-fifteen

My feet remained planted to the ground after the guard assisted me with the door. My eyes swept the room with nothing short of pure admiration and amazement. Blue. Everything was blue. From the staff uniform, furniture and walls to the vintage chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. It was like an entire new world.

Celestial.

That's what it was.

Taking another step, my eyes fell to the ground. What I saw nearly knocked me off the ground in shock neat. The floor tiles shifted and an underground aquarium came into full view.

I blinked.

I blinked again.

After one last look around, I concluded. The place was beyond paradise and if I weren't here now, I would've vehemently argued with anyone who said the place existed.

Walking up to the lady behind the desk, my eyes snapped to the side at a deep voice.

"Miss Roxanne Dolores Anderson?"

He was in all black, sunshades and all. He was tall. Probably 6 feet something. Nodding with furrowed brows, I followed when he asked me to.

He was with Erica, right?

"She's in there."

We finally halted after a few minutes of walking. Following his eyes, my gaze landed on a huge room.

"But how do I-."

He was gone already.

Muttering a string of profanities in his honour, I looked through the slightly blue glass windows and figured it was the restaurant. Breathing out, I pushed the door.

A strong smell of spice hit me. Well of course it did. What else was a restaurant meant to smell like? I was too worried about finding Erica and actually meeting with her to be enticed by the beautiful scenery before me and to appreciate the music quietly playing in the background. I was saved by the bell.

Literally.

A waiter somehow slipped and the bell in his hand rolled to the direction Erica was at. With her hand in the air, I walked right to her table.

"You must be Roxanne," she said once I was comfortably seated opposite her.

"Call me Roxy." I managed a smile.

Nodding she took a sip from the liquid bubbling in her glass. My eyes were drawn to her wrist as her fingers left the slim stem of the wine glass. The slim bracelet matched the diamonds on the pendant of her necklace.

"I trust you're doing well."

I nodded once again. I know. I should've used more words but I was freaking out! She was a celebrity.

"And you?" I was somehow proud my start-struck mind could produce words.

With a small smile, she looked up from her food and took her sunglasses off. She was beautiful and I stared a little too long. Clear, almond eyes, red lipstick, high cheekbones.

"I assume we can get the meeting started?" Her hazel eyes went to the gold watch on her other wrist.

Something about the tone she used made me stare at her. "Of course."

Turning, she called out to a waiter passing by. "What will you have?"

"I'm good, thank you." My eyes lingered on her some more. Did she think she was... superior?

"It won't be nice if you leave without ordering and if I don't pay for the food."

I tilted my head a little.

"I'm obligated." Her lips shifted into some kind of smile and after a few seconds of uninterrupted eye contact, I turned to the waiter.

"I'll have what she's having, thank you."

"As you must've heard or seen, I'm a movie producer. I have an agency which gets me millions of scripts and none of them make it to my table because none of them are good enough."

My eyes fell to the table when her hands went to her wine.

"While scrolling through my REAder account, I saw your book. That's why you're here." She dropped the glass. "My team read it and in my spare time, I did as well. It is something good enough to work with."

My eyes snapped to her face.

Good enough to work with?

"It had everything I was looking for and so here I am and here you are."

With my eyes still fixed on her, I made myself more comfortable on my seat. "I still don't understand why I'm here."

At that moment, a steaming hot dish of pasta and meat was laid in front of me. Flashing a smile to the waiter, I took a sip of water.

"I want you to sell me your story."

My throat closed and I had to cough a few times to get my system back in order.

"What's your going price?"

"You want me to sell you my story." I coughed again at the feeling of water in my irritated throat.

"I will pay you what's due to you."

Well, this was amusing. "Don't you have creative writers in your agency?" I chuckled.

"I need pure organic content."

"Well," I said after only a few seconds of consideration, "You're barking at the wrong tree. I'm sorry."

With a face lacking in any form of emotion, she stared right back at me. "How about you come to Hollywood with me and we co-produce the book?"

With raised eye brows, I gave her a once-over.

"With that, you'll get full credit for everything. And working with someone like me will surely get your name on everyone's mouth."

"Is this some form of charity?" I couldn't wrap my mind around it. What was in it for her?

"What do you think?" A small smile played across her lips. "Having this meeting with you, isn't that already charity?"

Huffing, my eyes went round the restaurant. It wasn't just about selling and making money. It was something else. Hell. The story wasn't even mine. It was mom's. How could I sell it?

"It's an all-expense paid trip, Roxy."

Blinking, I stared down at my meal and then back at her. Thinking about it, what was left for me here? Jenna was moving away. Eric and I were as good as over and I was more or less fired.

But could I?

Could I sell something of mom's like this? Something she worked on all her life? She'd always dreamt of becoming a writer and even though we worked on the project together, it was hers. Not mine.

"I'm sorry."

Erica, after several seconds of just staring at me, leaned in. A mixture of lavender and vanilla scent hit my nostrils. "Opportunities like this don't come with seconds."

"I'm not ready."

"Very well." She responded after a few more seconds of silence. Sliding something down to me, she got on her feet. "Call me when you change your mind."

"What makes you think I will?"

"Make sure it's within three days. I'm sick of this town already as it is."

With knitted brows, I watched her exit the room. For someone termed philanthropist, most down to earth and joy to the world, she sure wasn't a joy to be around behind the cameras.

After decently eating my meal, I was out of the hotel completely. It felt good to have the meeting finally over. I got in a cab and about an hour later, the driver pulled up at the front of my residence.

Opening the door of the apartment, I connected my phone to my charger and went for a glass of water. Going back to my phone, I switched it on. Not up to three seconds after my phone completed booting, Jenna's name illuminated the screen.

"What's up?" I sipped water.

"Where are you? I've been calling."

"I was meeting with Eri-."

"Why didn't you answer? I was worried."

"My phone died on me."

"Well, you better get to work now."

"Why?" I dropped the tumbler in the sink. "Today's our day off."

"Wilson sent a broadcast message. There's work. And there's also your meeting with him."

"Fuck." I muttered.

Kicking my heels off, I slipped into my sandals, grabbed my bag and hopped into the taxi that pulled up.

After five minutes of continuous driving, there was a change in our pace. Looking up, I saw we were completely surrounded by cars. According to the driver, an accident happened leading to a partial road block.

"Oh God." I pushed my back on the seat rest.

It really was over. I was surely going to be fired after this. Staring at my watch, I realized there was nothing else I could do. By yesterday, I already knew I was going to lose my job.

About an hour later, the taxi finally stopped. Getting out, I paid him and motioned to the building.

"Nice of you to finally grace us with your presence."

*****************************

-C.