Sunshine Fish

My week got better, I’m happy to say. My team and I got to work on our project. I’ve come to a big decision.

First, I needed a second-in-command. I got on my phone.

“Hello?” Anna asked on the other line.

“Anna,” I said. “I have a job for you. How would you like to be vice leader?”

“Me?” she asked. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” I said. “I trust you. What do you say?”

“Sure!” Anna said.

“I knew I could depend on you,” I said. “I’ll see you at the Art Center.” I hung up and breathed out. That’s settled. Just get through this project and act on your plan.

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The Tokyo Art Center was in Shinjuku. The building itself made me whistle. The first thought was ancient Rome. Not made of marble, but the bricks were beautiful. I could hear the doors singing. I had to rub my eyes. Who does Rolo know in order to book this place? Never mind, I have the feeling I won’t like the answer. I walked into the building. At the reception desk, a young woman was on the phone. The security guard greeted me at the door.

“Good morning,” he said.

“Good morning,” I said back, handing him my bag. The guard searched through it before handing it back.

“Thank you,” I said, bowing.

“Have a good day,” the security guard said. I walked over to the receptionist’s desk. She handed me the chart. I signed in my information. The lady at the desk took the chart. She nodded and pointed down the hall. Okay then. I was kind of expecting her to give me a funny look or turn me away.

No, don’t question it. Bow and walk down the hall. I bowed and walked down the hall. Well done, good job.

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Rolo booked Room 207. The elevators smelt like pine trees. I didn’t mind the generic music being played. When the doors opened, the pine changed to cinnamon in my nose. The hallway was white, but the paintings evened out the colors. I will have to tour this building later. I had to tear myself away from the painting and walk down the hall.

My team sat in the room, waiting. I did a quick head count.

“Good,” I said. “You’re all here.” I took my seat at the head of the table.

“Let’s get started,” I said. Shawn raised his head.

“Yes?” I asked.

“What exactly are we doing?” he asked.

“We’re doing a story collection for this autumn,” I said. “Three to four stories each. Six for poems. We just need a theme. Any ideas?” Many hands rose.

“Hang on,” I said. I picked up a marker and started writing. Some suggestions were good while others were questionable. I did a count. Twenty-one themes. After four rounds of votes, we were down to three themes.

“Let’s see,” I said. “Love, time, and madness. What shall we go with?” Love came in third place. Time and madness tied. After one more vote, madness won. I nodded after the last count.

“Okay,” I said. “Our theme will be madness.” I turned to my team.

“Any genres allowed,” I said. Rolo started to raise his hand.

“No, smut isn’t allowed,” I said. “Green Light is high class. They remove all erotica submissions. So don’t even try that!” Rolo lowered his hand. I took a breath.

“Right,” I said. “If there any questions, feel free to ask me.”

We spent the rest of the time there writing and plotting. So far, everything is going smooth. We did have a productive first day. I’ll tell KT everything she needs to know when she joins us Wednesday. Yeah, everything is set. My team and I left about nine o’clock.

I’ve come to a big decision today. Once this collaboration project sells successfully, I am leaving Thomas Crown to focus on the Academy.