83 Deadpan

Inside, Monica have to pause to let her eyes adjust in the weathered brick foyer. It’s clearly darker than outside, but as they go through the inner doors, a whole new world is revealed. Suddenly, her phone vibrates with a message from Julien telling her that he can't make it to her apartment as he has two important meetings to attend. She frowns and goes ahead. Everything is swanky, with dark oaks, red leather, and brass touches that give the club a sense of understated luxury. It’s the sort of club that he could imagine the Curies sitting in, sipping wine and discussing science and art with Cousteau or Renoir. It has the aura of age and the feeling of immortality. On one side of the club is a beautiful bar with a brass rail and multi-colored bottles all contained in their own little cubbyholes, some of them labeled, some of them not. Filling the other three walls is a collection of

booths and tables, intimate and lit by a candle in the center of each. The centre of the space is a wo