Wednesday morning came slowly around and with it the final meeting before the project began. And even though I had been up since five in the morning, pacing my apartment like a walking metronome, I wasn't the slightest bit weary. I was pumped with anticipation.
At any moment Robin could decide to back out. It was something I spent the night replaying over and over in my head. Minutes from starting the meeting, he could call saying: I'm backing out. Sorry. We would be seconds from signing when he drops his pen, looks at me, and says: I'm backing out. Sorry.
Sitting in my study, I look at my phone again, checking the clock for the millionth time. When I read the time, 7:23 am, my head fell onto my keyboard where I had convinced myself I could write but had failed to produce even a single word.
The drafts I had worked on the night before were left lying on the printer. I frowned at them for a moment before turning back toward my desk and fiddling with the fountain pen my parents gave me when I started writing. I thought of it as my compass, signifying everything I wanted to be, and with every success it eventually became a superstitious charm. Some people carry a chip, others a rabbit foot, I never went anywhere without that pen. Any paper I wrote on seemed to lead me directly to the thing I wanted most. It was a power I did not take lightly.
Flipping it around my fingers, I tried to distract myself, but my brain couldn't focus on anything other than the meeting. It was like I didn't have time to do anything but wait.
Hurry up and wait, Leah! You might miss more time not going by. My dad always said whenever watching me grow impatient for something. I laughed a little at the thought because that's exactly what I was doing. However, the brief distraction works, and I set the pen off to the side and settle back into the chair in my study, dialing my dad's number.
"Good morning, baby!" My mom's voice rings over the phone. It instantly makes me smile.
"Morning, Mom."
"Leah, do something with your mother." My dad's playful voice interrupts my mom's next sentence.
I hear them play fighting over the speaker like two little kids trying to steal each other's breakfast. No doubt they were sitting together at the counter, coffee cups in hand and a pile of baked goods on the counter in front of them. I could imagine the soft sunlight coming in from both windows, briefly interrupted by the cherry tree outside and the blinds before pooling on the tile floor in a yellow slant. The smell of the neighborhood would be permeated with leaves starting to decay and the lingering scent of our old Russian olive in the back yard. They both start laughing and my mom makes a disgusted sound to which my dad chuckles and makes a "mhhmm" sound.
"He just licked my biscotti!" My mom gasps.
My dad laughs, and we all joke around for a while before my mom sobers up and asks me why I've called. I shrug my shoulders as if she is in the room with me, "I have time before a meeting and wanted to get my mind off of it for a little bit."
"Big day?" Dad asks, still clearly crunching mom's cookie. It makes me glad I can't see him; facetiming always makes me homesick.
Sighing, I nod, "Biggest. Today we're officially signing with the actor we hired."
"This is for that research project, right? You know, Leah, you don't have to make up a pretend boyfriend to amuse us." My dad jokes, and my mom laughs. "We love you no matter what. If this book is your excuse to experiment with dating again, you should just start dating."
Rolling my eyes, I grumble, "Gee thanks, dad. But Robin is a real person and he's not being hired to be my boyfriend. He's a research partner. In fact, he is essential to my success and to this novel. Besides, If I made Robin Moore up, I would be a bestselling author four times over."
"What does that mean? Is he bizarre?" My mom interjects. I can hear curiosity mixed with concern.
It takes me a moment to find the words. Thinking about the first time I met Robin, and our reunion yesterday, has me undecided on what even I think of him. My mind wanders to his funny smile, and the way he picks at his fingers. Thinking of him as a rumpled regular at a convenience store aligns more accurately with my impression of him, but it contrasts with the images I found on google. Yes. I googled him.... a lot. But in my defense, it was vital to my research for the project. At least, that's what I told myself.
He was freshly twenty-four, born in late October, and grew up in a small town in the middle of Indianna. His parents' names weren't included, but there was a mention of a few siblings close to his age. Having studied acting in college, he received a master's degree in performing arts as well as graphic design. Judging by the photos included on his profile and the very trendy caption in all lower-case letters: "robin moore. actor." He was not on social media himself but had someone handling the PR for him. A necessary change after the scandal, I imagine.
The world saw him through the veil of young glamor and salacious stardom. In some photos he's walking on red carpets in expensive-looking suits, floppy bronze-brown hair hanging just above his eyes or swept back in that classic movie-star look as he waves at the crowd. In others, it's just him in black and white, laughing while sitting on a stool wearing a white shirt and jeans or posing with a co-star like the kid from his latest movie. Another is of him and a female co-star from a tabloid. It's taken through a cracked open door, where she is straddling his lap on a couch, a bottle of champagne in one hand and the other unbuttoning his shirt. She's blissfully unaware of the camera. He, on the other hand, is looking toward the door making eye-contact with the camera like he expected it to be there. The headline is in all caps and reads:
"HORROR STAR DELYNN CRAWLEY DRUGGED AND DEBAUCHED BY CO-STAR ROBIN MOORE."
I read a few articles on the matter, but none really captured the hard facts of the story. They were more concerned with the hem of Delynn Crawley's designer dress riding up her thigh than how the two of them ended up in said situation. Still, it wasn't an accusation one forgot, and I'd be lying if I didn't admit I was holding it in the back of my mind as a cautionary measure.
Then there were a precious few are from the earlier movies he worked on, but one deep dive picture, around the time I met him in the convenience store, is of him in a makeup chair throwing a wink at the camera with a boyish grin.
"Unexpected." I settled on the word, thinking of him in that hoodie, handing me a banana with a sharpie message written on it. Now that I knew he was the same age as me, things seemed to make so much sense. "Incredibly talented though. I guess he was in that new horror movie you refuse to watch. The one with the farmhouse and the little boy. He's won some awards too. You should look him up."
"I don't do horror movies, especially ones with demonic children." The phone goes quiet for a moment then I hear my mom go, "Oh. Oh, honey. A little unexpected would look good on you!"
"Mom!" Appalled I sat up, eyes widening and a breathless laugh escaping me. Thank God no one else can hear the phone conversations had with parents. It would be a way more honest and vulnerable world if they did.
"I'm just saying he's cute, that's all! ---Oh, not that one, that's a lot of blood. --- But he's really adorable!" She gushes. "What time is your meeting?"
I check the clock again and it's about time to leave. I start to tell my mom that I need to go, but she starts talking about my brother and Thanksgiving dinner, despite it not even being Halloween yet, before I get the chance. Listening, I stand up and let my shoulder squish the phone to my ear as I pull my bag off the floor and loop it over my other shoulder. Keys in hand, and laptop under my arm, I fumble to slip into my shoes and spray some perfume on. By the time I'm a few feet from the office my mom is wrapping up her rant and making sure I'll be home, right on the dot, for the holiday. I promised her I wouldn't miss it for the world, and it seems to work in satiating her planning appetite. Bidding my parents goodbye, I blew a kiss over the phone. We hung up just in time for me to catch the elevator as it was going up.
Tucking my laptop into my bag then pressing it against my chest, I take a deep breath. There's no one else in the elevator, so I relax into the wall and let my legs spread out a bit. My heart is pounding, but I feel sure of myself. This was going to work. I repeated to myself, nodding my head.
It was during this rhythmic head-nodding that I realized I had left my draft on the printer at home along with my lucky pen. Instantly, I dropped my bag down on the floor and started to comb through it in case I had put it in the sleeve and just forgot about it. The chapters were fine to leave behind, but the pen...
When it wasn't in there, I smashed the elevator buttons at every floor, getting it to stop by the third floor and rushing off. Not wanting to wait, my feet flew down the hallway toward the fire exit. People from the design department were looking at me curiously as I raced through the cubicles and fumbled through the door. Each step sounded like my heart thumping in my chest.
I had two options: be late to the most important meeting of my life or have my pen... and I needed that pen.
Finally reaching the ground-floor landing, I yanked open the door and started running toward the main lobby. Digging out my phone I kept sprinting while dialing Desi's number. Punching in her contact I went to place the phone to my ear.
That was until I was flipping over the security divider and crashing against the floor. My head bounced once, and I was out like a light.
The last thing I heard was Desi saying my name.
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Hello!!!
It's officially December and I am PUMPED for the absolutely heinous amount of cheesy hallmark movies I'm about to watch. Indulgence and holiday spirit knows no bounds.
If you guys have recommends for holiday romances here on Wattpad please drop them in the comments. I am going all in! Also if you have a book you need reads on (any kind) let me know! I'm happy to check them out!
Thanks for reading and I hope you like the chapters (: Don't forget to vote, comment, and share.
With love,
e.g.