speak to Miss Berg?"
"Speaking."
"Good morning Miss Berg, my name is Andrew Gardner. I am a senior partner in the law firm Sly&Sally. We represent Mr William SÑhwarzlight."
"Uncle Will?" Nicole uttered interrupting him.
The noise in the phone told her that he smiled. "Well, I suppose that for you he is uncle Will," becoming official he said, "can you please confirm to me your full name and date of birth so I know I am speaking to the right person."
"My name is Nicole Angelina Berg. Born 17th April 1974. "
"And your parents' names?"
"My mother is Katherine Berg and my father's name was Robert Schwarzlight."
"Thank you very much. Well, miss Berg, I am afraid I have bad news. Your uncle passed away on Friday night. I am very sorry."
Nicole bit her lip. It was a strange feeling. She did not know uncle Will very well. To tell the truth she did not know him at all. He was her idol for so long and then became somebody she hated so much. She made herself not to think about him but now she suddenly felt that she lost somebody very important in her life.
"Miss Berg," she heard the lawyer's voice, "are you alright?"
"Yes," she tried to get her thoughts back into the conversation, "I am fine. How... how did he die?"
"It was a heart failure. He died in his sleep."
"Oh..."
"Miss Berg, I know it is not easy for you. But I have some news about your uncle's will. Our American colleagues passed them to me. It is important that you hear it as soon as possible. Will it be possible for you to meet with me in my office sometime today?"
"Yes," she nodded, "of course. What time?"
"If it's convenient for you than as soon as possible. I believe that this is a very urgent matter. I will also ask you to kindly bring with you your passport and birth certificate."
"Yes, I will pick them up on the way to your office."
"Then I am looking forward meeting you. And I am sorry again to bring such bad news."
"That's OK," she squeezed out a small smile.
Two hours later Nicole was entering the offices of Sly and Sally. "Uncle Will must have been loaded if he could afford such lawyers", she thought. The office she entered was very big and spacious even by London standards. Designer furniture, beautiful plants and 3 secretaries in the front desk told her that the charges for this lawyer's time must have been pretty high. She was led into the big meeting room. Almost immediately the door in the opposite wall opened and a man in his late forties walked in.
"Miss Berg?" he stretched his hand, "my name is Andrew Gardner. We spoke on the phone earlier."
"Yes," she smiled, "Nice to meet you."
He smiled broadly, eyeing her figure with obvious approval. "The pleasure is all mine. Please sit down. Would you like a coffee?"
"Water, please."
He poured her a glass and set in the chair. He opened a big file lying in front of him. "Miss Berg, your uncle was a client of our firm for several decades and I had a pleasure of meeting him several times myself. We are truly sorry for his death. He was very nice man."
She smiled at him again. "Thank you."
"Your uncle mainly dealt with our office in San Francisco. So his main will is going to be announced there. We are here only to arrange your journey to the States."
"You mean I have to go to the States to hear his will?"
"I am afraid so. It was particular wish of your uncle that the entire will should be announced in the US after the funeral. It is also a condition of the inheritance that if you do not attend his funeral you will lose all rights to your share of the inheritance."
Nicole was surprised. "Isn't it a bit strange?"
He shrugged. "If you practice law for 25 years you find that there are much more strange wishes. Your uncle had a lot of business interests in the US and therefore if you are going to inherit some of them you would probably have to move to the US anyway. He just wants to secure that the heir will be able to take an active part managing his interests. I have to admit that my colleagues probably have advised your uncle to put this condition in. Any corporate lawyer would have done the same."
"Oh, I understand now."
"The funerals will take place in 3 days. So if you agree we will book you a flight for tomorrow morning. This will leave you plenty of time to cope with the jet lag before the ceremony. The announcement of your uncle's will is going to take place straight after the funeral in our offices in San Francisco."
Nicole felt that an avalanche was falling on her head. "Wait a minute, it means I will have to fly tomorrow! Tomorrow I have to fly over the Atlantic?!"
"Well, yes. Is there a problem?"
Nicole felt a bit embarrassed. "Yes, there is a problem. I don't fly. I have never flown since... since I was a child and I don't want to start now. And please don't laugh. It's not funny. My farther died in a plane crash."
"I am not laughing miss Nicole and I understand your fear but we need to find a way out because unless you are present at your uncle's funeral on Thursday you will be simply deleted from his will. And you don't want to do it, believe me. Your uncle was a very wealthy man, miss Berg. I don't think it is going to be wise of you not to go just because you are scared of flying."
"I am not just scared of flying; I am absolutely terrified of it. I will not survive a 12 h long flight over the Atlantic. My dad was flying to San Francisco but he never got there. They said it was a pilot's error. Now there are terrorism threats, companies are short of cash, planes fly for longer and with less service. Trust me I will be absolutely insane by the time I get to San Francisco and if I am locked in the mental institution I don't think my inheritance would be of much use to me there."
Andrew frowned. His look became thoughtful. Then he quickly got up. "Would you wait here for a second? I just need to check on something."
Before she could answer he left the room. Nicole was grateful for a few moments of solitude. This morning was completely out of normal. So many things happened and so many more things were about to happen. A whole new life was just 24 h away. However, 12 h of those she would have to spend stuck in the plane. One thought of being stuck in the little dot 30 thousand feet above the Atlantic made her shiver. But not going meant to be stuck in the life she had forever. It meant she would never find out anything about uncle Will. It meant that her mother would succeed in separating her from everything and everybody related to her farther forever and Nicole was determined she would not give her mother such pleasure. She so much hoped Andrew will find a solution and if not she will get completely plastered on the plane, so it will knock her off. At this moment Andrew came in into the office and he had a smile on his face.
"I have got good news miss Berg. I just remembered that one of our junior staff has serious problem with flying as well. I have just spoken to her and she gave me address of this doctor who prescribed her very strong sedative. Basically she took one pill the moment she got on board of the plane and slept through the whole flight. You will be obviously a bit sleepy when you get to San Francisco, however we will arrange somebody from our staff to pick you up, help you through customs and drop you off at the hotel. You will have plenty of time to recover before the funeral. So what do you say?"
Nicole smiled broadly, "I think it's an excellent idea."
"Well, thank you, and I am very glad. We will order you a ticket straight away. 1st class obviously, so you will be comfortable."
"That's sounds great." Nicole smiled happily. She could feel that it was the beginning of a new life very different from how she lived so far.
Thirty six hours latter Nicole Berg landed in San Francisco, she felt a little bit dizzy after two sedative pills but was happy to finally arrive. She was picked up by a young girl who turned out to be a secretary and put into the luxurious hotel De Wille. Nicole slept 15 hours straight and also dreamed for 15 h straight. These were very strange dreams with lots of flames and fire and with visions of people she never met. In the morning Nicole took a cab to the San Francisco office of Sly&Sally, which turned out to be even plusher than the one in London. She was greeted by the secretary and summoned into the large meeting room. There she was greeted by a middle-aged man who looked at her with polite smile.
"Miss Berg, pleasure to meet you. My name is Eric Sally. I am a senior partner and you uncle's attorney."
"Nice to meet you," Nicole smiled.
"I am really sorry about your uncle. He was our client for the past 40 years."
"Thank you."
He offered her a seat and opened a big file in front of him. "As, you know, miss Berg, your uncle died last Friday. His funeral will be held tomorrow and the details of his will are going to be announced straight afterwards. According to the will of you uncle your presence is required for the funerals. And unless this condition is met you will be excluded from the will. My colleague probably mentioned to you that your uncle was a very wealthy man therefore it is in your interests to be present at his funeral."
Nicole nodded, "Yes, Mr Gardner has already mentioned this."
"Good," he smiled. "The funeral will take place tomorrow morning at the mausoleum of Schwarzlight family. Here are the instructions how to get there. If you prefer, we can arrange to pick you up."
"Thank you," Nicole smiled.
"Well," he continued, "at the moment I can't tell you much else except I have something for you from your uncle." He handed her a thick envelope. "You can read it here or take it with you, whatever is more convenient."
Nicole thought for a minute. "I think, I'll read it in my hotel room."
"As you wish...," he smiled coolly and got up, "then I'll see you tomorrow."
Nicole could not wait to get to the hotel and finally read the first letter from her uncle, the first letter from anybody from her father's side of the family. Finally she got to her room and ripped the envelope.
"Dear Nicole,
I know that if you are reading this letter it means that I was not able to tell you all this myself. I don't know how much you know about me or if you ever think about me. I also don't know if you are mad at me or indifferent to me but I will try to explain everything the best I can.
When my brother met your mother and they fell in love I was very happy. They got married very quickly and then had you. It was a happy time in Schwarzlight's family. You were such a lovely baby. But then things went wrong. When my brother died Katherine was devastated. And then all her anger turned into our family and me. She said that we brought her only grief and wanted nothing to do with any of us. She packed everything, took you and left back to England. In the beginning I thought she would recover but as time went by she became even more bitter and averse. I tried to reason with her but she refused to speak to me. Moreover she threatened that if I attempted to contact her ever again she will take you away where none of us will ever find you. At that moment I gave up. I know it was wrong of me but I thought at least this way I could know that you were OK. I paid the private detective and he always kept an eye on you. So I had pictures of you all the time when you were growing up. They are in this envelope so you know I am not lying.
When you went to University and I knew that you did not have good relationship with your mother, I thought that I would be able to give you some support and hoped that you would accept it. When I received your letter I was so happy but the same day I met Katherine. She basically threatened that if I attempt to respond to your letter she will do something which destroys you and everything I worked for in my life. I can't explain everything in this letter but you will find everything out in time.
I know Nicole that we never really met I have not seen you since you were 4 years old. I know it was my fault at some part but hope that you will find the heart to forgive me.
This letter may seem a bit strange to you but I have little time and want to let you know important things. Everything around you is very unfamiliar to you. So if I can't be with you I hope you will accept help from my friend Cole Turner. He lives at the XXX St,321. So don't wait too long before you go and see him. He can be of great help to you. And bring him with you to the funeral. You will need some support there.
And just remember I always loved you and even if far away I knew about your success and I am very-very proud of you.
Your Uncle
William Schwarzlight"
She looked at the pictures in the envelope. All of them looked like they were used a lot. Tears formed in her eyes. It was not fair that somebody who used to love her so much was never close to her. She looked through all the pictures and her whole life came in front of her eyes. Emotions overwhelmed Nicole and she started crying like she has not cried since she was a child.
Chapter 4.
Cole had a long and busy day at work. When he finally got home all he wanted was a hot shower and a drink. He poured himself a scotch and was about to get changed when he heard a knock on the door. He looked through the pip whole and frowned. He did not know this woman but something about her was familiar. He opened the door, "Can I help you?"
Nicole was impressed. She did not think that her uncle's friend would be young and that handsome. She realized that she was still staring at him and tried to compose herself, "Mr Turner?" her voice sounded a bit husky and had a distinct English accent, "Cole Turner?"
"Yes," Cole looked at the woman. She was tall and slim in her late twenties with shining blond hair and big green eyes, which twinkled in the light.
"My name is Nicole Berg; I am the niece of William Schwarzlight. I believe that you knew my uncle well."
It was Cole's turn to stare at the woman. Now that she said it Nicole did remind him of the late Lugel. However, he never thought she would be so young and beautiful. For some reason he had imagined her very differently. Finally Cole found his tongue. "Uh, Miss Berg, I am glad to see you. And sorry about your uncle."
"Thank you," she put on a small smile.
"Please come in," he stepped aside allowing her to enter his penthouse.
"You have a nice place here," Nicole commented.
"Yes," he smiled politely, "I like it here."
They both paused. Cole did not know what he was supposed to say or do. So he left it to Nicole to start the conversation. Nicole herself felt very nervous. She did not imagine Cole Turner like this. She thought her uncle's friend would be an old man telling her stories about the childhood of her uncle and may be her father. Anyway she had to say something. "Well, Mr Turner..."
He interrupted, "You can call me Cole."
"Oh, thank you," her smile broadened a bit, "I don't know how much my uncle told you about me. I am his niece, I was brought up in England and actually arrived just yesterday to San Francisco," she paused, "for the funeral."
His expressions sobered. "Yes, I got the card as well," he pointed to the table.
"So you will be coming as well?"
Cole hesitated, he did not really intend to go but he saw a hopeful expression in her eyes. For a long time nobody looked at him with such eyes. "Yes, of course, I am going to be there. I can give you a lift if you want."
"Oh that'd be great," she smiled again. "I don't really know anybody from my uncle's circle of friends and acquaintances."
He smiled, "Oh, I know how it feels."
She returned his smile. Cole smiled back and caught himself that he was smiling a lot since Nicole came into her apartment. On the other hand he was alone now for so long. Colleagues from work did not count. He never really had a chat with anybody outside work since, well, since his divorce with Phoebe. And even before then their conversations more reminded him of a kick boxing exercise. He stopped his thoughts from swooping onto his wife, well, ex-wife, Cole reminded himself. "Miss Berg, I was just planning to have something to eat so if you would like to join me we can talk over dinner."
"You can call me Nicole and I'll be delighted to join you. "
They made their way downstairs to Cole's car.
"It's a nice car you have."
"Thanks, I like it too," he grinned.
After they placed their orders, Cole asked, "So you live in London," he asked Nicole, "what do you do?"
"Oh, I am an investment manager for XXX Plc."
"Oh!" Cole was surprised.
"What?" Nicole looked curiously at him
"Nothing." Cole pulled a blank expression on his face. But Nicole stared at him and curtly asked.
"You never thought that a blond girl like me could have a serious job?" her eyebrows shot up.
"No," Cole could have bitten his tongue but then softly chuckled. "Look, I'll be honest, I had no idea what job you did, but all investment managers I've ever seen in my life, and I have seen quite a few, were very boring men in expensive suits and you don't look particularly boring."
Nicole laughed. "Good move. You managed to wiggle your way out of a very tricky situation and even score points." He did not answer, only smiled. Nicole looked in his piercing blue eyes and felt her heart speed up a bit. Cole Turner was very good-looking and therefore very dangerous. To calm herself down Nicole took a sip of her drink and asked, "So what do you do?"
"I am a partner in a law firm."
"Thought so," Nicole had a very pleased smile on her face.
"You thought so?"
"Yes, from the moment I saw you."
"Why?"
"Well, you look like a professional, you live in a very plush penthouse, you drive an expensive car. So you must be either a lawyer, a doctor or a finance person. Your comment about finance people meant you were not one yourself, so it left me with the choice of a lawyer and a doctor. But you are not a doctor that was obvious, which left me with a lawyer."
"Why not a doctor?" Cole asked curiously.
Nicole shook her head. "No way, you don't have this "you can be my next patient" attitude as all doctors have."
Cole laughed. "Well, you were right. I am a lawyer."
"Good, than you can probably answer my question. My uncle has put a clause into his will that if I don't attend his funeral I will lose out on my inheritance. Is this normal?"
"When it comes to wills there is nothing normal. They are very interesting documents and sometimes contain the most bizarre conditions. I think that this one is one of the most normal ones."
"Good, I am glad that uncle Will was not a weirdo. So how was he?" Nicole took a sip of her martini. "Please, tell me about my uncle Will, how did you two meet?"
That was the question Cole did not really want to answer. He had a feeling that Nicole had no idea that her uncle was a Lugel. Hell, she had no idea what magic was other then tricks of David Copperfield. So he could not really come up with "hey, your uncle and I met in the place mortals call "Hell" where my soul went after my wife and her sisters vanquished me". However, he did not really want to start their acquaintance with a big fat lie. After a moment of hesitation Cole decided to lie but stay as close to the truth as possible.
"Well," he paused, "we met about a month and a half ago. I was out of the job and generally not going through the best part of my life. Your uncle got me my job back. So I kind of owed him a favour. He was really worried about you and asked me to help you when you'd get to San Francisco".
She frowned, "You mean that he knew he would not be able to do it himself?"
"Damn," Cole scolded in his head. What did William Schwarzlight think about! What the hell had he meant by "helping"? Helping a young Lugel to master her powers was one thing. But explaining to a woman who had always thought she was normal and mortal that she is one of the most powerful magical beings in the world was a very different story. Schwarzlight should have told her himself. Cole felt guilty. He should have thought about it before. He was so preoccupied with himself and Phoebe that he never even thought about the promise he made to William Schwarzlight. He knew that he would have to help his niece to master her powers. And he was totally prepared to keep his promise. But he never thought about her as a human being, a woman, who had beautiful green eyes and nice smile.
"Cole?" Nicole's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Is everything OK? Did you hear my question?"
"Yes, everything is fine. It's just I did not think about it before," that was a complete truth, "but now, when you mentioned it I understood that you were right. He must have known that he would not see you himself. I am sorry."
She took a sip of her drink and said in a calm voice, "You have nothing to be sorry about. It's a peculiarity of my family and has nothing to do with you."
Cole could hear tension in her voice, Nicole also felt it and to calm down had downed her glass of martini. "I might as well tell you," she continued, "or you'll start wondering about my family. I don't know much about them. My mom is English. She is a lawyer and in the 70's she went to the US on probation. There she met my father. He was a lawyer as well. So they fell in love, got married and had me. They were apparently very happy though I don't know much about it. My mother never told me much. I remember though that Uncle William visited us very often. He brought me these fantastic toys. When I was 4 years old my farther died in an accident, plane crash. And then everything changed. My mother got completely mad. She thought that my uncle and all the family here were guilty of the grief she experienced. She packed everything and moved to England with me. I know that Uncle William came to England shortly after we moved there. But my mother did not want to talk to him. He never came back. And now I found out from the letter of Uncle Will today she threatened to take me away. So he never tried again. That's how it happens that I don't know my uncle. When I arrived here I got the letter from my uncle in which he advised me to meet with you, that's you are his friend. So I hoped you could tell me something about him."
Cole frowned. He felt sorry for Nicole but also very unsure of what to do. Should he tell her the truth now, or should he wait until after the funeral. Their food arrived and this gave Cole time to collect his thoughts. He understood that she was determined to find out everything she could about Schwarzlight. He sighed and spoke up carefully choosing his words. "Look, Nicole, as I said before I know very little about your uncle. We met only a month and a half ago. "
"But than why Uncle Will picked you among all his friends to help me?"
Cole mentally left an exasperated sigh and felt the urge to blur out of the restaurant. Nicole for some reasons felt guilty. "Look Cole, I am sorry. I did not mean to intrude on you with all these questions. I guess I am very nervous. Tomorrow is the funeral. There will be lots of people there and I don't know anybody. I don't even know how my uncle looked. I never had any pictures of him and the envelope I got from the lawyers did not contain one and I did not want to ask them. I just hope he has not changed much in the last 25 years. You are the only link I have to him and I am desperate to find out what was my uncle like? What did he do in life? I have feeling like there is some sort of big secret behind this and nobody tells me. I suppose I always searched for the explanation of who my father and my uncle were and why my mother hated him so much and why she never allowed us to be in touch. I hoped that one day Uncle Will would tell me about all this but now there is little chance, is it?"
Cole was really touched by her outburst. "Nicole, the way you feel is completely normal. I am sorry I can't help you much at the moment. But I honestly believe that a lot will be explained in your uncle's will. Wait until tomorrow and a lot will become clearer. Your uncle had his reasons when he asked me to help you and believe me I will do my best. But at the moment we just have to wait."
Nicole looked deep in his eyes and believed him. She was sure that Cole knew more than he said. He did not try particularly hard to hide it. But for some reason he did not want to tell her now. And at the moment Nicole decided to believe his reasons. "Fine," she said. "I'll wait till tomorrow as you want."
Cole took a deep breath. He knew that Nicole did not believe him but she was prepared to wait and at the moment it was all he needed. His cell phone rang, he excused himself and picked up the phone. "Cole Turner."
"Good evening, Mr Turner, sorry for phoning so late. My name is Eric Sally. I am a senior partner in the law firm Sly&Sally."
Cole had heard about them, it was one of the biggest law firms in town and they had a very good relationship with Jackman, Carter. and. Kline himself used to work for Sly&Sally in the past and moved to become a partner in Jackman and Carter about 5 years ago. But he still had a lot of friends in Sly&Sally. So Cole replied very politely. "How can I help you Mr. Sally?"
"I am sorry that I bother you so late. But this matter is quite urgent and I asked Paul Kline for your cell number. I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all," Cole replied wondering what urgent matters could Eric Sally have with him?! He did not have to wait long for the explanation.
"Well, we have just been looking through the will of our client, Mr. Schwarzlight. I presume you knew him."
Cole was surprised. "Yes, I knew him."
"Well, we looked through the will and it seems that our junior partner made a mistake and missed your name among the people, mentioned in his will. Mr Schwarzlight requested your presence at his funeral and also at the announcement of the will. Both events take place tomorrow and I sincerely hope that you can make it. I have already agreed with you bosses that you meetings will be rescheduled for another day."
Cole was astonished. Schwarzlight had mentioned him in his will?! That was weird. The late Lugel had already fulfilled his part of the deal.
"Mr. Turner," the lawyer's voice interrupted Cole's thoughts, "do you think you will be able to make it. It's really important that you attend the funeral because the will contains a clause in it that if you don't you will be deleted from the heirs."
Cole was not surprise to hear about this clause. He already heard about it from Nicole. The only thing he wondered about was whether the same clause applied to other heirs. "Yes, I will be attending the funeral and the will announcement afterward. I was planning to attend it anyway; I got the card earlier this week."
"That's great." Eric sounded relieved. "Well, I will not interrupt your evening any more. I'll see you tomorrow."
Cole hung up the phone and returned to the table. Nicole looked curiously at him. "Everything OK?"
"Yes," Cole sat down. "It actually was you uncle's lawyer. They seemed to have missed part of the will before, so apparently I am mentioned there as well and I have to attend the funeral and should come to the will announcement."
"Oh," Cole expected Nicole to be surprised but she was not.
"You are not surprised?" he exclaimed.
"No, not really. Don't know why. I think I have passed the surprise stage. There have been way too many of those recently."
He nodded and then stiffened. A couple just entered the restaurant. And this couple was Phoebe and her new boyfriend Jason Dean. Cole had not seen Phoebe since their divorce five days ago and now he was not prepared for it. Nicole who was looking at Cole saw him freeze and stare at the entrance. She followed his gaze and saw a dark haired petite woman and a blond tall guy next to her. The waiter invited them to follow him and she saw Cole's eyes following the couple.
"Is this your ex?"
The sound of her voice pulled Cole out of his stupor. "Ah?" he looked up at her. "What did you say?"
"Is this your ex?" she nodded towards Phoebe and Jason.
"Yes," he took a deep breath, "it's my ex wife."
"I am sorry," she said sincerely, "do you want to go?"
"No," Cole tried to concentrate his attention on Nicole. "There is no need." he smiled at her. "Do you fancy some desert?"
"After all that food? No way I won't be able to get up."
Cole felt somebody staring at him and he did not have to guess twice who it was. Phoebe had finally discovered his presence and he could feel her eyes boring into the side of his had. His features tensed and Nicole noticed it. "Cole, you are trying so hard not to look at your ex wife and your smile is so tensed that I am surprise how are you not exploding. Look, I don't want to interfere in your life and don't want to cause any offence. I just think that either we can stay here and ruin perfectly pleasant evening or we can go and enjoy a drink somewhere else."
He appreciated her honesty, she did not try to ignore the situation but also did not try to ask any questions and the most important she was right. It was also right that he didn't run every time he'd see Phoebe but at the moment he was tired, he had had a long day and it was going to be a long day tomorrow. He sighed and nodded. "You're right. Let's go." he pulled his wallet out and the waiter immediately appeared on his side. When they were leaving the restaurant Cole shot a quick glance at Phoebe. She was smiling at Jason Dean and shot similar quick glance at Cole. Their eyes met and then Cole turned his gaze away. There was no point trying to see feelings, which were not there. The night breeze touched his face.
"So where do you want to go?" he asked trying to sound casual.
"I guess you want to go home," Nicole said, "that's fine by me. You already have cheered up my evening. Otherwise I would be sitting in my hotel and enjoying the 400th rerun of Cheers."
Cole chuckled. After the encounter with Phoebe he expected that he would want to go back to the Penthouse and sit there feeling miserably. But for some reason he did not feel like it at the moment. For a long time he has been stuck in a complete solitude and it was the first time he enjoyed a dinner and chat with somebody who was not a client and who was not telling him that he was an evil bastard. He definitely welcomed the change and said in a slightly mocked voice. "Who says I want to go home?"
She looked at him curiously, "You kidding me? I thought it was a rule: meet your ex – want to be alone?"
Cole shook his head. "Been there, done that. So unless you are not too tired we can go for a drink. I actually know a nice place just round the corner."
"No, I am not tired. After sleeping for 30 h straight you have a lot of energy."
"Thirty hours?"
She laughed, "Yes, see, I'm scared of flying, absolutely terrified to be honest. So I took a sleeping pill, actually two, and slept for 14 hours on the plane and 15 hours afterwards."
"That's impressive. So flying is your phobia? Anything else?"
"No, this is the only one. What about you?"
"I don't really know, never came across one."
"Lucky you."
They kept talking until very late and when he dropt her off at the hotel it was already past midnight. Nicole went to her room and in her head she still saw Cole, how he was in this bar they went to: relaxed, confident, funny. On the other hand back at the restaurant he looked completely hung up on his wife and therefore slightly vulnerable. This was dangerous, very- very dangerous. So it was a nice night out and it should be the only night with him. She could remember how it started with Chris and where it led. One "just divorced man" in a lifetime was enough.