Page 2 of Deadline for Love

“Oh, come on, don’t be like that! You’ve already agreed, and you can’t cancel now. Let’s go, you need to get ready!”

There was simply no way I could win over her.?

“Wait a minute.” Before she could pull me out of my chair, I switched off my computer and put my handwritten notes in place. After that, I looked around and realized I was again the only one left in the office.?

Sighing, I quickly checked that everything was in proper condition and followed Amara out of the office, which I carefully locked. ?

I worked at a small newspaper company calledNova Chronicles, where I was a full-time journalist.?

Our practice had three departments: the printing and digital processing, the visual content department, and the content-creating department. My best friend worked with us as a photographer. Amara also loved her job, so she was understanding when I worked longer than usual.?

The days had been exhausting as our publishing house gained popularity and we became very favored in our city. That’s why our boss told us to find as many events as possible, preferably as interesting as possible, so they wouldn’t lose interest.?

Our popularity arose because we write truthfully and check facts. We do a lot of research, interview people, and have exclusive news. Moreover, our readers loved that we included them in the articles and often took their opinions into account. We were still small, but things were looking up.?

In my department, I had two other colleagues working with me, and they had already found entertaining articles. Well, everyone had their own category. Aicha ben Aid handled love columns and entertainment reports; Eric Martinez was more accountable for the economic aspects and job advertisements for companies, small businesses, and industries. I had the task of reporting on the social situation in our city, which included any kind of good news, all sorts of crimes, disasters, accidents, death reports, missing person reports, and so much more…?

We had something happening every day, but everything I had collected had been rejected, the deadline was approaching, and I couldn’t find anything my boss liked.

This was really frustrating! He even dismissed my article on the missing girls; he said I had already talked about it in the lastpost, and that’s why he needed something else—I knew that I had already talked about the missing girls. Still, something was bothering me about the case, and I wanted to keep on with it, hoping to help the police with information from civilians…?

As cold air hit my skin, I got out of my thoughts. It was a chilly spring but still warm enough in Steel Valley, so we didn’t need a jacket. I let Amara lead me to the car. She smiled so happily as if she had won the lottery, then drove off as soon as she took her seat.?

Her car lights, as well as the lights from the street lamps, illuminated our way. I leaned back and watched the scenery… We lived in an industrial town surrounded by buildings and small neighborhoods with residential areas for the workers. We also had small parks, so there was some nature between all the industrial buildings. Our town was notorious for research and development and steel. Chemical industries were also added a few years ago. Our town consisted of many shift workers, office people, small shop owners, and catering businesses. We had only two police stations and one fire department… Even though we were considered a small city, it was big enough that not everyone knew each other—

“I just want to say one thing before talking about work becomes taboo.” Amara tapped my thigh to get my attention, which she successfully got.?

“If you get another letter, just give it to Aicha. She can publish those creepy poems, and maybe that person will stop writing them.”

I’d had that idea, too, but that stuff didn’t fit in with the ones Aicha published. Every month, she had a small column for creative people, where everyone could send rhymes or short stories to her, and the best ones would be published by name in the column.?

But… There was no sender on those letters; they were addressed to me. So, if she published them, nobody would know to whom they belonged. And we might’ve lost readers since the rhymes were creepy. ?

“Maybe…” I muttered.?

“Good, now we’re off work, and no more talk about it.”

I promised her just for the sake of her leaving me alone.?

“Don’t be grumpy. Trust me, it’ll be a fabulous night, I promise!”

It felt like time was running out, probably because Amara was rushing me. Never before had I prepared this quickly for a ‘date.’?

I was pushed straight into my room when we arrived at my apartment.?

I stripped, pulled a black dress out of my closet, and dressed as fast as a flash. The dress hung loosely down to my knees. It was off-the-shoulder but had longer sleeves; it looked elegant and good enough for a double date.?

I left my black shoulder-length hair loose and wore light makeup as I didn’t think it was necessary to impress my date.?

Then I took a quick look at myself in the mirror and noticed that my brown eyes looked glassy and a little reddish, probably because I had been sitting in front of the screen all day. So, I decided to take the attention off my eyes by putting on red lipstick.?

I had just finished when Amara barged in to examine me from head to toe.?

“Very nice! Let’s go.”

Her words didn’t even reach my ear, and she was already grabbing me; I could only hold my bag before leaving my room.?

She was more excited than she had been for a long time.?

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