City Lounge: London (Book Six, Chapter Two: Snowy Streets of London)

Chapter Two: Snowy Streets of London:

-Sophie-

I waited in front of the house, shivering. I looked up to see Paul hurrying towards me with my coat, scarf, gloves, and hat in his hands. He was always dressed for walking in the snow. He was the one to climb over the fence first. He struggled getting over. Paul wasn’t fat, mind you. He just wasn’t the athletic type. I was looking around as he tried to climb over. It might have taken him minutes. I was just worried about being spotted.

Luckily, we weren’t.

Paul managed to get over and help me climb over the fence. My hand about slipped a couple of times, but he managed to pull me over.

City Lounge: Berlin (Book Five, Chapter Fifteen: Another Night on the Town)

Chapter Fifteen: Another Night on the Town:

I made it back to my apartment. I wasn’t going to get any rest, however. No sooner had I sat down on my couch, my phone rang. I made a face to myself. I already had a guess of who it was.

“Yeah?” I asked.

“Em! Let’s go out tonight!” Stephanie shouted. I rolled my eyes. There was going to be no point to argue. She wasn’t going to listen to me.

“I don’t want to party tonight,” I whimpered.

“We’re not going to the club,” she said. I had a confused look on my face.

City Lounge: Berlin (Book Five, Chapter Thirteen: New Admirer)

Chapter Thirteen: New Admirer:

We have a new client today. He’s… Well, something else. Where do I begin with him? Let me explain.

I came to work on Monday. I hadn’t expected much to happen for the week. The new project wasn’t even going to start until next month. That went out the window when I walked up to the front desk. My boss was standing next to the receptionist. I kind of frowned as I walked closer.

“Good morning,” I said. “Is something wrong?” My boss smiled as he shook his head.

“No, everything is fine,” he said. “I came out here to tell you that I have a new task for you.” I tilted my head.

City Lounge: Berlin (Book Five, Chapter Twelve: Actors at Work)

Chapter Twelve: Actors at Work:

“Em!” I heard behind me. I turned to see Stephanie running toward me. She came up and gave me a big hug. She laughed in my ear.

“You’re squishing me,” I complained. Stephanie gently let me go.

“Sorry was I late,” she said. “How are you?” I forced myself to smile as I glanced over at that glaring demon in white. I picture her jumping to her feet and charging toward me. I lifted my chin.

“Actually, can I talk to you about something?” I asked.

“Sure,” Stephanie said. “What is it?” I stole another look at the demonic-looking angel sitting on the stage.

City Lounge: Berlin (Book Five, Chapter Eleven: Stage Hand)

Chapter Eleven: Stage Hand:

Sometimes, I help Stephanie with her acting troupe. Not acting, mind you. I just do the stage handwork. I got the text from her this evening. They were going to throw a Christmas play for the Children’s Ward of the hospital. There was going to be all hands on deck. That would include me.

“Help us out. There’s going to be a show tomorrow night. All hands on deck. Can you come over?” Stephanie wrote to me. I shrugged and tapped the screen.

“Sure,” I wrote. I hit send. Not like I had anything else to do. It’s just a way to pass the time sometimes.

City Lounge: Berlin (Book Five, Chapter Ten: Another Work Day)

Chapter Ten: Another Work Day:

Meanwhile, I have another day at work. It’s what I have to do because I’m an adult. There’s going to be a meeting today. The boss wanted to unveil a new project today. I heard the rumors about hints of what it could be. I just kept my head down and worked.

“What do you think the project would be?” one of the coworkers asked. I shrugged and shook my head.

“Don’t know,” I said. “We’ll find out at the meeting.” I could tell she was pouting without looking up. I just smiled to myself and typed away.

City Lounge: Berlin (Book Five, Chapter Four: Alter Mann)

Chapter Four: Alter Mann:

Today, I had to talk to a client. Well, she was going to be running late at first. I sat in the lobby of the hotel near the front desk. I had just gotten off the phone with the client.

“When did you say you were coming here?” I asked. “Oh… Where are you now?” I nodded as I listened.

“Okay, no problem,” I said. “I will be waiting. Bye?” I hung up and looked around the lobby. Now what? I pulled out my phone and looked at the screen. Only 10:03? It didn’t feel like it. Oh boy…

City Lounge: Berlin (Book Five, Chapter Two: Flirty)

Chapter Two: Flirty:

That meeting went well. Nagasawa and I ended up in a cafe in the hotel. There weren’t many people around. The barista wouldn’t stop staring at us.

“What can I get you ladies today?” he asked.

“Just a strong roast,” I said.

“Black tea, please,” Nagasawa said. The barista rang up our orders.

“That will be 13.26 euros,” he said. The client reached into her wallet. I held up my hand.

“Don’t,” I said. “Allow me.”

“Oh, you don’t have to,” she said.

“No, I insist,” I said. “Anything for the client.” I pulled out my wallet and paid for the drinks. The barista was about to give me my change, but I stopped him.

City Lounge: London (Book Five, Chapter Fourteen: Black Power)

Chapter Fourteen: Black Power:

-Sophie-

This woman scares me. I don’t know how I’m going to handle this. I took a deep breath from around the corner. Okay, I can do this. I have done this many times before. I closed my eyes for a moment before breathing in. Right. I opened my eyes and walked into my office.

Gloria sat in front of my desk, waiting. I will not back down. I walked over to my desk and sat down in my chair.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” I said with a forced smile on her face. Gloria looked up at me with a stone face.

City Lounge: London (Book Five, Chapter Ten: Rushing Home)

Chapter Ten: Rushing Home:

-Paul-

“Hey, do you remember when we were in college that we would go to the library and look at The Joy of Sex together?”

I about stumbled backwards. The Joy of Sex? Now that takes me back. I tapped the screen.

“Yes, why?” I wrote. I pressed send. Where was she going with this? My phone buzzed again. Sophie wrote back.

“Just thinking about it,” she wrote. The message itself would’ve been fine. However, I noticed the emoji behind the sentence. The emojis, actually. Three hearts, three kissy faces, and two heart-eyes. I stared at my screen. What was I looking at?