Morning all. We have made it to the middle of the week. Go team go. I have to say it still feels a lot better to get up on time rather than early enough to fight downtown traffic. Also it feels better in general to be back to a normal schedule. And speaking of normal, we have our normal morning prompts. So timers set for fifteen minutes and off we go.
I like this. I suspect there is an evil compulsion on the paperwork. I kind of want to play with this to see where it goes. I also need to pick a time period. Things to think about over lunch I suppose.
Wednesday, May 21st: It will only take a moment of your time.
“It will only take a moment of your time,” He said. He smiled a toothy grin and Francine offered a small smile in return. She looked to the others who looked annoyed by her attempt to leave during the presentation. She turned and sank into one of the few available chairs. Others seemed much more interested in listening to the presentation.
As Harris began his talk, Francine could see why they were interested. He was a very engaging speaker and his offer was very good. ‘Too good,’ a voice whispered in the back of her mind. The returns on their investments seemed too miraculous to be true.
‘Admittedly some recent returns have seemed that was as well,’ she was willing to concede. She had herself invested in several fantastical seeming ventures and ended up with far more profits than she expected. She was certain her past speculations were why she was included in the group. Both her willingness to take risks as well as the large amount of capitol she represented.
‘But with those projects there were documents verified by multiple sources,’ she reminded herself. Harris was not offering any documented proof. She kept a polite, interested look on her face throughout the presentation. When it ended she joined in the scattered applause, even if she did not add her voice to the excited talk she heard around the room. As people rose from their seats, moving forward to discuss details with Harris and his cohorts, Francine used the opportunity to slip from her seat and out of the door. She suspected someone would have something to say about her manners later but she had no interest in the scheme.
“And I really am running late now,” she muttered, looking at her watch. “George does hate to wait so.”
She hurried towards the exit and lifted a hand to hail one of the circling cabs as soon as she was through the door. At this time of day they were thick on the ground. She knew she was followed out of the room which was why she voiced her claims of being late aloud.
‘And it is true,’ she thought as a cab glided to a halt at the curb.
“Ms. Wallace,” a man called. Francine turned, her hand already on the cab. “You left your prospectus.” Se could see it was one of Harris’ men. He smiled and somehow she felt more unsettled than anything else.
“I’ll pick it up later,” she told him. “Just leave it with the club steward.” Francine got into the cab and gave the driver the address. She shivered. The man called something towards her but she didn’t look back as the cab pulled away. There was something she didn’t like about him. Something oddly repulsive. She couldn’t put her finger on it. He looked perfectly ordinary, perfectly respectable. Some might even claim he was attractive. His clothing and hair was styled in the latest fashion and she supposed there was a pleasant enough aspect to his face and figure. There was something about him however that made her skin crawl. She noticed it at the start and that, more than the disinterest in Harris’ venture made her want to leave.
‘I just wish I knew what it was,’ she thought as the cab merged with traffic. She did know that she was not going back for the prospectus. The steward could toss it into the fire for all she cared. She wanted nothing to do with it or the group again.
Ten til Midnight 