Fic: Story of a Lifetime Prologue/3 Adam/Kris
Prologue
"Brad said you wanted to see me," Adam said as he walked into Lee's office. He was fully prepared for another lecture about his attitude with the rest of the staff. He couldn't even deny he'd been horrible lately. He was just busy and didn't have time to deal with stupid mistakes.
"I have a story I need you to write," Lee said.
"I still have a few ideas I've been working on," Adam pointed out. "You did approve them. Can this one wait?"
"No, I need you to leave tomorrow actually," Lee responded. "To start your research."
"Where am I going?" Adam asked. They rarely did stories that required any travel. They were a small magazine and didn't have the budget for it.
"I want you to write a story on the perfect summer getaway." Adam's mind immediately went to visions of spas and clubs in exotic locations. Maybe he wasn't going to mind putting off his other stories after all. "You're going to spend two weeks in Brookton," Lee explained. "To write a story about vacationing in small towns, rather than big tourist trap cities."
Adam's eyes widened. Brookton was a tiny lake town several hours away that he had no desire to go to ever. There was nothing there but a lake. No nightlife, no shopping. Just swimming, boating, and fishing. "That is not my idea of a perfect vacation," Adam pointed out. "Can't I go to Mexico, or the Caribbean or a resort or something?"
"We don't have the budget for that," Lee pointed out. "And this kind of quiet getaway is becoming more popular."
"I really don't want-"
"You're going Adam. Arrangements have been made. You're expected there tomorrow evening. Brad has the details," Lee said turning his attention back to his computer, ending the conversation.
~~~**~~~
"I don't want to go," Adam whined. "I have story ideas that don't require me spending all my time in a tiny town with nothing interesting to do."
"Can't you just look at it as a vacation?" Brad asked calmly, leaning on the edge of Adam's desk. "You two weeks off, with pay. No deadlines, no research. Just lay back and enjoy the summer."
"If he was sending me to a resort or something, yeah," Adam complained as he checked his calendar to make sure Brad had a list of everything that needed to be rescheduled. "But it's Brookton. And I don't need a vacation!"
"You may not," Brad argued, as he scanned the list Adam had given him. "But the rest of us do. You've been bitching at everyone, about everything, for weeks. If you don't get out of here for a while half the staff is going to quit. So go on this damn trip, spend a month relaxing and getting a tan or something and come back in a better mood."
"Are you going to quit if I don't go?" Adam asked. He knew he'd been a little bitchy lately but he hadn't thought it was that bad, but if Brad was ready to quit over it he'd been much worse than he'd thought.
"No," Brad admitted. "But I might kill you with a letter opener or something and become the office hero."
"Fine," Adam sighed in defeat. "I'll go. If I drown in the lake or something though it's on your head."
"Look on the bright side," Brad suggested as Adam closed his laptop. "Brookton is the most boring place in the world so you spend a few days talking to locals and vacationers, write a story about the fabulousness of small town life and then spend the rest of the time working on your other stuff in peace and quiet."
Adam scowled at him and grabbed his jacket. He was going to have to shop and pack tonight if he was going to get an early start tomorrow so he'd make it to Brookton before dark. The sooner he got there the sooner it would be over and he could be back in his own apartment writing stories about things that were actually interesting.
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