The morning was almost over as Elizabeth stood up from her bed. She walked over to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She reeked of the scent of alcohol and sweat from the club last night, her hair was all over the place and her now faded make-up stayed on the entire night.

        She peeled off her red dress and got in the shower. As soon as the warm water touched her skin, she felt at ease. She started scrubbing away, getting rid of all the impurities on her. When she had finished, she felt like a new person. After she had dressed in some comfortable home wear, she the stood in front of her mirror to dry her hair, but before she could begin, a 'ting ' sound softly sounded behind her.

        She turned off the loud hair dryer and made her way to her bedside to grab her phone. When her phone's screen lit up, it seemed like an email had arrived. She sat on her bed and opened up the message,

Dear Miss Elizabeth Lane:

I hope this e-mail finds you well. As the secretary of Mr. Gab Haffins from Star publishing, I am writing to request a meeting with you regarding the novel you've been writing.

He is available to meet on Wednesday afternoon, between 1:00 PM and 4:30 PM. Hopefully you are available by then.

Please let me know where and what time works best. Thank you.

We look forward to hearing from you soon!

All the best,

Mr. Ray Tron

Executive Secretary

Star Publishing

        After reading the promising e-mail sent to her, Elizabeth was ecstatic. She believed no one would ever take up her manuscript and contact her ever again, but it seemed like she still had another chance. She had celebrated on her own in her little apartment by jumping around and flopping herself on the bed, forgetting it was still wet, yet she didn't care. She was just so happy that it wasn't the end of her.

         Star publishing wasn't all that famous, they dealt with publishing new stories from rookie writers in New York, though it would only spread in bookstores in the city, they still had a nice record of sales and writers that grew up having their first book published by them journey off to become known blog writers or explore the magazine businesses.

        Even though Elizabeth was no rookie writer, she still thanked fate that had given her this opportunity and with that in mind, she quickly replied to the email saying she would be available on the Wednesday that was stated.

          The week was awful to her until now, she never knew that after letting herself go for a bit, something good came to her this week. All the problems she faced back then were easily forgotten, and now she focused her attention to the opportunity in front of her.

        The Wednesday quickly arrived, and she headed off to the building. She wore her best; it being a white long-sleeved blouse and long rose-colored pants with her hair up in a ponytail; she looked professional every step she took to get to the venue. She was determined about this opportunity, hoping it would be one to change her life and make this work of hers a success.

         The building was tall, but the publishing company occupied only a few floors. She rode the elevator and was directly led into the publisher's office. The whole place was decorated humbly, not at all huge or as stylish as the other publishing companies she visited, but it was one of those places that just had a numerous amount of cubicles and plain white walls.

        The secretary's desk was noticeable, it being the only table that faced her and was in front of some private room on the top floor with an enormous sign on her desk that stated his secretarial position. When the secretary had been informed of her arrival he immediately led her to the room where their publisher, Mr. Haffins, was. He was looking very casual, sitting in his office chair behind the white desk in front of him. He didn't wear business suits, nor formal wear, but opted for the casual sweatpants, it was opposite of how his secretary dressed.

        "Good afternoon Miss Lane."

         "Good afternoon sir, I've heard you wanted to talk about the manuscript." She smoothly says as she confidently hands him the pile of papers she clutched in her hands.

           "One reader from the past company was my niece who tries to help me, she had talked about it and told me how the other company had rejected. She told me the story and its err... problems."

      "Mhmm, I get it and what do you imply?"

         "Getting straight to the point, I'd like to buy the plot from you."

        Shocked, Elizabeth answered, "Just the plot?"

       "Yes, just the plot.. Honestly, its all my personal business, for I house an experienced author in need for a good plot to use, so I would need your imperfect manuscript to buy and rewrite to publish."

        "Would I get any credit at all?"

         "No, but you would get $1000."

        "Just $1000 for a finished manuscript!"

         "Yes, because it isn't the best."

      "Oh, hell no! Sorry, but even if it's trash. It's my trash and I would want credit for it. Thank you."

         After suddenly saying that, Elizabeth stood up and grabbed the pile of papers from his hands and stormed out of his office, slamming his wooden door shut. She left him there, speechless and defeated. That was probably one of the quickest meetings she has had and one of the worst.

       Never trust a guy doing business in sweatpants, she thought. She strutted down the hallway, not minding the secretary who greeted her and offered to show her out, nor the people inside the building who looked at her weirdly. As soon as she exited the building's premises she exhaled a large breath and clenched her knuckles together.

         Elizabeth started walking down the same street that building was on. It seemed like these days were unlucky for her after experiencing multiple different things these past days. Life really was unfair. She sighed and continued walking.

        She was in one of the sunny streets close to the state university. The energy was high, and it was lined with different small cute shops all around. The smiles she could see all around helped her slowly again forget the event and appreciate the scenery beside her. This street wasn't too far from her apartment, she could now only think positively on how she was blessed to find a street as beautiful as this. She could find a place to hang out here sometime, she thought.

         Walking in a long-sleeved blouse wasn't ideal. The trees didn't cover the sky above her, so the sun's rays directly hit her figure. She wanted to find a place to chill down complete with a nice vibe and some strong air conditioning, which she needed on a day like this.

        Elizabeth suddenly wanted something to eat or a drink after roaming around the district and seeing all the restaurants and cafes that lined its sides while she walked its wide sidewalks. A small cafe and bar across the road soon caught her eyes. They lined its facade with a combination with blue brick and dark wood. On the brick was white lettering that said.

         " Brick: Cafe and Bar", a fitting name for the whole place.

        The door was made of glass, but the cafe's windows were very minimal. Beyond the door's glass she could see the dark wooden interior with a dark blue ceiling. The whole cafe looked like it had a very moody and dark atmosphere, which looked like a wonderful place to clear her mind.

           She crossed the small road to reach its entrance. She opened the glass door and approached the counter. The young woman who served got her order of a black coffee and their signature blackberry cheesecake. She was thankful that the place was breezing cold with good air conditioning on a hot day like this. Even though she felt hot, her order of hot black coffee was ideal. With a simple reason of she like how it tasted, and it was always better brewed hot.

          She sat herself on one table at the side of the restaurant, just behind the front wall where there were no windows. The ideal place for her as she scanned the room. It was moody and perfect. She sat down and reviewed the manuscript that had brought her many troubles; she didn't know what to do with it. She thought once that it was good, but after all the tries she tried, she saw their points. What would be the future of this failure of a novel, but she didn't want to let it go either.

        She wanted to work on it somehow. The call from Star publishing gave her slight hope that it still might be useful, but now it just wasn't the right time to think about work after she had finished that harsh meeting. While contemplating on her manuscript, staring it down with all her might, a voice sounded in front of her.

       " Your coffee and your cheesecake." The voice mentioned as she eyed the coffee and the slice of cake placed on her table. She looked up to the face of the voice just as he said,

      "Enjoy your meal, El."

      Her name was suddenly mentioned. It startled Elizabeth, for she believed no one knew her in this place. It was her first time here. With the sound of her very own nickname, she gazed up to the person handing over her order.

     "Hayden?"