Paying it forward, and being charitable hadn't always been a philosophy that James had lived by. It was only within the last two years that he had really started to give back, his guilty conscience getting the better of him after his father's indictment. It was hard to think that the best of everything he had while growing up had been afforded by organized crime, scum that broke the backs of put upon people, only to prop up the rich. That was a deciding factor in distancing himself from the whole family—moving away, changing his last name-- that was only the beginning. Now there was charity work, getting involved in his community and giving back, and now that included paying for some stranger's coffee. 

Apparently, the gesture surprised the man and James chuckled to himself over the look on his face. He supposed, in a place like New York, random acts of kindness were few and far between when it came to rush hour. Discarding his red, coffee stirrer into the trash bin before replacing the lid on his cup. “No problem,” he replied easily, appreciating that this guy at least had some manners. Far too often he had encountered rude people around the city, and as someone who came from D.C., he really didn't understand it.

It was now James' turn to be surprised as the handsome stranger with good taste continued the conversation. It was small talk, sure, but James didn't mind. He didn't have many friends since moving to the city, and it had been hard for him to meet new people. With the exception of a few friends and a guy who lived in his apartment building, James was alone and that got painfully boring way too often. If this man was reaching out, James would gladly reach back.

“Yeah, across the street actually,” he said, nodding toward the hospital that could be seen out the window. “It's my first day. Where are you headed?” He guessed somewhere a little more uptown, probably in an office building, or possibly to bed—the guy looked a little tired.