Persuasion

Bloodstream

Hamburg, Germany - September 2015

"I should have spent a little more time brushing up on my German" I thought as I was wandering down a hallway with only German titles on the doors.

"How do they not have numbers?" this time I spoke my frustrations aloud.

I turned the corner and stopped for a minute, the security guard downstairs had tried to give me directions but his accent was heavy and I didn't want to embarrass him (or myself) by asking him to repeat them a third time. So here I stood. I swore he said a left, a right and the third door on the right but that led only to an empty stairwell.

It was then I heard a voice "Well we'll have to see what we can do. I'm in town for a couple more days. Let's set up a meeting in the morning and go over some of the details" it was a man's voice and it was English. I hurried around the corner and saw him.

"Logan" although I said it, it was barely audible. Wow he looked incredible.

His eyes met hers "Ace. . ." I blushed at his use of my nick name "Rory Gilmore, of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world. What are you doing here?"

"Immediately, I'm trying to find the copy editor's office. The security guard and I have a little bit from Lost in Translation going. That of course paired with my excellent sense of direction and impeccable German reading skills. I heard someone speaking English and I came running. Wow I'm the reason why Americans are hated the world over" I was babbling.

"Oh now don't let the Kardashians off that easily" he smiled. "Besides I've heard that if you just talk louder that bridges any language barrier"

"Useful tip Hutzberger"

He took a business card out of his jacket pocket and wrote something on the back. He handed it to me "After your meeting, come find me. It's been too long Ace"

"Oh come on, this isn't English either" I teased looking at the words on the card.

"It is in fact German, there is a little cafe just down the street from here with these exact words written on the sign." He joked.

"That sounds great Logan"

"Hey Kurt" he leaned back into the office that he just exited "could you help escort this lovely woman to the copy editor's office?"

"Absolutely Mr. Huntzberger"

"Mr. Hutzberger" I mouthed to Logan, pretending to be impressed.

"I'll see you in a while Miss Gilmore. Good luck in your meeting. Thanks again Kurt." He said walking towards the elevator.

After my meeting, I stepped onto the elevator. I caught my reflection in the mirror against the opposing wall before the door on the elevator closed. I was wearing my red dress. It was my go to outfit for my big meetings lately. I read an article about people thinking you were more important and powerful if you wore red. With how my work life had been going lately, I needed all the help I could get.

I dropped the visitor's badge back to the security desk smiling. Not daring to try and communicate again. The security guard seemed relieved.

I found the cafe and spotted Logan in a little table in the back typing feverishly on his laptop. I couldn't help but smile when I saw him. He had barely aged since I saw him last. His hair was different, smooth and neat not like the messy cut he sported in college. He was wearing a dark blue suit with a crisp white shirt that had obviously been tailored to fit close to his body. He had taken off the tie that he was wearing when she saw him earlier and unbuttoned the top several buttons on his shirt. I bit my lip thinking about how gorgeous he looked just sitting there. He spotted me staring at him and I quickly slid into the chair across from his, certain my cheeks were red from being caught watching him.