Jonas sat back down in the chair opposite Cat smiling softly. “Joe has been keeping this very special blend of coffee just for me” he said looking at Catherine with his piercing gaze, almost reading her like a book. “But in your state, I thought you might need some, they say in Sweden that these beans have healing properties” He caught himself before he said anymore almost giving himself away. He eyed Catherine almost as if he knew her. He did, there was nothing that she could hide from him. All her secrets were his. “Nicholas is not here, you need not worry, relax” he said softly understanding that this boy was the source of her anxiety. He recognized her from High School, albeit vaguely. He noticed that her parka was soaked with coffee and the weather was getting worse. He touched he edge of his leather jacket and imbued it with warmth. At once, he got up and wrapped the jacket around the young woman sitting across from him. He knew that she must have been cold, though she tried to hide it.<br/><br/>The café was indeed warm and one of the things Jonas genuinely appreciated was the anonymity it provided him. Here he was just another person sipping coffee and reading and not “Jonas Akerlund son of Gustav of Akerlund Steel” He knew he could have this woman any way he wanted, but there was something special about here that he could not put his thumb on. He wanted to save her. These thoughts of hers were much too intense and from a distance, the fiery pain burned him as well. He looked at his watch and realized he had lost track of time after using his gift to comfort the young girl. “I must be going it is late and I have a board meeting to get to” After all it was 9pm and Stockholm was 9 hours ahead of them. He really did have a board meeting, but Jonas had an ulterior motive for leaving so soon after meeting this woman. He would use his business connections to find out more about her. He stood up as custom demanded and shook her hand again. “Keep the jacket and get back to your dorm safely, I assume you are a student here? I am sure we will cross paths again” Swedes were very direct, and he handed her his business card. Emblazoned on a cream background was the Swedish flag and the words “Jonas Akerlund - Chef för internationell upphandling. Stockholm, Sverige – Jonas Akerlund Manager for International Procurement. The card had his number and all his social media handles.<br/><br/>“Joseph, please make sure that this young woman gets more of this coffee” Jonas said placing his hand on a bag of the Swedish coffee on the counter both indicating what he wanted her to drink and adding warmth and relaxation energy into the beans. He leaned in and whispered into Joe’s ear “No one else” He walked towards the door and turned back “Please do call me” He said tempted to plant the thought into her mind, but he decided against it. He opened the café door and a gust of cold wind enveloped him immediately. He stepped out into the cold grey night; the streets illuminated with a phosphorescent orange glow from the streetlamps. He walked around the back where his BMW M Series was waiting for him.<br/><br/>He stepped into the driver’s seat and drove off into the night. BMW’s were a rare sight in this Alaskan town and the Akerlund’s were not the type of people to draw attention to themselves. Typical Swedish modesty. He drove out of town and up some winding mountain roads towards his family home. The home was built in the standard Scandinavian style with giant windows and contemporary furniture. He parked his car in the garage and walked inside. His mother at once noticed a change in his demeanor. “you found a new girl didn’t you Jonas?” she said chuckling and noticing his missing jacket. “Yes mother” Jonas replied pouring himself a glass of water. “But I will not use the gift on her to make her mine” She is different” he said.<br/><br/>He took the glass of water into his office on the second floor and turned on his computer. The electronic glow from his monitor was the only light in the office and after a few clicks, a live video flashed on his screen. Immediately he was in a boardroom in Stockholm with his father at the head of a long table on the other side of the screen. He was on a monthly business trip to sign a contract with the Swedish Army. Akerlund Steel was going to provide steel for a new series of fighter jets and Jonas and his father needed to sign off on the agreement. As the meeting went on, Jonas has his MacBook Pro open looking for details on Catherine. He found their yearbook from high school and immediately recognized her. He liked her and wasn’t sure why that was. Though he was sure he was not going to reach out first, he placed his phone on his desk and sipped on the water softly listening and conversing with the board members. He was still learning the ins and outs of the business world and still had much to learn to be able to head Akerlund Steel someday.<br/><br/>He had learned a lot in the years at his fathers’ side and indeed the cutthroat skill of finding out who to trust and who could be discarded. This was one of the benefits of his gift and the main reason Akerlund Steel still had two Akerlund’s in charge despite a board made up stakeholders. Anytime there was a whiff of disloyalty, board members were removed and replaced. In effect, Jonas’ family was modern day royalty. They did as they pleased with no repercussions. However, they realized they could be gone at any moment and resolved to treat people as well as they could. They were generally well liked. After the meeting Jonas went to bed keeping his phone close hoping for Cat to reach out.