Written With Love

Chapter 3: Past Daggers

[Flashback continued]

After 35 minutes, Wyatt finally pulled into her driveway and parked. She said "Thank you" before leaning over, kissing his cheek, and saying" See ya around and please keep this between us...I don't want weirdos finding out my address". He rolled his eyes, pulled out her driveway, and headed home without further incident". The next day at school, things seemed normal as ever with Kimberly hanging with her obnoxious friends and some guys who were trying just like the others, to get a date with her. Wyatt went about his day until something unusual happened something he feared. He was outside writing inside his notebook whilst in the school garden when Kimberly came over and sat next to him.

He ignored her and continued writing until she whispered into his ear"Whatcha writing", which sent shivers down his spine and made her giggle. He sighed and said"I'm writing," before he stopped and let her read a little. She handed it back to him and said"That's good, before heading off to her friends again". Sometimes she even texted him and met up on weekends too. She would continue to do this every day until her friends noticed and accused her of liking him. After that, she began to be rude to him at school and drop by and hang out with him at his job in the meta cafe which confused him. It was two months into their friendship when he decided to ask of of the biggest questions he had lingering in his mind but didn't want to ask. Feeling like he'd never get the courage again he asked "Why are you nice here but rude at school?...do you have a personality disorder?". 

She said," No, I just can't be seen with you at school, then my reputation and life would be ruined". Those words stabbed him in the heart and left him in disbelief that she could say that with a straight face. Without thinking he said, "So I'm embarrassing to you huh? Well then If you can't openly accept me in front of others then we should pretend like we never met".Before Kimberly could say anything, he walked out of the booth and said"I think it's best if you leave ma'am". After that day he began to ignore her and go about his normal business while she chased after him. 

Eventually, she ended up drawing attention to herself and when confronted with the idea of liking him, which she did feel something...she panicked and told him to drop dead and that he was too much of a loser to ever get near her, to which he replied: "fuck you, you fake ass stuck up bitch, your not even that pretty". She smacked him and he nailed her in the head with a book which left a nasty bruise for a while. After that, she gave in to her anger at what he had said, even if some of it was true, and started making his life hell along with her friends which further increased the distance between them, and sure enough, they became enemies.

[End of Flashback]

Kimberly froze for a second,before quickly darting out the door and collapsing onto the grass outside while the rest of her team remained inside.One of the guys,named Diego walked up to Wyatt  and asked exactly what everyone wanted to know.Wyatt sighed and said"that thing out there played with my feelings and just when I let my guard down she mocked me and bullied the hell out of me just for being a writer". A woman from the group, who's name tag read Hanna,walked over and said"that's weird because she writes and edits herself now". Wyatt said"well back then she was obnoxious, full of herself and untrustworthy". Hanna said"you keep saying back then but just how far was it?" Wyatt said"it was 5 years ago,back in senior year of high school; we were 20 at the time,practically full fledged adults".

Diego patted Wyatt's shoulder and said "I get but, things have changed and you're her boss now,I'm not asking you to like her or be friends but for the sake of all our asses and this books future, we need to make this work as the company requested...after they're happy then we can make changes to the team without losing our jobs".Hana chimed in and said"if she makes you uncomfortable in any way then you can have her fired...I'm not saying i understand  everything you went through but i am saying I'm here to help in anyway i can to make this transition more comfortable for everyone". Wyatt sighed and said"i'll do it...she's welcome to come back in but It better only be business talk".

Another woman from the group,named molly;walked outside and grabbed Kimberly,who was now composed. Molly said"ma'am they've talked it out and he's willing to work with you so please come in so we may discuss the book". Kimberly walked inside with Hana and sat at the large conference table with the other 4 members of the team as well as Wyatt. Kimberly,trying not to make eye contact,looked down at her papers and said"Mr. Carson today we are here to discuss your current book"Love,Legacy and destruction". She fake smiled and said"the sales are going wonderfully however, the pace and quality of your pieces have been hit or miss and lately its been mostly misses...the company wants to go from a page a month to 1 to 2 parts per week with their own story lines that intertwine with the story".

Diego spoke up and said"to accomplish this, we will be your editing team,we will suggest changes,proofread,monitor sales and reader engagement however...the lead editor...Kimberly, will be responsible for communicating our findings". Molly stood up and said" she will also working with you personally and sometimes responsible for writing whatever you cannot finish...either way she will be with you on some days more than we will since we handle other stories as well". Kimberly stood up and said"I'm your personal editor assigned to you,anytime you need me,you can call my cell...I-I look forward to working with you sir". 

Wyatt nodded and said"if there's nothing more, then meeting adjourned...i'll begin work on the next part  first thing tomorrow but for now, the manuscript is on that computer over there,feel free to copy it".The team nodded and went over to gather  the information and while this was happening,Kimberly ran as fast as she could out the trailer, to her car and slumped back in her seat,panting.