The next morning, a driver from the publishing company came to pick her up at eight in the morning. Victoria hadn't gotten a car. Colin said there was really no reason for it. Between public transportation, his car and the company's cars, she would have plenty of ways to get around. That would take some getting used to. Victoria liked having a car and the independence that came along with it. Thinking about it as she climbed into the back seat of the car, she realized she could always change her mind about it later.
"It's about a forty-five minute drive from your place to the office." Seeing the grimace on her face, he quickly added, "That's not bad for L.A." Steve had said that the office was real casual, but Victoria had taken some pain with her dress this morning. She was determined to stay professional and make a good impression. She wore a black skirt which covered the tops of her long black boots from Celine in Paris, a black and white silk blouse and a matching black and white geometrical pattern scarf which was knotted loosely around her neck. Large pearl and onyx earrings were a focal point set off by her hair which was severely knotted at her neck.
When she arrived, Victoria was surprised to find the office jammed with people. She was told to take a seat, and was offered coffee. Steve was delayed a bit, but would arrive shortly. When he arrived, he ignored the others in the office and made his way straight over to where she sat. Taking her hand and pulling her to her feet, he said, "You are one hell of a striking girl, Victoria. Are you ready to work your ass off?"
She laughed. "I'm not sure, but I'm going to do my best."
"That's exactly what I want to hear," he said, escorting her down the hall towards his plush office. Victoria soaked up the photographs of all the authors he had employed in his career, hanging in the hallway. She recognized a lot of the names of the authors of children's books she had used in her teaching career. Smiling, she knew these names by heart - Bill Martin Jr., Michael Sampson, Eric Carle, Chris Van Allsburg, Brod Baggert, just to name a few. She noticed there weren't a lot of females on the wall and began to wonder if she could make it in this business. She was small-time compared to these men!
Steve's white on white office with chrome and glass desk, beige leather couch and chairs, and lithographs all coordinated in the same white and beige, surprised Victoria. This looked more like a showroom than an office. He showed her to one of the leather chairs and offered her another cup of coffee. She politely declined eager to get right to it. He sat in a matching chair opposite her instead of sitting behind the desk. She was relieved. It made her feel much more at ease. They discussed at some length her contract, what it meant and what was expected of her ... how many books she was expected to produce and of what length. He gave her some topics that he wanted to see manuscripts on but he also left some open for her own imagination and creativity. He also wanted to take some of her old manuscripts that had not been published yet and re-do those and try publishing those as well. Once she had some work completed, he wanted to do a promotional tour to bookstores around the area and book signings, presentations, etc. He had a lot in store for her and Victoria was excited to get started.
When she finally left the meeting, two and a half hours later, Victoria felt very good about her move to California and secure in her job. Her first assignment was due in four weeks. He had given her a specific topic and some direction in which to take the story. He also wanted her to rework one of her old manuscripts as well. Steve had offered for a driver to take her back home, but she declined. She had some things she wanted to do in town. She told him she would find a way home later.
The first place she decided to visit was a Barnes & Noble bookstore close to the publishing house. Victoria loved looking around at the new releases and she needed to start familiarizing herself with the types of books this publishing house released. In her search, she happened to come across a book about Colin. It was cheaply made but it seemed to be a biography of some kind. It was selling fast and there was a small crowd of teenage girls looking at them, oohing and aahing over him, going on about how beautiful he was, his new movie and how they couldn't wait for his new film Starstruck to come out.
As she picked up one to flip through, a few of the girls saw her and giggled. She smiled at the thought that they probably thought she was some old lady hanging onto her youth by panting after a young heartthrob like Colin. If they only knew! She laughed to herself as she took one last took at it and took the book along with some others to the counter and paid for them. The book on Colin would make for some interesting reading.
As she left the bookstore, she saw what a truly beautiful day it was and decided to spend some time outside. Remembering the day she had spent with Colin at the park, she decided that would be a perfect place to enjoy the rest if the morning and do some reading. She turned down the street and headed for the nearest bus stop. As she sat down to wait for the bus, she picked up the book she had purchased about Colin. It had been pulled together quickly, she could tell just by the writing. It had been targeted for the teens that faithfully bought anything and everything about their hunk of the month, but it also held some good information about Colin. Victoria recognized some of the stuff that he had already told her and laughed aloud at some of the crazy things he had done when he was young. Some younger girls, who were also waiting for the bus, struck up a conversation with her about Colin, seeing what she was reading.
"Are you a Colin Mengatti fan?'
Victoria heard the words but was surprised at them. Looking up from her book, she looked over to her right to see a young girl around the age of fifteen staring back at her. "I'm sorry?" she asked.
"Colin Mengatti?" she repeated, pointing towards the book in Victoria's hand. "You a fan?"
She looked back down at the book in her hand, a small blush coming to her face. "Uh ... sort of, I guess ...Yeah."
"Us too," the girl said, her hand sweeping to include two other girls at the bus stop. Victoria smiled at each of them in return. "Have you seen his movies?"
"Well, I saw his big one," she answered, marking her spot and closing the book. She adjusted her sunglasses and sat back, surprised by this sudden conversation.
"Oh yeah," she said, excitedly. "I saw it nine times."
"I saw it fourteen times," added another one. Victoria was shocked. The other girl just nodded her head, looking down the street for the bus.
"Fourteen times?!" Victoria exclaimed. "Why?"
"Because he's beautiful!" the young girl answered. "I'm going to buy it when it comes out on video."
The blond girl sitting beside Victoria asked, "How many times did you see it?"
