It was almost 4 p.m. and Nathalie was having a lot of trouble seeing through the snow as she drove down the highway. The storm was getting stronger, and the car had slipped a few times by now. She always enjoyed driving long distances, she found it relaxing; today it was the total opposite, she was really stressed. Not only that, she was scared.
Gabriel Agreste's call with Milan's branch manager suddenly cut.
-Damn it! - he yelled from the back seat.
Nathalie felt the car slip again.
-Sir, I... I'm sorry, I know you must be in Paris as soon as possible. And I am doing my best, but can we please stop for a while? I can't see anything, the snow is so dense, there is ice on the road and we... we don't have snow tires. GPS is on and off. I feel insecure about this. I... I don't want anything to happen to yo... us- she corrected herself in a fraction of a second. "Nathalie! pull yourself together!" She thought. Stress was starting to make her stutter. -There is a hotel just a mile from here. It's a Holiday Inn, sure they have Wi-Fi. Maybe we can eat something, you can call Mr. Ricci back and wait until it's safe to drive again.
Gabriel let out a sigh. He had to deliver an important design tomorrow night and he wasn't even close to finishing it. Yet she was right, they were not going to find snow tires soon and it was too dangerous to drive in the storm, even for someone as experienced as Nathalie.
– All right pull over in the hotel. I need a shower.
They had travelled to Lyon 2 days ago for some negotiations. But a 5 hour long trip had turned into almost 7. Honestly, he was tired, his back ached and just as soon as she mentioned eating, he realized how hungry he was.
Nathalie's face brightened up as soon as she saw the hotel. She felt safe. Only when she turned the engine off, she realized how clung she was to the wheel; her fingers hurt as she moved them, she saw as color ran through them again.
She let out a heavy sigh.
-Let's go Sir.
She got out of the car and immediately felt the cold wind cut through her body. She shivered.
The wind was so strong it was hard for her to move. Gabriel was already taking out the suitcases from the trunk and hanging them to the bellboy. He extended a hand to her, which she immediately took. He pulled her towards him and put an arm on her shoulder. This contact felt like heaven for Nathalie, she hid a little smile. He protected her from the wind as they walked towards the entrance.