Page 39 of Before We Ever Spoke

35

“Good evening, Mr. Madison. I am calling to inform you that your Town Car has arrived, as requested, Sir,” Simon Craig informed the famous tenant of Suite 1100.

“Good deal, thank you, Simon,” Coop replied. “We are on our way down.”

Minutes later the doors to the elevator opened and Coop emerged with Cara Knox in tow. Simon made sure to meet them as they stepped out of the elevator so he could personally escort them to the waiting luxury car.

As he approached the couple, Simon tried his best to get a read on Cara and the two caught each other’s stare for a brief moment. Cara gave Simon a quick wide-eyed expression as if to say she wasn’t really sure what was going on either. She also knew Simon well enough to know that he was dying to know.

Sorry, Simon, that’s all you get for now…

A lanky man, who appeared to be of Indian descent, welcomed the trio outside. The driver, dressed in a black suit, opened the back door to the shiny black Lincoln Town Car for his new clients.

“Have a wonderful evening Mr. Madison,” Simon said as the driver closed the door.

“Thanks again, Simon,” Coop answered, discreetly slipping the concierge a hundred dollar bill. “For everything…”

“My pleasure, sir,” Simon replied.

“Bye, Simon!” Cara said as she rolled down the window from the backseat.

“Goodbye, Miss Knox,” Simon said with a smile and a subtle nod, before turning around and heading back to the Westcott Hotel.

She better give me a play-by-play…

“Where shall I take you, Sir?” the driver asked after entering the car.

“Actually, that’s a question for her,” Coop replied, gesturing towards Cara.

“We’re heading to Brook Park,” Cara said. “Take the Snow Road exit off I-71, please, and I’ll tell you from there.”

“Absolutely, Miss. My name is Rahul. Please do not hesitate to ask for anything,” the driver said, with a hint of an accent.

“Thanks, Rahul. My name is Cara and this is Cooper,” she replied.

“Welcome, welcome,” Rahul answered as he merged onto Interstate 71 South towards Brook Park.

Earlier that evening, while out on the balcony, Coop asked Cara to tell him more about where she was from.

“I’d rather show you,” Cara had answered. “Do you have a car here?”

“Not at the moment, actually,” Coop replied. “But, I can get us one.”

When Coop went back inside and used the phone, Cara assumed he was calling a taxi. She didn’t realize he had rented a Town Car until she walked outside.

“So, why don’t you own a car?” Cara asked as the Town Car made its way southbound.

“Oh, I own a few cars,” Coop said matter-of-factly. “I just don’t have any that I can drive here in Cleveland right now. I have a couple in storage in Chicago, and the other has been in a shop on the east side for the past month.”

“What’s wrong with it?” Cara asked.

“Well if you ask the guy that I’m paying to fix it, every single thing you can think of,” Coop laughed. “I swear I could buy the same truck three times over for how much it has cost me to refurbish this one.”

“Refurbish? Is it an antique?” Cara asked.

“No, it’s not that old, but it suffered a lot of damage and has sentimental value,” Coop replied. “It was the truck I bought for my daddy after I made the majors…”

“Oh…” Cara said, regretting that she kept asking questions, “I can see why you’d want to fix it up.”

---