Dance With The Wind

Year 1999,

It was a bright Monday morning with a hustle and bustle in the streets of London. A soft breeze blew against the streaming water beneath the London bridge and the glistening of the waters under the radiance of the sun was a sight to behold. While a few admired it, a few rushed down the lane. As much as one would want to halt for a second to be astonished by the nature's beauty, there was no time.

London is a city with a heart, a beat, and a rhythm.

While the heart was the great London bridge, it's beat was the voices of people, and the wind was its rhythm that synchronised with the waters flowing beneath.

Amongst the busy crowd where no one had the time to exchange pleasantries, a young lady in her mid-twenties was rushing down to make it in time to her office. The long tresses of her copper hair were tied into a bun, her hazel eyes spread warmth through her glasses whenever her lips curved into a smile. The little conversations she was making with the familiar faces was making the time tick and she was running late, but she just could not ignore them.

"I'm running late, Mrs. Clarke. I shall see you in the evening. Have a beautiful day and I hope you receive many more customers today as well," she wished the old woman of floral store who waved back at her wishing the same to have a good day.

"Careful, Kathy. Watch out while you're walking," Mrs. Clarke hollered at Katherine who turned around to smile at the woman to wave her hand.

With a purse slipping off from one side of her shoulder, she gripped a half-eaten cheese omelette sandwich in another which Mrs. Clarke has given her. The kind woman just could not let the girl leave with an empty stomach so the old woman had shared a piece of her bread with Katherine as she did not even have the time to break her fast in the morning and she could only blame one person at this moment.

Lucas Wynne, her chief-in-editor.

When everyone called their editor as 'ED' in short, Katherine named him evil demon. For he has made her life into a hell over the past one and a half year since her joining at the renowned publishing company. She was still lacking at a few things but then, the unfair truth was that she was expected to have an experience of four years, which no normal human might possess such an ability to have knowledge without an experience. If they did, Katherine would love to meet them.

Now, Katherine might be a little lazy but she is an early bird who likes to wake up early from the bed but at the same time, she was a messy person at times, may be more than the times one could imagine. But of all the days, she had to clean the house and brush the tiles until the polished floor was shining and sparkling. Not only she had to clean the house early in the morning but also pull an all night string to submit an article on her editor's desk which made her exhausted by the time she had completed her tasks. And like any other person, she hated Monday mornings. Especially after joining in the 'The Morning Herald' a newspaper publishing company of London.

Katherine could tell her life had turned into a hell after Lucas Wynne entered into her life, sleep was long gone and there were dark circles forming under her eyes because of the hectic work he has been handing over to her. Not that she disliked her job but it was her editor who was too strict to her and the others. It was a few days ago he demanded for an article from her by the time he returned to the company and days flew by like passing clouds.

Now that she had met the deadline, she needed to submit her report on his desk. By putting her feet between the door of the elevator just when it was about to close, Katherine entered inside without noticing who was already in there. Her heart thumped and her mind went fuzzy for the reason was her editor, was standing inside with a grim look on his face.

"Would you mind to step aside from the door, Miss. Priestley. People are running late," it was him, who spoke to her. His voice might have been calm like the soft breeze she felt on her way, but his eyes condescending at her, narrated a different story.

Her tardiness, her clumsiness, her recklessness and all together many more.

Lucas Wynne, the man who could make her heart thump and pump rapidly, both in admiration and indignation.

At the age of nine and twenty, he was honoured as the youngest editor in the company for his impeccable works in recent times. He not only works like a clock, but also makes his employees work restless and relentless.

Katherine quickly averted her gaze and mumbling an apology to the people inside, she stood at one corner silently like a mouse that did not want to get caught again by the big brooding cat. Through her peripheral vision, she saw him take a glance at his wrist watch and when their eyes met, she looked away. The doors dinged open, a few left and a few stayed; and when it was finally her chance to step out, Katherine rushed out of the elevator only to be stopped by Lucas.

"Ms. Priestley, in my office, right now," she heard his voice from behind and the next moment he was walking past her in his expensive boots.

As if it was not enough for a bad morning, she was called by the evil demon to make it worse. Cursing her horoscope of the day which said she'd have a bright and lively day; Katherine followed him to the cabin.

"So, I presume you are ready with your article?" He asked, taking a seat in his swivel chair when she entered with his permission.

"Yes, but there are a few minute grammatical errors needed to edit, Mr. Wynne. If you could read and let me know your views, I shall edit it further on the necessary changes," she took out a document and placed it on the desk. She could have mailed it too, which was way easier but the evil demon wanted a soft copy of her finalized report.

Though Katherine had placed it softly on the desk, his fingers pulled the file almost in impatience. Opening it, he read the first line and the file was thrown back onto the desk after flipping over the pages randomly. Her lips were parted a little and a small frown settled between her eyebrows as she waits for his response.

"When I said you could choose your own topic for an article, I expected you to write something meaningful and informative, not some crap. I thought at least you would come up with a better topic, Miss Priestley. Was I wrong?"

Katherine bit her inner lips, she had regarded such comments from him but the man did not even read it properly. All her sleepless night was for nothing. She knew his scrutinizing gaze was over her, awaiting her to respond but she did not have a say to his review.

It was unfair and unethical.

"If you have nothing to say, you may leave. But do choose a different topic, something informative and not about old ceramics and pottery. I shall expect it by Saturday, you may start searching for a new one right from now and bring it to me by noon," he grunted and waved his hands off at her to leave. Katherine wanted to correct him it was not just any crap but a livelihood for people who still continued to make ceramics and pottery as a part of traditions but the callous person like him wouldn't understand the emotions behind it.

"Mornin' Kathy," a cheerful voice greeted her but Katherine did not have the urge to return the cheerfulness. "What happened to your face, you look, like a panda with those puffy sagging eyes. Are you alright?" concerned, asked Christine.

"I feel I might be consumed by darkness in a few days, Christy. This is just the beginning," mumbled Katherine, walking like the dead.

"Oh, hush with your drama and let me in with the details," Christy shook her head and her lips parted a second later, "Oh, my, your deadline, don't tell me you had just met our ED," Katherine's lips lifted up to one side with a nod. "But, what did he say this time?"

"Asked me to pick another topic by noon and if it is not useless, I need to submit it by this Saturday but I am occupied with something else on Friday night. Why does everything come at once and fall on your head," Katherine cried and sighed in deep. By then, she had reached her desk. Placing her file on the wooden desk, she fell in her chair and leaned back.

Her head was aching and her nerves were cracking. Lucas Wynne was a whining pain to her. She did not understand why he always picked up on her, as if he had some sort of hidden agenda behind those scornful gazes, he'd give her.

"You're a special case, Kathy. May be that's the reason our ED likes to pick on you, you know, some sort of entertainment may be?"

"Shut up, Tristan. Not the right time to jest over it. He is same with everyone, mayhap a little harsh towards our poor Kathy sometimes but we're all on the same board," replied Christy, patting Katherine's shoulder softly with a light giggle.

"A few days ago, Joan was kicked out of his cabin and the papers from the file literally flew all over the floor outside of his cabin. So, it is not only you, Kathy. Cheer up, our ED could be ruthless sometimes," a young girl around the same age group joined the conversation.

"I wasn't kicked out but asked to leave politely, mayhap a little cold. But, Flying papers, seriously? Stop making it sound so dramatic, Shelby. I just lost the grip over the file and they were all scattered, that is all and nothing more," Joan who was seated a little away from them spoke in his defence.

Rumours were crazy at work place; a small incident and it would spread like a wild fire with weaving stories.

"Oh, yeah, whatever. Certain birdie had whispered it to me and I was only passing it to them," Shelby replied, waving her hand off at him as if to not take it seriously. "So, is that the reason why your eyes all puffed up, my dear?"

Katherine nodded at Shelby, who reached for the file to read it and Christy joined her. The girls read the first page; they were actually impressed but did not understand why their colleague's work was rejected.

"This one isn't bad, a few errors but not bad in any way. I am convinced that he has some kind of negative shade about you though I may not able to pinpoint his reasons at this moment. Take a look Tristan, this one isn't bad," said Christy, and Shelby passed the file over to Tristan.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew her report was not up-to her satisfaction. She could have worked on it more, had she had more time.

"I think I do understand where he was coming from. This isn't bad but similar topics were published by a few magazines in recent times. With the competition these days, we need to come up with new different idea to attract people and not the repeated ones," explained Tristan, the sensible one of all the others in the group.

"Maybe you're right. There is no point in discussing about all of this, I better start searching for a new topic," Katherine spoke and turned on her monitor while the others dispersed one after the other, exchanging silent looks and a passing a few encouraging words at their poor colleague.

It wasn't new to her; her works were rejected by him many times over the past few months and she had to re-sit and complete her works until late in the evening. The others may not have an idea about it but she could guess the reason behind his interest to point at her. Unlike others, she did not go through each interview, it was rather like a privilege where she was skipped a few rounds before attending the final interview. It was a secret that she was referred by one of her father's friends.

It was one of the reasons why she did not want to take the liberties and give up easily without a fight. Though she had skipped two rounds, it was because of her capabilities that brought her until the final round. If he needed a new report by Saturday, she was determined to work on it and throw it on his face just to prove him she deserved to be here, as a journalist.

Katherine could still remember the time when she had first joined, where she was asked questions which she did not know and was ridiculed by him in front of everyone. She may not have succeeded in proving herself in his eyes, but she surely did improve herself better than any of the people who had two to three years of experience.