Brushes And Ballads

Chapter 1

Emily picked up her coffee from the counter as she exited the coffee shop and proceeded to find a scene to photograph.
Emily was a painter and a photographer as a side job. She had just moved in town a week ago and was keen on capturing every inch of the town.
She arrived on a hill overlooking a lonely quiet forest completely engulfed by the fog. She took out her camera and got a few shots before her phone started to ring.
"Hello?" She answered.
"You're supposed to meet up today." The person spoke back.
"Wait, it's not until next week."
"Sorry, the schedule was moved up. I hope it's not too inconvenient"
"No, it's no problem at all. Send me the address and I'll be there."
She took a few more clicks and rushed back down the hill.
*_*
A taxi pulled over in front of a cafe and emily stepped out. She watched the taxi as it sped off and her gaze flew around a bit before turning to enter the cafe.
The moment her hand touched the grabbed the handle, a guy leaning on the cafe's wall caught her eye.
'I think i wanna take a picture. But is it really okay without his permission. It's not like i want to talk to him either.' She thought to herself whilst staring at the guy.
He looked up to find Emily staring. Suddenly his expression turned foul and emily flinched as he began to speak.
"For christ sake, would you quit staring at me, lady. Get a move on, will you." He spoke full of attitude.
Emily grunted but apologized under her breath before finally entering the cafe.
A little bit later, the guy walked in and approached the counter to inquire about a reserved table.
The waitress led him to a table of two seats. A lady with dark hair bob-cut occupied one of the seats busy looking down on her phone.
She looked up to find the waitress ushering the guy from outside the cafe to the other seat. Their eyes met and Emily instantly snorted as the guy's brows furrowed.
"No fucking way. You're the singer I'm supposed to paint an album cover for?.
"I'm Aaron."
"Karma's a bitch after all, huh?"
She quickly got up and swung her bag over her shoulder and made for the door as Aaron stood there completely dumbfounded.
"FUCK" he yelled
*_*
Emily threw her head back and sighed.
"Can't believe I missed the bus. I wonder when the next one arrives."
Suddenly, an SUV pulled over right in front of her.
'Why do I feel like I know who it is?. I mean there's  no it could be him, right?.' She thought to herself.
The window slowly lowered and Aaron's head popped out with a sly smirk on his face.
"You missed your bus, mi lady?"
" Aaand were walking."
She got off the bench and started walking but the car followed her at a slow pace.
"Come on, let's start over, shall we?"
"No thank you."
"Then how about we let bygones be bygones, eh?"
"I'll pass."
"Let's talk about this. Perhaps a compromise will do."
"Sorry, I don't work with pricks."
"I'm not a prick, I swear. I just wasn't in the right state of mind, alright?"
"Dude, just leave me the fuck alone, alright?"
A police siren blares from behind and Aaron pulls over. The cop walks over to his car to ask him some questions.
Emily stopped to look see what would happen. After a little chat, the cop wrote him a ticket and turned to Emily.
"Did he give you any trouble, young lady?"
"Yeah. He was stalking me, officer."
The officer gave him a stern look and Aaron rolled his eyes at her.
"Would you like a ride home?" The officer asked.
"Yes please."
*_*
The officer dropped her off at her apartment and sped off. She opened the main entrance and went in. She arrived at her door to find a box chocolates and a bouquet of roses with a letter signed stalker.
She scoffed before picking them up and sending them in.
*_*
Aaron stood in front of a laminated glass door and drew a couple of deep breaths before knocking.
"Get in here, Aaron." A voice spoke from inside the office.
Aaron opened the door slightly and entered the office.
"How'd it go?" The bulky black guy behind the desk asked.
"Weeeell, you see, it didn't go quite well, John."
"Oh, how so?"
"I kinda missed my morning coffee so before we met I flipped just a little bit when she kept staring at me and she called the whole thing off."
"Oh really. You missed your morning coffee, huh?. Were you missing your morning coffee when you lunged at guy in the crowd, or when you dissed that show hostess, or when you bad-mouthed your own colleagues?. Will you ever FUCKING GROW UP?!." He paused to his temples and calm his nerves.
"I don't know about you but I'm seriously losing patience, Aaron. Make sure to fix things by the end of tomorrow." He ended as he returned to working on his computer
"Can't we just hire someone else?"
"We could've. If someone hadn't decided to draw the fucking date closer on National television."
"It wasn't me."
John stared at him for moment and then sighed
"Just get out of my office."
Aaron hesitantly turned and left the office.
*_*