Chloé stood there in silence and foolishly hoped that he wouldn't notice her. But she was sure he had done that the moment he had entered the room. He was also looking directly at her and seemed quite happy to see her, something that she never thought he would be ever again.
"Hi, Chloé." Luka said and stepped farther into the room. "How are you?"
His blue eyes scanned her face, and it almost seemed as if he was searching for something there. She knew no one would notice anything, but it still made her wonder if the signs from the damage that guy from the alley had done were there for anyone to notice if they just looked close enough.
"I'm good." Chloé said.
She wanted to add that she felt a bit tired, but decided not to. She didn't want to hold this conversation longer than she had to. Her sister would return soon, and Chloé would make some excuse and leave.
"I was actually hoping to meet you."
Chloé nodded at first, but realised exactly what he had said.
"You what?" she asked and didn't hide the surprise in her voice.
He took a couple of more steps inside the room and this time he walked right towards her. He stopped a few meters away from her and still had that happy smile on his lips that almost made Chloé want to smile herself, but just almost.
"Why?" Chloé asked.
Why would he want to meet her? Unless he wanted to tell her exactly what he thought about her and ask her to leave him alone. It wasn't like she had contacted him in any sort of way and the only time she had actually been around him was when she had been at that music store. But she didn't know it was his.
"I just wanted to catch up with you. Have you been in Paris long?"
"Just a few days." Chloé answered.
"And you are living at your father's hotel?"
"Currently, yes."
"Are you alright?" Luka wondered.
Chloé blinked twice before she looked up at him for the first time since he stopped in front of her. He looked concerned and seemed to really want to know if she was alright. Maybe she had failed with her makeup this time? Or did she look tired? Maybe both.
"Didn't I say that I was good just a few seconds ago?" Chloé wondered.
"Yes, you did. I forgot."
Chloé didn't want to be rude, but she knew she didn't deserve any kindness from Luka after what she did last year. She was a horrible person that did not deserve kindness from anyone, or at least that's how it felt when someone she had hurt in the past stood in front of her and seemed to not care about it anymore.
Could she forgive someone that hurt her? It was something she never had thought about before. But it was possible, depending on who it was and what they had done. Although Luka had not forgiven her or even mentioned what she did in the past. At least not yet. Not that she assumed he would do that, she knew what kind of person he was.
Chloé wasn't sure what she would do. She could either excuse herself and tell Luka that she was going to get her sister. But that seemed odd knowing that the apartment wasn't that big and Zoé had told Chloé where she was going. She didn't want to leave either, especially now when she could hang out with her sister.
"What's the plan?" Luka asked.
"Plan?" Chloé wondered and looked back at him.
"Are you staying in Paris or are you going back to New York?"
She wanted to ask him how he knew that she had been in New York, but she didnt. He had probably heard it from someone else, possible from Zoé, rather than seen it from any of Chloé's social medias. He had stopped following her there a long time ago.
"I'm not going back to New York, so I'm staying here in Paris." Chloé explained.
"Do you have a job?" Luka asked.
"Not yet."
She wanted a job just as much as she needed one. She was going to move into Adrien's apartment if everything went the right way and because of that she needed some money to pay for things. If only her mother could have been loving rather than mean, things would have been so much easier in her life then.
"I actually need someone to handle my store Mondays to Thursdays and some weekends as well. I was wondering if you wanted to work there?" Luka said and gave Chloé an honest look when he noticed that she seemed unsure if he had been serious or not.
Why would he offer her a job? After everything she had done? Chloé knew that he was kind, but she didn't think he was that kind.
"Why are you offering me a job?" Chloé wondered at last.
"Well, I know you, and I know that you give it you all when you work and that's something I'm looking for in a worker." Luka explained.
"I don't know anything about music. I cant hardly even name more than two instruments."
"That's fine."
She knew it couldn't be fine and doubted any customer would want to come back if a worker mixed up a piano with a violin. They would probably laugh at her if she did that.
"I don't know." Chloé said.
"You would mostly be at the checkout, so don't worry too much about not knowing what is what. And you know, if you work there for some time I'm sure you would end up learning a lot either way." Luka quickly explained.
"Why me? I'm sure there's a lot of people out there that would be more suitable for that kind of position." Chloé said and didn't hide how upset this whole conversation was staring to make her feel.
Why would he be so kind to someone that hurt him so badly? It didn't make any sense.
"Because I think you need it. Maybe you can try it out for one day and see if you like it?" Luka suggested.
"I don't know." Chloé said and looked down.
She knew she needed a job, but would she actually accept his offer? It's not like she said yes and would be forced to work there for the rest of her life and it also seemed as if she would be able to walk away on the very first day if she didn't like it.
"Chloé." Luka said and made her look up at him. "I know we didn't go separate ways in the best circumstances the last time we saw each other. But I want you to know that I don't hate you for it. I have actually missed you quite a lot and after I saw you fall from that building I knew I had to reach out to you and let you know that I don't hate you."
Chloé nodded.
She didn't know if she could speak, but she felt like she had to. He had just removed one thing from her conscience that had been there for some time. It made her heart feel less heavy.
"Thank you for telling me this. I'm sorry that I said those things to you. I didn't know what I was doing." Chloé explained.
She had known what she was doing and why she had been telling him all of that. It wasn't true anymore though, or at least she thought it wasn't any longer. It almost felt as if he had been replaced by someone with green eyes. But Chloé pressed those thoughts away from her mind. This wasn't the right time to think about that.
Luka smiled at her.
"So, what do you say?" he finally wondered.
"I would love to work at your store." Chloé answered.
"Perfect. Can I get your number so I can text you all the information you need? Do you want to start tomorrow then?"
Chloé gave him her number and thought about if she wanted to start working tomorrow. It's not like she had something else going on in her life.
"Sure. Tomorrow sounds fine."
Before Luka had a chance to say anything else Zoé entered the room and walked over to them.
"What are you two doing?" she wondered.
"I just offered your sister a job at my store."
"Really?" Zoé said and smiled at Chloé before she turned to Luka. "What did she say?"
"She said yes." Luka answered.
"She is also in the room and can speak perfectly fine." Chloé said to the both of them.
Both Luka and Zoé started laughing and Chloé followed soon after. She had to admit that it was nice seeing her sister happy and hearing her laugh. It made Chloé feel a happiness she hadn't felt in a while and she knew that this awful week was finally over and another, much better, would start soon.
