“Hey Cee,” Zoe greeted Chloe with a smile when she returned to the Cartier Transport office.

“Hi Zoe. You look happy,” Chloe replied. “Did something good happen this morning?”

“Yeah. I found a place of my own,” Zoe happily answered. “Here, let me send you some pictures.”

“Found your Kaisers’ camera function?” Cee asked. Zoe nodded as she sent the pictures she had taken of the houseboat to Chloe. “This is a houseboat.”

“Yeah. It’s neat,” Zoe said.

“This is from the marina we sent you to?” Cee asked.

“Yeah.”

“It’s tiny. No bedroom?” Cee replied.

“The bedroom and its private bathroom are almost as big as the main deck and are located down the stairs in the fourth picture,” Zoe answered. “I took a couple of pictures.”

“I see,” Chloe said as she looked through the pictures. “The bedroom doesn’t have any windows. Neither does the bathroom.”

“I know and that’s fine. I like sleeping in the dark, but I could always sleep on the couch too,” Zoe answered. “The main deck has a ton of windows to make up for the lack of them in the stateroom.”

“Oh. Wow! The whole sides are basically windows,” Chloe said as she found the pictures showing the shutters opened. “Those are some nice-looking views too.”

“Yeah. I really like the views. The Manhattan skyline at night should look amazing from there,” Zoe agreed.

“It even has a roof deck,” Cee said. “How much is the rent?”

“3K a month.”

“That’s not bad considering the location,” Chloe said.

“I have two weeks to come up with the deposit. They are cleaning and refurnishing the houseboat,” Zoe said. “On the plus side, Tiffany, the marina’s day manager, let me pick out some of the furnishings.”

Chloe laughed. “So that is what took you so long.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Zoe protested. “I made all my runs and made it back by two.”

“You should have been back by one,” Cee replied.

“Ah, but Henri kept saying he didn’t have anything else for anyone today whenever I called him,” Zoe countered.

“Alright. You have a point,” Chloe conceded.

“That’s not a terrible place or price,” Henri said as he joined the two women.

“I sent the rent and pictures to him,” Chloe said.

“Ok.”

“Living on the Hudson can be rough during the winter or whenever we get big storms though,” Henri said. “That’s probably why the rent is so cheap. Apartments near the marina go for at least five thousand a month.”

“Cartier Transport. This is Chloe, how may I assist you?” Chloe said aloud. Zoe started to say something when Henri held a finger up to his lips. Zoe nodded. “How many? Uh huh.”

“Big job?” Zoe mouthed to Henri.

“Yes,” he whispered.

“Right. I will have Zoe, one of our couriers, to you within half an hour,” Chloe said. She sent Zoe an address, job details, and contact information. Cee then made a shooing motion with her hands.

“Lincoln Bowery of EcoFoods wants 30 invitations delivered before noon tomorrow! I want more than 25 or 50 credits for this job Henri,” Zoe told her boss.

“We’ll treat each invitation as an individual job because that is how I’m billing for it,” Henri replied. “Corporate types like Bowery can afford it. Now get!”

“I’m going! I’m going!” Zoe said heading to the door.

“Hey Zoe,” Chloe called out.

“Yeah?” Zoe asked turning back to the other two.

“You did say you wanted more work. So, you better step on it and pray you don’t get caught by the cops,” Cee said while giving Zoe a grin.

“Wow! That’s some advice. Thanks!” Zoe replied before exiting the office. Chloe’s and Henri’s laughter chased her out.

*

“You’re the courier? Zoe, isn’t it?” A harried looking redhead woman asked.

“Yes. I’m Zoe Blanco from Cartier Transport,” Zoe replied flicking the woman her credentials. The woman raised an eyebrow at Zoe’s unnecessary antics but didn’t say anything about it.

“Excellent! I am Linda Powell, Mr Lincoln Bowery’s personal assistant,” the woman said. She picked up two stacks of sealed envelopes. “These invitations are to Mr Bowery’s dinner party tomorrow night and must be delivered ASAP.”

“Do the invitations have to be delivered to the intended recipient directly or can they be left at the front desk if the intended part is not home?” Zoe asked.

“You can leave them with the front desk of their buildings, if necessary, though we would prefer they be left with someone at the home,” Linda answered. So much for just leaving the things at the front desk. “All of the invited guests live in NOHO, SOHO, Hudson Yards, or Tribeca so that should cut down on your travel distance once you reach those neighborhoods.”

“Do any of the guests live in the same buildings?” Zoe asked.

“A few,” Linda answered. “Pay careful attention to the addresses. Ten of the invitations are addressed to the guest’s boutique or gallery. The galleries are in NOHO and the boutiques in SOHO.”

“Ok,” Zoe replied. She checked the time. It was 10 minutes till 3PM. She slipped her backpack around and unzipped it. “I’ll need the invitations.”

“Oh! Of course,” Linda said taking her hands off the stacks. Zoe took them and placed the stacks in her bag before zipping it shut. “Do you have any other questions?”

“Um…would the guests mind if I showed up after dark?” Zoe asked.

“As long as it’s before 8PM. Anything later than that would be unseemly!” the personal assistant replied.

“Of course,” Zoe agreed trying not to laugh.

“Any replies that the guests want you to return will be considered a bonus delivery. I’ll add that them to the Cartier Transport fee,” Linda said. “If you get all the deliveries done before 10AM, I will give you a 100-credit bonus as well.”

“I’ll do the best I can,” Zoe promised. “If you’ll confirm I have the invitations, I’ll be off.”

“Done,” Linda said sending Zoe a digital confirmation.

“Thanks!” Zoe replied turning and briskly walking to the elevator.

“Well, she certainly looks the part with all that leather she is wearing,” Linda muttered to herself turning to her next task.