Café De Londres (h.s.)

Chapter 1

The rain in Seattle never seemed to stop, and when it did, the sun barely shone. I never mined the rain; it brought a compelling peace to my soul. Listening to the raindrops on the window helped me fall asleep. Though the traffic and loud engine noises were distracting, they never stopped me from typing away at midnight. My deadline was due in thirty minutes, and I was a paragraph away from finishing my article. Living in Seattle came with a price, a high one. It was a good thing I worked for one of the best magazine articles in Seattle and the states. It was also a good thing my father owned the label and ran it as well. I knew why people whispered behind my back. I was the daughter of the CEO. To them, there was no doubt I was-hired for my relationship with the boss. I paid no attention to their words. I managed to graduate top of my class and work my butt off to be deserving of my father's approval. Seeking for his approval was what drove me to my success, which continued to drive me for more, better. No one but me could see that.

"You write an awful lot." I looked up at Thomas. I glanced at my watch and smiled to myself. Like clockwork, every day at eleven-thirty he came over to my desk and asked to escort me to my car.

"It's my job. Writing is what I do." I laughed, typing in my final words. "And, sent." I clicked the enter button. I let out a heavy sigh and relaxed back on my chair.

"Come on, you can't sleep in the office again, or you'll get into trouble with your dad." offering me his hand, he helped me to my feet. "It's raining outside again."

I grabbed my bag and from it pulled out my umbrella. "I figured. It's September, what'd you expect." My relationship with Thomas was complicated. I liked him more than I led on, but he liked me too much. His affection was cute, but it could sometimes come off as cloying. My father was fond of Thomas, and that reassured me Thomas was worthy of dating. Two years now, and I still couldn't say the words 'I love you' and mean them.

Walking me to my car, Thomas held his umbrella close. His shoulders bumped with mine in a way that irked me. It was so kind of him to wait for me this late and walk me to my car on a night of heavy rain. But sometimes I wished he would stop. For once, I wanted to leave work alone and walk to my car in solitude. Being alone helped me think. I couldn't do much thinking with Thomas around. "I'll see you tomorrow." I smiled at him, pressing the engine button on my car keys.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He lowered his voice like he did every time he was leaning in for a kiss. I loved kissing him more than I liked hearing him talk about how lucky he was to have me and about how much he, "I love you." loved me.

"Me too.." I pecked his lips once more, pulling my car door open and getting in. I waved him off and pulled out of the parking lot.

A heaviness lifted off my chest. I liked Thomas, but I couldn't understand why saying goodbye to him everyday felt so good. It was a twenty-minute drive home, and that was enough time to relax before arriving at the chaos. The yelling was never surprising, but the silence was alarming. The fighting and screaming meant everyone hated each other, and things were normal. Silence meant; my parents had finally murdered my rebellious sister. Walking in, I was greeted by the warmth, removing my coat and shoes I put them to the side and made my way up the stairs.

"Long Night at the office?" My father's voice echoed through the mansion.

I came to a halt to turn and face him. "Ah, yes." I sighed, running a hand over my damp hair. "I sent you the link if you want to check it out." My father was not the company's editor, but he was mine. No article I ever wrote was left unread by him.

"Already did, I sent you a new one there is a lot you need to fix." he pointed out with his right hand, in the other he held a glass of whiskey.

"Is mom home?" I asked because she was the one usually yelling the roof away, and I couldn't hear her now.