My book

So I'll start posting about my book/s because why not.
As a sweet treat, here's the epilogue!

~~~

Elias Novak was, by all accounts, an ordinary guy.
A twenty-four IT technician who lived above the repair shop where he worked. His days were mostly spent replacing cracked phone screens and patiently teaching old ladies how to reset their Facebook passwords. Nothing glamorous, but it paid the bills and left him with a quiet, steady life.
His childhood wasn't glamorous, but he was grateful that his parents were well off enough to afford vacations in other countries and school trips.
He didn’t necessarily have hobbies, not anything that really sticked — unless you counted the recent ritual of watching Formula 1 with his best friend Jakob. Jakob needed a buddy to yell at the TV with on Sundays, and Elias didn’t mind the company. He liked the speed and the drama. He didn’t have a favorite team or driver; he just rooted for whoever managed to get on the podium. It was a simple, fun distraction from the monotony of his day-to-day life.
A simple life for a simple man.

Unfortunately for him, he did have to go back to work during the short span between Christmas and New Years.
The day began like normal. He put on his name badge and flipped the closed sign. The morning was always quiet, thankfully. Elias was not a morning person. Rushed mornings were like Kryptonite to him.
He was about to doze off when the doorbell chimed and a cold breeze sent a shiver down his spine. Alongside the unwelcomed chilly December air, a man entered the modest shop.

“Hi…!” He greeted, a tinge of annoyance tinting his otherwise put-together manner.

“Uh… Oh, hi— Hello…! How can I help you?” Elias said quickly, embarrassed. He was at work. And a pretty hot guy just walked in. And he was dozing off. Great, good job Elias.

“I uh… I dropped my phone and I kind of ran over it with my car… The screen is wrecked.” The man explained as he carefully placed the phone on the counter.

Elias took a good look at the phone. He picked it up, checking it for further damage. Aside from the obviously broken screen, the glass on one of the cameras was totally missing. This phone was definitely staying in the shop for a while.

“That car really did some damage, huh…” Elias muttered, more to himself.

“So… How long will it take? A few days?” The man asked, checking his watch.

“It’s going to take a while, all right. I’m not sure if I have a replacement screen in stock… And I’ll definitely need to order a new glass for the camera. Depends on how much the shipment is going to take. The repair itself won’t take too much time.” Elias explained, looking through his stock.

The customer sighed. He had a meeting to attend to and this was the worst thing that could happen right now.

“How much?”
“How much what?” Elias echoed.
“How much will it cost, I mean.” The man replied.

Elias took a moment to calculate the price in his head. “Around 50 euro, I’d say. Please do take it with a grain of salt. Shipping is one factor, but we will have to take into account internal components that may also be broken.”

“Fair enough.” The customer sighed. “I have to leave it here, right?”

“Yes. Do you have a way for me to contact you when it’s done?”

The man went quiet for a moment. Then, his lips slowly curled into a sly smile. “That’s a rather direct way to ask for my number.” He said teasingly.

Elias could feel his cheeks heating up. Damn this beautiful man and his flirting! Poor Elias wanted to run in the middle of the street and wait for a bus to hit him. He already messed up the first unwritten rule of customer service: employees must always be ready for a customer. He was not about to cross number two: don’t flirt with the customer.

“I’m just trying to do my job…” Elias managed to choke out.