Copy write © 2014 by Justine Groome.

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The rays of sunlight dipped in through the window casting an almost eerie glow over the pale wood that made up the tables in the tiny coffee shop on the corner of James Street. Miranda's, that was the name that adorned the outside of the small brick building, its intricate lettering catching the eyes of anyone walking by. The way the letters curve and move always reminded me of an old movie, the way people used to write so perfectly. It's almost a dead talent now, what will all the texting and cell phones, computers and technology, no one writes by hand, not like that. I smiled softly to myself, letting my fingers trail idly around my cup of hot chocolate, which was almost empty and probably cold by now. One thing I loved most about this particular little café, in its off-peak hours; it's beautifully calm. No loud teenagers coming in and out, no annoyingly arrogant business men chatting noisily in their phones and no people to disturb the silence. It's can be described in one word, peaceful; this café is home for me. 

I easily spend more time here and at my office, then I ever do in my apartment, just basking in the simplicity of life. Miranda's has always been my sanctuary, my place to enjoy just a little sliver of a fantasy before having to return to the reality that is my busy life. 

"Did you want another cup Annie?" I glanced up at Miranda standing over me with a smile. Her face weathered by time, her forehead worn by wrinkles from her stressed past, greying hair and a frail looking form, but soft eyes. Miranda is in her mid-sixties, a small woman, but she is sweet and as frail as she appears, looks can be deceiving. She keeps up with her fitness and stands tall when conflict arises, something I have always admired about her. When my family died, Miranda was the person who took me in. She and my mother had always been close, hell I practically grew up in the back of this very shop. Miranda had given my mother a job when no one else was willing to, not many people were willing to take on a 19 year old with a baby. Miranda isn't like other people. 

"No I think I'll take a rain check" I said casually glancing at my watch, 6:30am. "It's almost time for the morning rush and I don't have the energy today to deal with that, it's a big day you know" I pointed out with a wink. 

"That's right" she smiled her soft smile and sat down across from me, her hand resting lightly on my arm. "That big publishing event, what time is the opening?" 

"The book signing starts at ten and runs until six at the Chapters in the downtown mall. We have to be there to set up by nine and then we have to stay until seven to break down the show." 

"How many different authors are going to be there? I know the company is hosting more than one publication in an attempt to raise your renown." I smiled over at her as the tiny bell attached to the door gave out its tiny chime to let the staff know that someone had come in. Miranda was truly one of a kind, she always paid attention, she always knew exactly what you meant and if she didn't, she took the time to learn and understand it. "Take a seat anywhere you like" she called out to the couple that had just come in. 

"There are a few, I think about 5 in total who will be there signing books. We need to make sure that we have enough books to sell and that we have all of our pamphlets and other promotional pieces to hand out." I smiled softly at her, this woman was all I had she was my mother, my caregiver and my friend. "Okay Tutore, you better get back to your customers and I promise I will come see you again soon" she smiled at me hearing my word for her. Tutore is Italian for guardian; it's something my mother used to say to me when I was little. 'Annie, Miranda is your Tutore she will always protect you and keep you safe' when she died it was something that seemed natural to call her. 

"You'd better" she stood with a wink and headed over to the couple that had just sat down, leaving me to the remnants of my cold drink. I smiled to myself again pulling out my wallet and leaving the money on the table and heading out onto the street. James street is a very rustic area with its old style shops and brick buildings all standing out in a city of modern buildings. The morning sunlight was still low in the sky, slowly making its way up and people rising with it. The ordinate street lights were added by the town a few years back to make this part of the city look more rustic than it already did. The streets were busy with cars driving by, heading to wherever it was that they needed to be. With the clock pushing on seven, more and more people were making their way out of the woodwork and beginning their busy lives. I pulled out my phone and dialled the number for the cab company, not that I wanted to spend any more money on cabs than I absolutely had to. My car had conked out on me a few weeks ago and the garage said that it would be pointless to get it repaired because it would end up being cheaper for me to just buy a new one, which I hadn't gotten around to yet. 

"Can I have a cab to the corner of James and Montgomery please" I nodded as they told me they would be five minutes before they got to me before hanging up. I sat down on the bench at the corner while waiting for the cab and opened my e-mails briefly glancing through them. The list of things that had to be one for today's event was a long one but I always have confidence in our team. The delivery guys are due to arrive at the store right at nine and start bringing in the boxes of special editions of the books to the store. We decided that one of the best ways to make sales during this particular event was to offer an edition of the books that was not readily available in stores and make it a onetime offer to bring in more customers. Each of the five authors got to pick their favourite books and then we commissioned our designers to create compelling, unique and new covers for them. We placed an order of five hundred of each book and arranged that if we should run out than they can be special ordered but only by coming to the event and filling out the forms only offered at this time. 

The cab pulled up to the curb and I stood waiting as it came to a stop so that I could get in, I opened the door and sat down into the passenger's seat, politely giving the cabbie the address of the office. I figured that I probably could kill the hour of free time I had before the event by finishing up some of the editing on one of the new releases. It was about a ten minute drive before we pulled up outside my office building, I thanked the cabbie and paid him before stepping outside and tossing my purse over my shoulder.

It was a tall, more modern looking building with large panes of glass and a unique twisting look to it. Lacey had asked me to come work with her after we finished school, she was an English major and I was in one of the top medical programs that there was. She opened up her own publishing business a few years after when she came into some money, and here we are two years later. I smiled softly and waved at the receptionist who was just starting her shift before moving across the marble lobby into the elevator and pressing the button for the top floor. The elevator doors opened to reveal the floor to ceiling glass doors that are the home of our office. Brooke and Williams Publishing sticking out as the first thing you see, its frosted lettering standing out against the dark furniture lying just behind the doors. I pushed the entrance code into the panel before opening the doors and tapping the touch screen light control just off to the side, quickly resulting in the total illumination of the office space. The front foyer is carpeted and pleasantly inviting with a large circular receptionists desk covered in equipment and new tech. behind that is a row of offices all with bolded names on their doors. The waiting area has suede couches and chairs, cute coffee tables with fake fruit and flowers decorating them, and different paintings hanging all around on the walls. The lunch room is just down the hallway near the bathrooms all just as intricately decorated. I walked past the desk and headed to my office letting my eyes trail over the lettering on my door, Annabelle Williams was typed in the most beautiful calligraphy just like Miranda's café was. I slid my key effortlessly into the lock and twisted until I heard the audible click of it coming open. 

My office was slightly different from Lacey's, where she had light coloured wood's and a very colourful office my own was filled with dark mahogany furniture with a Zen like feel to it. My desk is a larger L-shaped desk in the corner near the large glass pane window overlooking the street four stories below us. I chose to have live plants in my office, bamboo, a bonsai tree, orchids and other similar plants that make me feel at peace with myself. I keep a miniature Zen garden on my desk, along with scented candles that I burn to help me think while working. I smiled inhaling that familiar scent before tossing my keys onto the filing cabinet beside the door and sliding my heels off, letting them drop to the ground. I moved to my desk reluctantly and picked up the manuscript that I've been working on for the last few weeks. The stack of paper covered in coloured post-its and highlighted sections, comments about revision ideas and red pen marks for spelling errors. I flipped to the last page I had been on before I had went home yesterday and then I moved past everything else to the couch that was against the farthest wall facing the windows and everything else, letting my body slink down into its soft folds. I closed my eyes letting my free hand rest over my face as I relaxed into it, thinking about how many nights I spent sleeping on this couch because I didn't want to leave my office I wanted to stay and work on the editing. Lacey runs the section of company that works on the final pieces of every project and manages the money. We have a resident artist that does our covers, someone who makes all the events and handles our marketing, another person who deals with the screening process, someone who writes our column in the local newspaper and me. I am in charge of all the raw editing of manuscripts and co-managing the business, I attend every event and work my ass off to promote our company.

I began to let my pen run over the words, carefully analyzing everything but not really retaining the story line. This process of the editing is when I find all the grammatical errors and work on any fluctuations in the basic story line before going into depth. Something I have always liked doing, in school I was a very talented young woman and I was very articulate, which was rare in a child of my age. I was classed in the gifted category and skipped quite a few grades, they had wanted to keep me back but my parents had managed to prove that my social skills with older children were much more promising than with children of my own age. By the time I was 13 I was in a special high school for gifted children doing grade eleven work, by the time I was 16 I was enrolled in college and taking a pre-medicine course. To say that life was easy, well it wasn't. Try being a 16 year old girl, just beginning puberty in classes with 18 and 19 year olds. It was one of the farthest things from easy even if all the kids that I grew up with seemed to think that it was a cake walk for me. College parties, and booze, they didn't seem to realize that I didn't make any friends and I didn't really like all of those things that other kids did. I preferred to be doing my homework and studying to be good at what I was doing, by the time I was 20 I was just about to begin my three year internship with the hospital. I met Lacey around that time and she became the only other friend I had, besides Nolan at least. 

I jumped hearing my cell phone begin to ring, its shrill sound echoing around my office. I glanced over it before sliding my hand over it to answer the call. "Speak of the Devil" I said with a smirk letting my head rest on the arm of the couch. 

"Why is that?" the voice said in a flirty tone. 

"I was just thinking about you" 

"Was I naked" he said huskily. Nolan had the type of voice that was thick and manly, you know the one; it draws the attention of any woman and causes them to become flustered and discouraged. A very sat-after man.

"Nolan. How are you on this early morning?" I smirked listening to him sigh, no doubt deliberately trying my make me squirm by sounding so alluring.

"Baby I don't know where you're at but I hear your voice and its sunshine all day" Nolan flirted the smile evident in his voice as he spoke.

"Mum hum, well lover the rest of us live in the real world and in case you haven't looked out your fancy ass windows today, it's just barely light out. I'm trying to concentrate on my work and you're very distracting"

"I know something else that would make it hard to concentrate on your work" he suggested dropping his voice lower, which didn't even seem possible yet there he went sounding so sexy.
"What might that be?" I asked spinning a lock of hair that had come loose around my neatly manicured fingers. "Oh wait! It's bound to be a large hot chocolate with a hint of peppermint to warm the cockles of my heart right?" He laughed loudly making me smile.

"Annie you never change" the two of us have been friends for as long as I can remember. We met on the first day of high school, and we were almost inseparable after that. The was my rock and anchor and when I went away to college Nolan stayed behind to work in a small machine factory saving money for his future career. I was a surrogate sister for Nolan to take under his wings, "Just wanted to make sure we're still on for tonight?"

"Tonight?" I asked confused glancing down at my watch. 8:30am. 

"I have a tasting party remember? The game plan last time I checked was for me to come and pick you up around five?" 

"Shit" I whispered out loud to myself realizing that I had completely forgotten about that. I had been so busy with the preparations for this event that I had even forgotten to put it into my schedule.

"Annie you promised me weeks ago" he whined already knowing full well that I'd forgotten.

"I know. I'm sorry Nolan" I grumbled rubbing my hand roughly over my face in hopes of relieving some of the stress. Nolan always knew exactly what I was thinking, sometimes even before I did.

"Just say you'll blow off all the work you're trying to cram in and come be my date. I can't go to this thing alone and you know how much I hate escorts." It was true he really did hate escort services. It wasn't like he hired the low life's of the city, he only ever went for the high end and expensive services and only when I wasn't available to pose as his date.

"I have so much work to do Nolan" I groaned staring out the window. "Surly the tasting will be canceled anyway? They have been calling for bad weather on the radio" I asked hopefully. Nolan owned a winery, many of them actually; and tonight was a wine tasting event to raise money for the Sick Kid's General Hospital. He started franchising the business in his late youth after a sum of money had been left to him by his grandfather. He had opened and began to run the business while I was doing my residency in the hospitals. Nolan loved it, the events, the women, the money but mostly Nolan had a passion for wine. I groaned internally, knowing full well that he wasn't going to let me off the hook for this one. I had to go.

"Sorry cupcake it's an indoor event"

"I hate you" I sighed as I gave into him, he was just so easy to say yes too.

"Right I'll see you at five then?" I could hear the smile in his voice as I glared out the window. 

"I have the book signing tonight Nolan, I can't get out of there until after seven" I said plainly, I had spent weeks setting this up and nothing was going to interfere, not even Nolan.

"Fine, but my car will be outside at seven-thirty and you'd better be there to." He said very bluntly, I partly thought he might have bargained with me but he rarely does. Nolan Pierce doesn't bargain, he doesn't make bets and he doesn't gamble. He likes being in control and everyone knows it. With that he hung up saying a quick goodbye and telling me not to be late getting out to the car that he was sending. I let out a frustrated groan and tossed my phone onto the floor beside the couch knowing that I had to get up and start heading over to the book store. Nolan was always managing to throw some kind of kink into my plans.

I sat up shaking off that feeling that you get when you're relaxing for an extended amount of time before standing and moving over to my desk placing the manuscript down. I made my way over to the mirror I kept in the corner of the office to make sure that I looked presentable enough for the event. My hair was held up in a neat clip, the long brown locks would have been dangling down to my waist if it hadn't been. I was in a plain suit, a grey pencil skirt with a semi-fancy white blouse tucked into topped by a matching grey petit-coat. I made sure my make-up was still decent and that my skirt was pulled down to knees before heading towards the door. I slid my feet back into my high heels and collected my things from around the office before heading out into the larger area locking my office behind me. I smiled at Nancy our receptionist who was just arriving for the beginning of her day. 

"Here early as usual" she said with a smile as she booted up her computer and moved to check the messages on the phone. Our main office didn't open until nine o'clock but it wasn't uncommon for me to be the first one in the office, and Nancy was always the second one, at least half an hour early every day. She makes sure our coffee is made, that our offices are clean and that everything is in working order before the rest of the staff get here. 

"Today is the book signing so I thought I would get a head start on the paper work that I will be missing out on doing today" I said with a smile back to her, I liked Nancy, she worked hard and reminded me of myself at her age; not that I was much older than her. I smiled thinking about it I really am not that much older than Nancy who is about 23 years old and me being only 25 years of age, it's strange to have accomplished so much and only be three years older than her. 
"Yes I remember" she said with another large smile; I swear the woman is always happy. "Good Luck Annabelle I hope all goes well with it" 

"Nancy, call my Annie" I stated with a wink before heading towards the elevators and down to the lobby, patiently waiting for my cab to arrive and take me over to the book store.