The one he had before had cost him three grand, but he had nowhere near that in spare cash. He’d need to get something secondhand. Sapphire had claimed it was an accident, and all her friends had backed her up, of course. Felix saw no value in telling the truth. Mrs. Delaune had been very apologetic and excused him early. He’d had the pictures backed up, although his camera was ruined, and he’d had everything edited and sent over within twenty-four hours, but he’d had a swift reply that none of them were suitable. Felix knew that was rubbish, as she’d loved them the night before. There was little he could do about it, though. Laura had offered to scratch Sapphire’s eyes out, but assaulting a spoiled brat wasn’t something he wanted to see his bestie go to prison for.
After hours of trawling round pawn shops, and anywhere else he could think of, he was no closer to finding anything suitable. Felix had two days before his next gig. He could look online, but with a camera, he wanted to touch it and feel it in his hands before he bought it. He loved the holiday season, but even the decorations everywhere and the magic of New York at this time of year couldn’t shake him out of his low mood. Maybe Laura would be up for getting a takeaway. Not something he should splurge on right now, but he didn’t care.
Walking into their apartment, the smell of baking hit him... and was that Christmas music? What was going on? Neither of them were great in the kitchen, but Laura could bake. She saved it for special occasions. Had he missed something important with everything that had happened in the last week? Ever since the night Ryder had saved him from Sam outside Epicure, his life had been a bit bizarre.
“Happy Birthday!” he shouted over the music.
“Are you drunk?”
“Happy Anniversary!”
“Stoned?”
He laughed. He hadn’t been stoned since college, and after throwing up all night, he hadn’t touched the stuff again.
“I’m hedging my bets. What did I miss?”
“I got promoted!”
“Oh my God,” he screamed, pulling her into a hug and spinning her round. “When did this happen?”
“Today. I had the interview last week, and they told me today.”
“You didn’t say you had an interview. Or did you, and I’m such a shit friend I don’t remember.”
“Excuse me,” she said, smacking him on the arm. “Don’t be saying crap about my bestie. I didn’t tell you, as I didn’t want to jinx it.”
“Tell me all about the new job, then.”
“In a minute. First, you need to open your present.”
“You bought me a present?”
“Why would I buy you a present for my promotion? I think it’s from a certain Mr. Quinn again.”
“Ryder? But he already sent me the flowers.”
“Have you said thank you to him yet?”
“Not yet. I was going to when I got home.”
“We can talk about that later. Let’s open this first,” she said, passing him a big box.
It wasn’t huge, but big enough that you needed two hands to carry it. She passed it to Felix. It felt heavy, but not like a dead weight. There was a card on top, so he opened that first.
Dear Felix,
I was sorry to hear what happened. I didn’t want it to derail your project, so see this as a donation from me to making it a success. If it isn’t the right one, feel free to exchange it for one that’s more suitable.
Ryder xxx.
He had a feeling what it could be, and his emotions were battling for pole position. Opening the box, anything he was feeling went completely out the window. Ryder had bought Felix one of the top camera models. It was far superior to what he’d had before, and there were also a dozen accessories in the box.
“Wow. That’s got to be about ten grand’s worth of kit,” said Laura.
“I can’t accept this,” he said.
“Are you crazy? When will you ever be able to afford a kit like this? Like he said on the card, he’s just supporting your project.”
