New Character #8: Brandon

Brandon always felt highly satisfied after a meeting like this. He and his colleagues from London had just secured another deal with a bank on Manhattan that all parts seemed pleased with, even though Brandon estimated that his bank would benefit a bit more from it than this small New York bank would.

"Well done in there, Brandon", James Richards, the head of his department, said as they walked out from the bank. Brandon felt himself grow at least an inch taller from the praise, but kept a humble face. His two co-workers, Catherine and Liam, were already quite annoyed with him always keeping a step ahead of them. They probably saw him has someone who sucked up to the bosses, but in his eyes he was simply keeping his eyes on the target; a promotion. He wanted to be the youngest board-member his bank had ever had and that meant working hard and staying focused, constantly.

"I just did what anyone would have done", he therefore said to Mr Richards. The broad-shouldered man with greying hair barked out a laugh.

"Nonsense, Brandon; that was talent! You have a talent for this."

He grinned, then quickly took out his buzzing phone.

"It's the office", he said. "I'll call you later; we have much to discuss. Hello?"

He walked off towards a waiting taxi cab while enigmatically describing to the office back in London how the deal had been secured. Brandon was pleased to hear his name mentioned at least twice before the door of the yellow car closed.

"Can I give you a ride, Sir?" another cab-driver asked. Brandon hesitated; he could head back to the hotel and spend the remainder of the day there, of course, but this was New York; he had been so focused on this deal that he had not had time to walk around for a bit.

"I'm fine", he therefore told the driver. "Two of my colleagues will be out soon, though; a brunette in a blue skirt and a ginger man. Ask them."

"Will do, Sir", the man replied and tipped his hat. "Where are you heading?"

"Oh, I don't know just yet", Brandon replied, gazing up the road. "I'll take the subway some place, I guess, and find some place that serves good tea."

"Here's a tip", the driver said. "There's a newly opened café not far from here that's got some incredible service. It's run by a group of exchange students and the prices are very reasonable. I don't drink much tea myself, mind, so I can't say how that tastes, but I think it'll be better than what those chain coffee shops serve."

Brandon chuckled; he had been avoiding everything that was even remotely like Starbucks ever since he got there for that specific reason.

"Well, I could always check it out and get back to you on that", he said. "Where is it?"

"You walk down this road", the driver said, pointing in the opposite direction that Brandon had been looking in, "cross Prince Street and then turn right onto Spring Street. Follow that road until you see a sign for a street called Wooster Street. The café's right up in the corner of that crossroad, so you can't miss it."

Brandon looked in the direction he was meant to be walking, considered it for a moment and then nodded.

"Alright, I'll check it out. Thanks for the tip."

"Anytime, mate", the driver said, lifting his hat and showing off his strawberry blonde hair. Brandon shook his head at the pleasantries before he walked in the direction the driver had pointed out for him.

The sky above his head was clear that day, but that also meant that the air was cold. Clouds escaped from his mouth and nose as he walked, something that he had always enjoyed seeing. Winter had always been his preferred season of the year and as a kid his father had taken him skiing in the Alps. He missed those adventures, but having adventures at this time would be very untimely; from Mr Richards' words he believed he would get a promotion later this week, possibly even today.

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat as he walked and berated himself for forgetting his gloves at the hotel. Maybe it had been better to take the cab to this place.

Then he saw it; the sign hanging outside what seemed to be an ordinary apartment building. He did not know how but he knew that it was the café's sign, a thought that got confirmed as he got closer and read the text.

The Enchanted Forest Café

Two floors up

He looked up the side of the white building, wondering if this really was a good idea, before his curiosity got the better of him and he pushed the black door open. Inside he found a regular set of buzzer buttons outside an iron gate. He pressed the one marked with EF Café and heard the mechanical click in the gate when it was unlocked. On the way up he could smell the tea being served and felt himself smile. This place did indeed serve good tea.