The Writer's Dilemma

Memories in photos

    The review in the day in the life of Marius Alarie was simple. They picked out a few nice photos and watched a few of the clips of what would appear in the extended video, sent their feedback to the director, and went their separate ways. Audrey, as usual, was grateful to be relieved of him. She ached from the lack of sleep she had gotten the previous night and longed for the bed in the guest room.

    “Audrey,” Jocelyn met her at the door, her face ashen and turning greener by the second. “I don’t feel so well,” She weakly murmured, her hand on her stomach. Audrey quickly held out her hands, catching her friend as she went limp and fell forward towards her. She felt Jocelyn’s forehead, frowning at the hot touch and the sweat that was beginning to bead and drop down the agent’s face. Pulling out her phone she immediately dialed the ambulance, asking them to pick them up at their current address. As they waited for the ambulance, Audrey dabbed Jocelyn’s forehead with a cool washcloth. Twenty minutes later, the doorbell rang. Audrey ran to the foyer meeting Marius in the process.

    “What’s going on?” he asked fiercely. Audrey opened the door, explaining the situation to the first responders while walking back to the guest room. Audrey feebly gathered a few of her most important things, following the first responders out, Jocelyn laid on a stretcher they had brought with them, hardly moving.

    An hour later, Jocelyn had her own personal room at the closest hospital. The doctors and nurses had worked endlessly to retrieve blood work and do several different tests and give Jocelyn the best possible care when they had arrived. Now, Audrey sat in a chair next to Jocelyn’s hospital bed, drifting off every few minutes just to startle herself back awake.

    “How is she?” Jocelyn’s husband rolled into the room, his voice soft and gentle, with a hint of alarm. Audrey stood, looking at him with apologetic eyes that followed him to the edge of the hospital bed.

    “She’s stable, according to the doctors. Her fever is steadily going down,” Audrey explained. He nodded his head, showing his acknowledgment.

    “You should go home and get some rest. Thank you for taking care of her,” Jocelyn’s husband waved a goodbye, dismissing her from the room. Audrey left, taking the long journey back to her own place, not even dreaming of returning to Marius’s.

    Her alarm chirped crazily the next morning, filling the room with an unpleasant ring, waking Audrey from a restless sleep. Her body went on autopilot through showering, dressing and the bus ride to work. It wasn’t until she took the first sip of coffee from the pot in the office kitchen that she began to feel alive.

    “I’ve brought manager Fay’s items. You may return them to her,” Marius’s voice interrupted the peaceful quiet. Audrey barely recognized him.

    “How about my things?” She asked, sipping her coffee by the kitchen counter, willing herself to wake up more.

    “Those you can come to get yourself,” The intonation was more than she could bear to listen to. She crossed the room, wanting to leave, but found her way blocked and Marius’s hand clasped around her wrist. Audrey tried to pull away but his grip on her was unyielding.

“I don’t need them that much,” She retorted.

    “Ah, there you two are!” Mr. Jacques cut in. Marius dropped his hold on her, turning abruptly. “Meeting in five minutes! Miss Marchand… a word!” There was no hesitation from Audrey to leave the kitchen as quickly as possible. “I heard about Mrs. Fay being hospitalized. Bad news, bad news.” Mr. Jacques tsked. “I just wanted to inform you that I’ll be assigning a new trainee to help you until Mrs. Fay is back. You’re taking on a lot right now and you’ll need the help,” Mr. Jacques patted her shoulder, leaving her at the entrance of the meeting room. She sighed, nodded to a few of her co-workers, and entered the room quickly after finding Marius rapidly approaching her. She took a seat between two editors, beginning some small talk with them about the weather.

    “You forgot Mrs. Fay’s suitcase,” Marius interrupted their conversation, startling Audrey. Marius was bent over, his face next to hers as he patted the handle of the suitcase.

    “He’s so thoughtful,” one of the editors said to the other. Audrey gritted her teeth in annoyance.

    “Please welcome Claudel Publishers, Kerem Bassett, Pierre Dupont, and their agent Wyatt Langlois!” Mr. Jacques announced, his voice echoing off the walls of the meeting room. Hearing those words, Audrey stood, whipping her head around to look at the entrance, her heart beating wildly in her chest. To her amazement, her eyes first landed on Kerem. She barely made out the others behind him as her eyes met his. Audrey could feel her face flush. The feeling of their eyes meeting gave her a sense of security, and it made her wonder if he remembered her from the book signing event. Then, the connection was broken as Pierre stepped in front, his eyes greeting everyone. Audrey glanced around at everyone, stopping when her vision came across the figure still standing in the doorway. It was Wyatt. As the meeting began, she tried to catch his eye; however, he did not seem to notice her at all.

    Mr. Jacques introduced Kerem and Pierre to Marius. A round of handshakes followed as everyone else in the room watched in curiosity. Then she was being introduced as the primary writer for their collaboration and everyone’s eyes swiveled in her direction. There was hardly a pause between the introduction and the time that Kerem crossed the room, picking up her hand and bringing it to his lips. “It’s very nice to see you again,” his languid voice washed over her, making her shiver in anticipation.

    “You remember me?” Audrey asked, momentarily stunned.

    “We’d never forget a fan’s face,” Pierre interrupted, appearing by Kerem’s side. Kerem lowered her hand, his eyes trained on her with an air of friendliness and seriousness.

“We should begin,” Marius’s voice interrupted, bringing the attention away from the three of them momentarily. Audrey took her seat once more, staring in admonishment when Kerem and Pierre opted to sit next to her instead of the CEOs.

    “Marius and I have discussed the collaboration. Next Friday, Mr. Alarie will have his second photoshoot. Instead of it only being Marius, we will have Kerem and Pierre join him. Miss Marchand will handle the arrangements. Any ideas?” The CEO briefly discussed the tasking, putting Audrey on the spot once again. She reached up to grasp her mother’s necklace, giving her a moment of peace.

    “Next Friday we have two themes. Shopping and model kit making. Even though they are Mr. Alarie’s hobbies I believe that Mr. Bassett and Mr. Dupont will fit nicely into these two themes,” Audrey glanced around the room. Pierre began clapping, gaining a few smiles and laughs from her co-workers.

    “Splendid!” Mr. Jacques stood once again. “Do not forget that we will also have a private interview with Mr. Bassett and Mr. Dupont held by Miss Marchand,” He continued, clapping his hands. “Now, we’d like to invite everyone for lunch today. I hope that Mr. Bassett, Mr. Dupont, and Mr. Langlois will be able to join us and take a tour of our building if you’d like,” Kerem and Pierre looked at each other briefly before nodding their heads in agreement. “Well then! Meeting adjourned!” Mr. Jacques released them. Audrey waited for the room to begin to clear before standing herself. She was in no rush today.

    “Miss Marchand? Will you give us a tour?” Kerem and Pierre had remained seated next to her, looking up at her hopefully.

    “Audrey… we need to discuss this Friday,” Marius interjected.

    “I thought our meeting wasn’t until tomorrow,” She objected.

    “That’s right, dear boy! Let her have a break and get to know her future interviewees,” Mr. Jacques clapped Marius on the back, leading him out of the room. Audrey breathed a sigh of relief, thankful for her boss at that moment.

    “I’m free for the rest of the day!” Audrey smiled at Kerem and Pierre, indicating for them to follow her to her cubicle.

    “Shouldn’t you get a big office room?” Pierre questioned the moment they stepped into her crowded cubicle, the three of them barely able to stand without touching in the small area. Audrey chuckled at the question shaking her head.

    “Feel free to look around,” Audrey stepped out of the way so they could both goggle at the pictures and articles she had posted on the walls and on her desk.

    “You are very talented,” Kerem murmured as he passed her.

    “You really think so? I mean, coming from someone as talented as you, it’s really an honor,” Audrey gushed, her voice lowering as she became shy in front of them. She dipped her head in thanks. Pierre remained aloof off to the side of her cubicle, looking at one article in particular. Kerem on the other hand turned from one picture to the next in curiosity, his eyes scanning every item there was.

    “One of the best I’ve seen. This is a nice photo,” Kerem assured her, pointing at a photo he was looking at. It was a picture of when she first started at Blank Multimedia when she was younger and happier. He turned, looking at her with a sheepish smile. She returned the smile, thanking him as she moved further into the cubicle. An awkward silence built around them as they continued to look at the photo.

    “I don’t know if you remember… we took a photo together at the last book sign you held,” She pulled her phone out to show him the photo.

    “I remember.”