AN: Back to writing, or at least trying to. Sorry about leaving Simpler Life as it was - just not feeling it right now.
Patchwork Heart
The noise of a passing garbage truck momentarily deafened the crowd, jolting Logan out of his thoughts only to be overwhelmed by the ever-present cacophony of the city. It wasn't news to him. He'd been here a thousand times before. This time, however, it took him a moment to notice the people around him who'd been waiting at the same crossroad for the light to turn green, had already stepped onto the road, before he followed them. The light was different here - he could definitely tell, but despite all his travels, he'd never paid attention to it. His fifteen minutes of 'something' in Palo Alto had been fun while it lasted, but he could sense with every fiber of his being that this was going to go differently.
A vintage designer messenger bag in fine Italian leather hung across his chest, a reminder of his old life, not even the one he'd briefly lived on the West coast but one more deeply rooted in the Connecticut country clubs and the traditions that had picked his path for far too long. There had never been any question about which college he'd attend or which career path awaited him, growing up. Logan clung onto the bag's strap, clenching his fist. It wasn't that he desperately needed to hang onto something familiar, it was rather a need to prove something mixed in with hope that the first thing he wouldn't be judged on was his last name and what it stood for. Here the name actually meant something to most people, but he wasn't quite sure how much of that was good.
An approving head to toe glance from a passing pair of giggling women in killer heels extending their colorful-tight clad long legs even more, most likely making their way to a modeling office of some sort nearby, helped to remind him of his confidence, causing him to chuckle to himself. He might've made the decision to forgo his family's fortune - a mistake he'd grow to regret according to almost everyone who'd shared their opinion on it, but at least he still had his looks, charm and wits going for him. It was the latter he was going to have to prove first hand, however, and to take the first step at that he pressed the buzzer to the office he was heading to, its door hidden between a deli and an antique bookshop.
It was a three-story walk-up, not exactly the type of office he was accustomed to. But it was the price of starting from scratch. The key still had the real-estate agency's keychain on it, and he was in no urgency to bother with such trivialities. But to his surprise he found the door unlocked.
"Ah, there you are!" came a jolly welcome as Finn popped his head out of one of the offices down the hall, explaining the unlocked door.
"Never thought I'd see you in here before noon," Logan replied.
"I never left. Cassie left mere five minutes ago," Finn mused.
"Remind me to make sure we won't be hiring any redheads for the assistant jobs," Logan commented in passing and made his way to the office designated as his.
"You forget - I'm not that picky," Finn added.
"Were you ever?" Logan snorted to himself, however, not ill meaningly. "We'll just stick to men, shall we?" he added more loudly.
"I said, I'm not picky," Finn snickered in laughter.
Logan couldn't say he was surprised, even if the details of Finn's ventures were never something he cared to be too familiar with, but either way they were going to have to find someone to handle their day-to-day existence in this place soon enough, someone who wouldn't sleep with Finn the first week on the job at least.
"You know what time Colin's gonna get here?" Logan asked, shifting the subject. It was one thing to go into business for himself, but he had the strength of both of his good friends right there besides him, Colin's father having passed, giving him an opportunity to try other ventures. Finn - he had maintained his other ongoings, related to his family business, but just as he had never really seen Finn work, he seemed to be juggling the lot of it just fine and spare time for this venture as well. The weird part of it was, however, that it was the first time the three of them were in something together with Logan bringing only a little more than his brain and charm. He wasn't used to being the one to be carried on other people's shoulders, but at least for the time being he was going to have to overcome the feeling of shame.
"Later in the afternoon, I think. He was hoping to get his apartment sorted today," Finn explained, continuing to speak from the room across the hall. Colin was moving to the City from Boston, much like Logan, making a real physical change in his life.
"You should see the pigeon hole I'm renting," Logan pitched in. It was an adjustment for sure.
"I told you you could've stayed with me," Finn replied, having no problems housing an entire penthouse floor of one of his family's buildings. But Logan was stubborn about charity.
"Thank you, but no thank you," Logan shot a direct look towards his friend, knowing he needn't explain why he felt this way.
"At least it's nearby, right?" Finn inquired.
"Yeah, a couple of blocks from here," Logan replied, knowing well that the fact alone made him lucky. A one-bedroom apartment in Tribeca was going to have to do until they got this place off the ground. The three of them made a good team in theory - business consultancy, focusing on tech startups and intellectual property topics, Colin handling the legal part, Finn the PR and Logan everything in between. But whether this was going to work or not, remained to be seen.
"Good. It's bad enough to have to witness Jordan Chase buy your Porsche and boast about it, I wouldn't want to have to start worrying about you getting mugged on your way to work," Finn added, almost endearingly.
"I can take care of myself, Finn. But thanks for your concern," Logan replied, skeptically raising his right eyebrow at him. Logan tried to downplay the fact that it was news to him that his dad had had his old car sold, he certainly wasn't happy about the identity of its new owner, but he tried to raise above it.
"Gentlemen, you're looking at the new owner of Jake Gyllenhaal's penthouse. The man had no intention of selling, but I could be persuasive," Colin announced, stepping in by pushing the door wide, behaving like royalty.
"Good to have you with us," Logan called out, knowing there was little point in reacting on his spending habits.
"Also, if you have any plans for tonight, cancel them. My realtor, lovely woman - by the way - got us in on a new club opening. She promised to bring a couple of girlfriends along. So don't worry - knowing her you won't be sorry," Colin added.
Logan rolled his eyes. "What did I say about trying to set me up?" Logan reminded him.
"That you were 'fine' and didn't need to be, but I think we all know that's not true. Don't you agree, Finn?" Colin replied, mockingly.
"Uh, what?" Finn shot back, sounding distracted.
"That Logan could use to have a little fun," Colin recapped things for Finn.
"Oh, absolutely!" Finn agreed like it was the most obvious thing in the world and answer to everything.
"I've had fun. Or did you forget Genevieve? And Susanna," Logan added, nearly struggling to recall the second girl's name. There had been others in the past few years, of course. But these two were the ones that had stuck around for longer than a week and actually been visible to his buddies at one time or another.
"Yeah, but you're in the city now! Back in the real world! Live a little!" Finn insisted, being very much the believer that the heart of the party lived in NYC.
"Fine. If I must. I had the intention of going over the Lexington strategy, but…," Logan went on to try guilting them, but knew there was little use. There was no changing their mind and he knew that deep down his friends only did have his best interest in mind. He knew, however, also, that his friends had a tendency to forget that for him this business wasn't just a fun venture, but a lot more was at stake for him. He needed this to work. He needed a win.
"The Lexington will be there tomorrow. Sam Bronson is going to his cousins wedding tonight, so I don't expect him to be a hurry with out ideas just yet. You should remember what his family's parties are like," Finn added.
That was certainly the truth. Logan had attended many of their extravagant parties in the past. A large part of the success they aimed to achieve with this company was down to the connections and inside information that the three of them had.
"I just don't want this to turn into one of our European trips, if you know what I mean," Logan said, sounding almost like a senior citizen.
Colin snorted, indicating his contempt of Mr. Buzzkill.
"Just because I don't want to spend every night partying like the old days…," Logan began, realizing a little too late that there was little point in explaining his reasoning. The guys just didn't get it. They had fallbacks and plan C-s, he didn't.
"It is beyond me what made you this way, Logan. But I most certainly ain't planning on stopping any time soon," Finn said, and picked up his phone with a honey-sweet tone - "Well hello, darling," speaking to no-one he was seriously involved with.
"Well, maybe this was a mistake then. Should I stop unpacking?" Logan asked Colin, dramatically, who was left in earshot.
"Come one, you know we're not that serious. Okay, fine - he's serious. But was that ever news to either of us? The work will still be there tomorrow. Let's celebrate getting this place up and running. Things will be fine, I even got some work done on the plane here. I already have some ideas on Lexington," Colin explained, understandingly.
"Now, I like the sound of that," Logan mused.
"You know, you're sounding very much like your dad…," Colin teased, and received a scolding punch against his shoulder, but all he did was chuckle.