The Fifteen Minute Novel is an attempt to take a single prompt and use the last sentence written each day as a start for the next day. This year I had several prompts circling around a similar story, so I have combined them. However, the story starts the same way each day, with the last line from the day before and a timer set for fifteen minutes. The hope is to end up with a complete, if very rough draft by the end of the year. Some stories are better than others, but I always learn a whole lot about my own writing when I do this so for me it is not only a nice way to work out a story, but it is a tool for helping my writing get better. And so, we continue this story for 2024 with…
Day 120: Kevin smiled.
Kevin smiled. “Relax I wasn’t checking up on you,” he said. “I mentioned seeing Kristen and that she was now going to the Food truck court to one of my co-workers, Kelly. She’s had issues with Kristen in the past.”
“Because she is married to Ryan,” Sophie said. This time Kevin’s eyebrow raised.
“For the moment,” he said. “I think she is planning a divorce. She was worried he would try to stick her with the debt he accumulated.”
“Well you might want to tell her to move forward,” Sophie said. “The general rumor is that either Kristn or Ryan will be losing their jobs soon.”
“Really,” he said.
“Just a rumor and you didn’t hear it from me,” Sophie said. “I probably shouldn’t say anything but I really don’t like Ryan or Kristen.”
“Yeah, I can’t say that I blame you and I will mention t to Kelly as a heads up but leave you out of it,” he said.
“Thanks. So what was Kristen warning you about?”
“Ah well apparently you are doing everything in your power to move up the corporate ladder and as a concerned friend she wanted to warn me as to how cut throat you could be,” Kevin said.
Sophie blinked. “I think that might be the first time anyone has ever described me as cutthroat,” she said. “And if I am scheming to the top I’m very slow about it as I’ve had my position for abut ten years and am just now getting a minor promotion.”
Kevin grinned. “Not aiming for a top office then?”
“No, I work to pay the bills and afford me my sewing hobby. I suspect that while I would make more money if I were higher up the food chain it would take more time and right now, I prefer the time.”
“Good to know,” he said. “But watch out for Kristen. I know not to listen to her, but others might not.”
“Thanks for the warning,” Sophie said. With that cheery bit of information. Kevin left and Sophie began her workout in earnest. ‘Maybe because I am not interested in a personal relationship with Ryan, I just get a call to someone she knows and she has seen me talking to rather than having my tires slashed.’
As she moved through her workout, she decided it wasn’t that bad. At work those higher up the food chain were aware that Kristen didn’t like her and would hopefully take anything she said about her with a grain of salt. ‘And the only person she knows that I also know is Kevin. And really, I only know him from seeing him in the mornings. Plus he doesn’t trust Kristen.’
She thought about it. ‘Much better than slashed tires, but I am still parking on the opposite side of the lot from her. No use causing temptation.’
Where everyone parked now, Sophie was on the opposite side of the parking lot. To get to her vehicle, Kristen would have to cross the lot to slash the tires. ‘And the parking lot has security cameras.’ She figured her vehicle was safe and tried to put Kristen out of her thoughts.
Ten til Midnight 