𝚂𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚂𝚊𝚍𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜

Chapter-30

It's funny how Monaco is such a small place and yet I managed to never cross paths with Charlotte and Giada. Matteo started spending lesser time with them and more with me, and it made me feel good. I felt happy.

After our second date- I took Charles to a sushi bar, we had a lot more. They weren't necessarily extravagant or anything, sometimes it was just going for a long drive or walking around town. The time we spent together was everything, I liked that he managed to steal moments whenever he could in his busy schedule.

But it was time for him to seriously get to work, and it was time for me to head back to Osaka. I had a slight pinch in my heart that I couldn't say goodbye to him, Baba and Kenji dropped me at the airport. I told Baba to get back at her store, her social life was making all of us jealous and I told Kenji to take the risk- the worst that could happen was probably being transferred to another department.

I was glad to be back home again, I was glad to put a sea between me and the pain I felt. Will I ever be able to not have a love-hate relationship with Monaco? Why did the place that shaped me as a person have to hurt me so much? I thought character development stops at some point.

A jet lag cure later I was back in commission, the first place I had to be was at Katsumi's office. She briefed me about the producer I was meeting, what negotiations I could expect and how I should counter. I found it strange because I wasn't one to mix work with downtime, meeting the producer over lunch felt like a very informal setting- as in like a date just to know each other better.

"She's been working in Hollywood for ten years, I know her work ethic is bound to be very American. Don't get too carried away, it may be lunch but business will still be on the table." Katsumi explained.

"Alright, I'll be sharp! As sharp as I can be." I saluted her.

I walked out of her office and I realised I have literally nothing to do. All I had going on for me was my my writing, what was I supposed to do when I didn't feel like writing? I couldn't even hold a conversation with any of my previous classmates let alone I had no friends here.

It hadn't even been a proper week and I was already missing everyone back in Monaco, I had something to look forward to everyday. I missed Baba, she wasn't here to tell me about all her finds, I missed Kenji for keeping me entertained with his stupidity and I missed Charles- I just did.

I hated to admit it but I felt lonely, very lonely in a city that had given me literally everything. I went home, lay in bed fighting back the urge to cry. This was such a stupid reason to cry over.

People don't tell you how hard it is to make friends as an adult, to add to it I was a shy and awkward person- I have no charisma how am I supposed to even interest one person into having a conversation with me?

I tried to push those thoughts aside and get ready for lunch, but it was proving to be increasingly difficult. Why won't they just leave? Just for a moment? I needed to be sharp.

I stripped out of my clothes and took a cold shower in the middle of the day to wake myself up, as soon as the water touched my skin it sent a chill up my spine. I felt awake, I felt alive again. I did my hair and makeup, made a mess of my closet to settle on a white button up and a pair of black trousers.

I reached the restaurant a little earlier than the producer, so I could sit down and calm myself before pitching my ideas to her. I checked my phone before I put it on silent so that it wouldn't disturb me.

A few minutes later a tall woman with pale skin and brown hair pulled back in a neat bun entered the restaurant. She stuck out like a sore thumb in the crowd but her confidence commanded the room, she was dressed so smartly and wore a stern expression on her face- she meant business.

I greeted her as she took a seat opposite to me, almost instantly her demeanour changed. The serious look was wiped off her face, she smiled and stretched her hand out.

"Hi, I'm Vanessa. It's so nice to finally see you in person." She introduced herself.

"The pleasure is all mine! I'm Emiko." I shook her hand.

"As you already know, I'm interested in your project. Let's discuss more once we've ordered."

I agreed, we placed an order for our food made some small talk and then she finally dove right in. She explained her terms and vision that went behind choosing to fund a project, I nodded and took mental notes of everything she said.

"You meet pretty much my entire checklist, but there's still a question I have." She said taking a sip of her drink.

"I'll be more than glad to answer it." I smiled.

"Why this story? Why a summer romance between teenagers out of all the enticing stories there are out there?" She rested her head between her elbows.

"It's a long answer, but the gist of it is that it holds a lot of meaning to me. That little spring fling actually goes on to shape a bit aspect of the person you grow up to become." I explained.

"Let me take a guess." She cupped her chin, "It's a personal story?"

"Is it that evident?" I laughed. "Spot on! It is."

"So tell me a little bit more about how you're planning to developing it and what actually went down."

"So, as for the end-I'm going to end it realistically. You don't just end up with someone you developed a crush on when you were literally a teenager."

"And as for what actually went down."

I bit down on my lip but continued anyway, "Well, I didn't see him after that summer for years until last year and... we're dating now."

"And you say it's an unrealistic ending." She laughed. "I'm really happy for you! But I agree, in order to captivate and leave an impact, sometimes you've just got to make the audience cry."

"I'm so glad we agree! My agent made me change the ending of my show but I don't think I'll be changing the end of the movie."

"So glad we're on the same page, I'll talk to your agent about." She reassured me.

With that, the business discussions were over, we spent some time just talking about general things and winded lunch up with exchanging phone numbers. And just like that, I was alone again.