Chasing Alana

12 | A New Day

The sound of her phone ringing slowly brought her out of her deep slumber as she blinked groggily a couple of times. A sharp pain in her abdomen made her groan out loud as her phone continued to ring nonstop.

The sun shined brightly, making her immediately close her eyes again. With one of her arms thrown over her eyes in an attempt to cover them from the sunlight and the other gripping her stomach, she tried her best to ignore the ringing, hoping whoever calling would give up.

But the damn device wouldn't stop— whoever calling sure was persistent.

Sighing with annoyance, she kept her eyes closed before reaching over to try and locate her phone. After a bit of struggling, she managed to finally bring the phone next to the ear to answer.

"Hello?" Her voice came out harsh, not bothering to even check the caller ID. She was definitely not a morning person and knowing she didn't have anything scheduled today made her extra cranky to be woken up.

"Hey, sorry for waking you," said Daniel, cautiously, making Alana feel bad for snapping at him.

"No, I'm sorry for snapping," she apologized quietly. "Just-"

"That time of month?" He asked, knowing how she got during certain times of the month.

"How'd you know?" She asked, curiously. It was no surprise that if there was one person who knew her best, it would be Daniel.

"I've been working with you for 3 years now, Alana," he stated matter of factly. "And I practically spend every day with you."

Alana hummed in acknowledgment.

"But I'm calling because I know you don't have anything planned today besides meeting with the interior designer in the afternoon," He continued. "But Limitless Talent wants to meet with you again."

"Why?" She asked, suddenly feeling a bit more awake.

"They want to renegotiate terms with you."

"Is there even anything to renegotiate?" She questioned, flicking a piece of her hair out of her face. "Have you talked to Lee— what does she think?"

"She thinks it'll be a good idea to meet with them again," he confessed, having just gotten off the phone with the woman herself.

"Are we still talking about our Lee?" Her tone laced with disbelief.

Daniel chuckled. "Yes, our Leanne. And I also talked to Kevin. He-"

Alana groaned, cutting him off. "Let me guess— he thinks it's a good idea as well."

"Well, yes, he does," he said faintly as he smoothly navigated through traffic.

"But in the end, it's up to you."

"But in the end, it's up to me."

Both Alana and Daniel spoke the sentence at the same time, causing them to burst out into laughter as they both imitated the famous Kevin Gilligan.

"Ah, I wonder where I heard that from before," giggled Alana before pausing. She finally spoke, making up her mind.

"Alright, I'll meet with them again."

"Great, I'm on my way right now," grinned Daniel, glancing down at the navigation system. "I'll be there in around 30 minutes."

"Sneaky bastard— already knew I was going to agree," muttered Alana, rolling her eyes, causing Daniel's grin to grow even wider.

"See you in a bit, Lani."

With that, he hung up with a small smile and proceeded to change lanes. Despite it being only 10 AM, traffic was already picking up.