Welcome to the Fifteen Minute Novel. Each morning I spend fifteen minutes writing on a singular story line. Each morning starts with the last line of the previous day. The goal is to get a (very) rough draft out of the simple story idea and to avoid letting the story idea languish in limbo forever, actually writing it out. This is the third year I have done this writing experiment and each year I learn just a little bit about myself and the way I write as well as creating a framework for the story. But without further ado…
Day 75: Sebastian nodded and pulled the car into traffic.
Sebastian nodded and pulled the car into traffic. The car joined the others and Gwen watched the city slide by through the window. The night before she had Margaret mark where on the map George’s office was so she could begin to learn where things were located. It gave her a little satisfaction to be able to know the turns needed to get from the apartment to his office.
‘Not completely lost then,’ she thought as the car pulled up in front of the building and they got out. Sebastian pulled away and continued on to wherever he went. Gwen didn’t know if he worked for her grandparents all the time or was a driver from a car service. She decided she should probably ask at some point but decided that point was not now.
The office building was tall and sleek, the sides were made mostly of glass above the street level and reflected both the buildings around it and the sky above. It made the building feel both insubstantial a well as enormous all at the same time. She walked with George inside and passed through the building security without issue. They moved to the elevator and George was greeted by several of his coworkers. They were polite and respectful greetings.
It made Gwen think that they were somehow lower on the corporate ladder than he was. It seemed like they all talked to him the way she talked to her boss back home. The elevator stopped on different floors and as it was the morning people mostly got out of the elevator rather than getting in at each stop. Eventually it was just her and her grandfather in the elevator.
“So does no one work on your floor?” She asked.
“Oh now there are plenty of people.” He checked his watch. “Some would have gotten in a little earlier and some won’t be coming in until later.”
“Oh,” she said. She wondered if the start times were staggered so the elevator could keep up with the traffic. Then building had a lot of floors and presumably a lot of people on each. The elevator stopped on George’s floor and they got out. Gwen was somehow unsurprised to find it was the top floor.
They approached the main desk and a smiling woman was already in place. “Good morning Sir,” she said as they approached.
“Good Morning Sally,” he said. “This is my granddaughter Gwen,” he said. “She’ll be visiting today, going to look at various departments. Laura should have the schedule.”
“Yes sir, she dropped it off this morning,” Sally said. She looked to Gwen and smiled. “Welcome, let me know if you need anything.”
“Thank you,” Gwen replied.
Her grandfather passed through the main reception area and into a set of offices. The first was like a waiting room with a desk in it. There were chairs for anyone who showed up, and a few decorative plants, but it was mostly space for a desk. A woman was in place already. Her hair was tied up into a neat little twist on the back of her head and she was on the phone, pen scratching away at a notepad as she listened to the person on the other end of the line.
Ten til Midnight 