“Thank you,” Chloe huffed over her shoulder, completely forgetting that the cab driver had not known a single word of English and now probably thought that she had uttered a curse in his direction as he drove away.
She limped across the fashionable driveway, stumbling under the weight of her suitcase. Chloe wished she had not packed so much- would she really need it all if she would likely be spending all of her time studying? That question had not occurred to her as she had been hastily packing several days ago back in her small home town in Washington. She had only gotten her invitation to the ESSEC Business School of Paris a week before she was supposed to be leaving and now that she was here, dragging her suitcase towards the student living headquarters, she wasn’t overly thrilled, as she had thought she would be. So far, her trip had been not been exhilarating whatsoever. In fact, the snoring lady in front of her and the screaming baby behind her had been the most memorable parts of her journey and they made the flight more of an exhaustive event rather than an enjoyable ride.
“Bonjour, and welcome. You must be Chloe,” the man at the front desk greeted her in French. How he knew her name Chloe had no idea, but he pronounced it rather oddly and at the moment that took away all of her attention. She relaxed her grip on her enormous yellow suitcase and promptly allowed herself to breathe.
“Yes,” she responded with a slightly shaky French accent. “Do you know where I will be staying?”
“I most certainly do, miss. Follow me.” He grabbed Chloe’s suitcase as easily as if it weighted no more than a feather and lugged it up a beautifully ornamented flight of stairs, which were covered in romantic velvet carpeting. Chloe rushed to obey his order- she did not wish to lose sight of her things. After all, she had already spent an overwhelming amount of strength and time on bringing them here. Losing them now would be most detrimental.
“Here is your room,” he pronounced grandly, unlocking one of the many doors in a long hallway. He disappeared inside, setting down the suitcase, and then stepped back out smartly as though he had not just performed a tremendous amount of exercise, holding out a golden hotel key.
“Thank you,” Chloe stammered, still a bit out of breath. She took the key and then entered her room. And then nearly fell over.
“Whoa!” she exclaimed. Then, remembering that the doorman likely only spoke French, she added: “It’s beautiful.”
And beautiful it was. The carpeting here was much softer and a grand golden color. There was a modest but still obviously expensive writing desk in the corner by the window, and an enormous king size bed with over ten purple silky pillows. And beyond the window: what a view! A lush green park opened up just to the right, and directly across and below her window was a large, obviously popular restaurant with a parking space filled to the brim. Beyond that was a river, with the water reflecting romantically the last rays of the setting sun.
“Your friend Damian will be very happy to hear that you like it,” the doorman said.
“My friend?” Chloe questioned.
“The one who sent you your letter of invitation. He will be personally meeting you soon. He wishes to cooperate with you and perhaps set up a job position for you as well. That is all I know.”
Chloe pondered this for a minute with an expression of deep confusion, excitement and gratitude. She nodded to the doorman.
“Thank you very much,” she pronounced carefully. “Tell him I can meet him whenever he wants, if you see him.”
“Of course,” the doorman responded. “I will inform him as soon as I can.” Then he turned and left without another word, leaving Chloe to her hurricane of thoughts and new expectations.