7:30 AM, April 9th 2018.
And they say New York is the city that never sleeps. Terrence had gone to bed early that night (i.e. at 10:50) so he could cram in a few extra hours of sleep, but so many cars were passing by his window it was impossible to sleep. Thankfully, he didn't run on sleep, but coffee. Though he still sometimes thought that if he moved into the family home, instead of making a makeshift home in his office at Birch House, he wouldn't be in this mess.
He was currently standing over his desk, papers piled high, with a mug of coffee in his hand. He had far too much work to do today, but how was that different from usual. Without his work, he told himself what felt like every day, then the ecosystem of budding talent upstairs would cease to exist. And there was no way in hell that he'd leave it up to Marianne and Will: his lazy cousins. They didn't care about the building as he did, and shirked all responsibilities to do with it, in favour of going out clubbing.
As he sat down, he could hear chattering and footsteps above him. The lobby was already buzzing with people. He had set up his home/office in the basement of the building, and the lobby was just above. The lobby was a popular hangout for the many residents of the apartment block, so when he got the place he decided to make it into a 'common room', he added in a drinks machine, many more sofas, a television, and put in lots of powerpoints so people could charge their devices. He was very proud of his work.
He worked for ten minutes, fighting the need for sleep with the ultimate weapon: caffeine. But enough was enough. Part of his daily routine was the visit the lobby in the morning, listen to any gripes people had with the building or suggestions as to how he could make things better, check that everybody was in a job, and overall have a chat with whoever wanted a chat. He saw himself as a substitute father figure to all his tenants. Lots of them had terrible childhoods and needed someone to look out for them whilst they were living alone. That's what he was there for.
He walked up the stairs, coffee still in hand, and into the lobby. He was hit with a wave of chatter, friendly conversation between likeminded people. To him it was beautiful. That's what he liked to see. He turned his head quickly as someone called his name.
"Good morning Mr Walsh!"
"Morning, Laurie! How's that job in Spago coming?"
"It's awesome. Thanks for your help with that."
"Anytime! That's what I'm here for!" He called, sitting down on a sofa in the corner, content with watching his tenants mingle.