‘Please don’t touch that.’
It was a familiar request from the poor secretary, who must have said the same sentence every single time Jonathan had come to visit. And each time, Jonathan forgot he mustn’t. But it was just so hard to resist. Jonathan glanced at the wary wizard, grinning sheepishly, but stole another look back at the delicate marble figurine that functioned as a fancy paperweight.
Next time, my pretty. Just you wait.
Realising that the secretary was waiting for him, Jonathan straightened himself and stood up, picking up his briefcase and following the secretary toward a luxurious office. It was definitely not like the one Jonathan had. This one was very impressive, with the combination of stone and glass making for a striking effect, and it felt like being in those modern muggle museums that Jonathan would sometimes venture into. At the same time, for all its grandeur, it felt cold and uncomfortable, as if it was purposely made to keep people from staying overlong.
Just as well, Jonathan figured. He was getting busier as the summer months approached, and these visits were starting to eat into the precious time that Jonathan had very little of. And as of late, he seemed to be in a perpetual state of weariness, so this travelling, as relatively simple as it was, did not ease matters. A part of him wanted to say that he could have easily had the meeting at the Ministry. Why not make it to Jonathan’s convenience? And if he were honest, he had no good reason to keep agreeing to come all the way to Aberdeen when all the discussions could have easily been made in London. But like many things of late, his insistence on coming this way was an instinctual choice, as if he was made to come here. He mentally shook his head at the thought. Even as a wizard, intuition or a sixth sense was something people generally scoffed at. Anything that entered the realm of the mystical, even in a world of magic, was considered nonsense.
But still, Jonathan could not ignore that something drew him to these visits. Every single time, that something grew. It was an extremely odd and unsettling sensation, but for the moment he tried to turn his attention away from it. He nodded politely at the secretary, who ushered him through the doors before closing them, so that Jonathan focused on another figure, the very one he’d come to see. He proceeded to walk forward, shuffling his briefcase to his left hand and extend his right for a greeting.
‘Good Morning, Mr Cairns. I trust you’ve been well since our last meeting. I apologise for the roundabout details of late, but I’ve just been given Ministry clearance to discuss this project further.’
Jonathan felt guilty about the last part. His first few meetings were quite embarrassing, even to his standards. He’d been tasked to scout for potential contractors, and to secure one whilst giving as few details as possible. Firms merely had to trust that the Ministry would compensate generously were they to agree to a large scale project with a very fast turnaround. But it was difficult to find the perfect fit, and Jonathan’s vague hypotheticals turned off a number of potential contractors. Luckily, Jonathan found Nolan Cairns, who seemed confident in meeting the Ministry’s unique demands despite the lack of details and its bafflingly close July deadline. Both grateful and apologetic, he added,
‘I hope you’ll find today a bit more productive.’
@Nolan Cairns 
