Better Not Be Love

CHAPTER 2 - TAKING RISKS

I set down my pen and handed over the contract papers to my lawyer. He was inspecting it, and I simply smiled at the suit-clad men sitting across from me.

I have signed up for yet another film, one that I am actually looking forward to. Despite my lack of dating skills, all of my stories are romantic, and ladies like them. My colleagues joke that I will never find a partner because my standards are unrealistic. That was probably part of the explanation as well. My male characters are too manly but kind, with a hint of toxicity but nothing the woman can't handle. I insist that all of my female leads be strong and independent. I don't want to be a writer who depicts women as stereotypical, helpless maidens in distress.

However, this time I was going to write a crime thriller, and ideas were rapidly flooding my mind. This was a new field for me, and I needed to do a huge amount of research, but I wasn't going to pass up this chance.

"We look forward to working with you, Miss Landon. We will see you next month."

The elder gentleman smiled politely at me, and I returned his gesture. I shook hands with the other people and went right back to my office, desperate for a cup of coffee.

I ended up preparing two cups and spotted Lorraine napping in her chair. She had her right hand on the mouse, and I knew she was overworking again. She always does this whenever we enter into a new contract. Lorraine manages everything on her own, irrespective of the fact that we have a very supportive lawyer. She is extremely meticulous in her job, and even though she only has minimal legal knowledge, she did everything she could to ensure that no one took advantage of us.

I set the cup on her table and knocked on the wood twice. She sprang up from her crouching position, and her fingers clicked on the mouse at random.

"Shit!"

Lorraine stared at the computer with trepidation, then exhaled in relief when she noticed that her haphazard clicking had done no harm to the spreadsheet.

"Planning to give me a heart attack, woman?"

Lorraine scowled at me, but all I saw was weariness in her eyes.

"Go home, Lor. I am not going to take care of you this time."

I remarked as I sat on the chair adjacent to hers. She shrugged her shoulders and took the steaming cup, softly blowing on it.

"Has the contract been finalized?"

I nodded, knowing very well that she wasn't going to take my words seriously. Perhaps I should call Matt. After all, he is the only one to whom she actually listens.

"When are you supposed to hand over the first script?"

"In two and a half months."

With all the research I had to do, I figured the given time period was really not going to be enough. But the production company was adamant, and I had no alternative but to cooperate. Otherwise, this chance would be given to someone else who is a specialist in the thriller genre. Luck will not always be on my side, and I will have to take some risks if I want to stay afloat.

"But there's only so much time. Even if you have a decent plot, getting it down on paper would take time."

Lorraine was simply expressing my own worries, to which I had no solution. She must have noticed my grimace as she kept silent for the following twenty minutes, each of us trying to enjoy our coffee and having different thoughts running through our heads.

"Are you going somewhere?"

"I wasn't planning on it, but I know I will need a change of scenery if I want to speed up my writing process."