Chapter 29

Lily walked down the sidewalk, checking each building number as she passed. She slowed her pace as she approached the office of Big World. She stood in front of the door for a moment, and then slowly opened it.

She peered in her head, then her body slowly followed. The main room was quiet and empty. She started to turn and leave when a voice said, "Hi, can I help you?" She spun around to find a tall Asian man smiling at her. He was walking toward her.

"Can I help you?" he said again.

"I'm looking for Tallulah. She told me to meet her here," Lily said, staring at the floor.

"You must be Lily," Michael said. "Come in. Tallulah should be here soon. She just went to get coffee."

He extended his hand at Lily. She stared for a moment, then slowly shook his hand.

"You can sit anywhere you'd like," he said. "That desk over there is Tallulah's. You can sit there if you'd like."

She looked up and walked over to Tallulah's desk, then sat down in one of the chairs. She put her hands in her pocket and kept staring at the floor.

"I can't offer you any coffee yet, but would you like some water?" Michael asked. She shook her head no.

"I'm fine. Thank you," she said.

He walked over to her. "I heard your record. Your voice is truly amazing."

She looked up at Michael. She thought he looked kind.

"Thank you," she managed to say.

He started to say something else when Tallulah walked in with 4 large coffees. "I'm so sorry I'm late, Lily, but my boss here had to have coffee."

Michael smiled and grabbed one of the cups. "Thank you," he said. "I'll be in my office." With that he turned and walked out of the room.

Tallulah offered Lily some coffee, but she shook her head no. "I want to listen to the record again," she said softly.

"Of course," Tallulah said. "I have the player right here."

She reached under her desk and produced the briefcase record player and record. She handed the record to Lily, opened the player, and plugged it in.

"All set. Whenever you're ready," she said.

Lily stared at the record cover. She carefully pulled the record out of the jacket and set it on the player, then placed the needle on the record and waited.

As the music filled the room, she sat down and listened. She closed her eyes and was lost in the moment. It was as if she'd been transported back in time. She could see herself standing in the small record room, Owen smiling at her, nodding his head to her voice.

Tallulah watched her. She spotted Michael standing in the office doorway, watching. The music had caught his attention, and he listened and watched. She walked over to him.

"See?" she whispered. "She has an amazing voice. She sounds just like the record."

He nodded and gestured for her to follow him into his office. When she was inside, he closed the door.

"I think I found an apartment," he said.

She frowned. "Really? I was just getting used to having you around."

"Well, it's not definite. The lady's checking my references. I'm hoping to manage the place for her. If I do, she'll knock some off the rent," he said.

"Okay. Well, I'm happy for you, Michael. I really hope it works out. I'll miss you," she said.

"I'm not moving to Egypt, T; just on the other side of town. I'll be able to publish maybe 3 or 4 more issues before the funds dry up. Everything will work out. It has to." He smiled at her.

She walked over to the office door and peered out the window. "She'll be out there all afternoon," she said.

"So, tell me about your story," he said. "When will it be ready for me to read?"

"About that," she said. "So, You & Me wants to run it, too. Sharon has offered me the cover."

"No shit?" he said. "T, that's great. But wait, I still get to run it, too, right?"

"Of course," she answered. "I guess Sharon wanted You & Me to pick it up as well before someone else does. She said she was going to talk with Sylvia Blass. When I talked to her, she gave me the green light."

"Wow, the cover of a big magazine. I knew you had it in you. I hope your head doesn't get too big to fit through the door." He smirked.

She chuckled. "Yes, I'll be thanking all the little people when I get my Pulitzer. I'll include you. I'm almost done. You'll be the first person to read it. Sharon wants me to add the open mic into the story, so I thought I'd check with you as well. "Hey, whatever she runs, I run," he said.

Chloe sat in her office, rapidly typing on the computer when there was a light knock at her door.

"Come in," she said, not taking her eyes off the computer.

"Chloe, you got more flowers," her assistant said.

Chloe looked up to see her holding a large bouquet of yellow roses.

"Oh, there are more," her assistant said.

Chloe looked around her office. "Where am I going to put them?"

There were several bouquets of white and yellow roses throughout her office. Stanley had been sending them to her every other day ever since the tour of the shelter.

"Stanley," she said. "Okay, let's figure out where to put them."

Her assistant put the flowers on the desk. "There are 4 more dozen at my desk."

"Take one of them home," Chloe said. "This has gotta stop. See if you can get Mr. Roberts on the phone."

Her assistant nodded and left the room. A few moments later, she buzzed in on the intercom. "Mr. Roberts, line 2."

Chloe cleared her throat, picked up the phone, and pushed the line 2 button. "Hello, Stanley. Thank you for the flowers, again."

"You like them?" he asked.

"Oh, they're beautiful. But Stanley, come on, this must stop. You're going to have my office flying with rumors."

He chuckled. "It's just my way of saying thank you for all your hard work. Nothing more."

"Well, it's gotta stop. Please. I'm really flattered, but Stanley, I told you, I don't date clients," she said sternly.

"I know, I know. I'm just saying thank you. I won't send any more flowers. I promise," he said.

"Thank you." She looked around the room. "They are beautiful," she said.

"Like you," he said, then clicked off the phone.