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Writer's Block (2AM_Club and Josu_T)

Veronica agreed to put in a good word with the production company. She wasn't exactly a big fish; in fact, she didn't know how much pull she had. But at this point, it couldn't hurt at all. They'd already made their decision pretty much so nothing worse could happen. Unless of course Veronica lost her job. She pushed that thought out of her mind and fished a card out of her bag. "I'll give it a shot. This is my card with a direct line to my desk. I'd love to hear about how things go for you back home." She flipped over the back and wrote her cell phone number. She tapped the card with her pen. "That's my cell. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to give me a call." She looked in his eyes. "I really want this to work out for you, Drew and I think it can."
 
Drew smiled when Veronica told him she would try her best to get something going with the production company. He took her card after she wrote her number on it and nodded. He placed it in his pocket and finished the drink he had ordered when he had entered. He placed the empty cup down and looked into Veronica's eyes. He had to smile. He saw sincerity there. That was a good thing. He held out his hand for a hand shake. "Thank you Veronica. I hope that this works out. If it does, you will get some sort of mention in the novel that comes out of it. I can guarantee that."
 
Veronica found it easy to smile back at Drew. He trusted her. Something was going to happen. That was better than nothing. She slid her hand into his and shook it firmly. "No, no, that isn't necessary," she replied, although her heart skipped a beat that she might get mentioned in one of his books. "I don't need that. Having you back and writing is enough." She blushed slightly and eased her hand out of his, grabbing her things. "I've kept you far too long. I have to get going. Thank you so much for meeting me and giving me a chance. You don't know what it means to me."
 
Drew was happy now. He had some hope that he might be able to write something good. Even though Veronica told him that a mention would not be nessecary, if her advise helped him, she would get a mention. He smiled softly and nodded as she got her things. He got up from the table. "Well, thank you for your advise. I will definitely keep in contact." With that he took his paper cup to the garbage and then went outside to his car. He drove home and made plans for the trip home.
 
Veronica watched him leave with a sigh of relief. He was actually going to try something. From her advice! She figured she hadn't come off as that much of a bumbling idiot. And if she did, what did it really matter? They basically had a professional relationship.

She followed him out and got into her own car. As soon as she was home she wrote up a written proposal to ask the company to extent Drew's contract. After thinking about it, she knew there was little chance of getting the decision reversed, so it would have been a waste of time to ask. She figured that a compromise would be in order. She turned it into her boss the first thing Monday morning but days went by before she heard from her boss or Drew.

She started to get worried until her boss came to her late Thursday morning. Hank Everson was average height with salt and pepper hair cut military style. He had the body of an athlete that had simply aged with indifference. It would be remiss to call him out of shape, but also to call him fit. He'd been in the business for a long time; practically as long as Veronica had been alive. He was well respected even if not always well liked. He tossed the proposal back on her desk.

"What's your primary?" he asked in her in gruff voice. She cleared her throat and responded, confident that she didn't sound near as nervous as he felt. Hank watched her then shook his head pointing at the paper. "This is your new assignment. Priority one" he said raising his index finger. "Nobody wants to lose Milner, Fortune. You know that. I know that. Hell, he oughta know that. But we gotta make money. You see that he does." he nodded and left, leaving Veronica with her heart pounding.
 
Over the next few days Drew made his plans and finalized them. He got some transportation organised and a hotel room booked. He packed his bags and was ready to go. However, on the day he was set to leave he started to question it. He wondered if it would really work. He was really beginning to doubt that it would be at all useful. He debated whether or not he should go. He finally decided to call Veronica and tell her. He found her number and entered it into his phone. He waited as it rang. He wasn't sure if he wanted her to answer or not. He wasn't even fully sure why he was calling, he just felt it was important.
 
Although Drew was supposed to become her primary, that didn't mean she didn't have other work. She worked in a fever for the next couple of days to get her clients in a position that didn't necessarily need her. And if they did need her, she could pass them off to another co-worker. She felt a little bad about dumping her clients all of a sudden. But no offense to them, Drew was bigger than all of them combined. If she could bring him back...? She could never force herself to finish the thought. It was too selfish. This wasn't about her.

Veronica was away from her desk when her phone first started to ring. She was headed back to it when she heard the familiar sound. She jogged the short distance to catch it. "Veronica Fortune" she said quickly, hoping to catch the person before they hung up.
 
Drew was ready to hang up when he heard the phone on the other end get picked up. A moment later he heard Veronica. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat. "Hi Veronica, it's Drew. I'm calling because I have a problem. I don't feel like going on my little trip. I don't feel as if it will work. I think I have somehow gotten my mind off of the importance. I don't know why I called, I guess I just felt you should know. Maybe you can tell me what I should do, or help me in some way." He stopped talking and just waited. He didn't know what she would say. He also wasn't sure what to expect from her.
 
Veronica was a little stunned when she heard Drew's voice. She'd been standing when she answered and slowly sank down in her seat, dread filling her body. This was not good. She shook her head as he spoke even though she knew he couldn't see. "No, no, Drew. You have to do this." she said with more severity than she really intended. "Look, I talked to my boss. You're my top priority. The company doesn't want to lose you." And neither do I she added to herself. "I really think you should go. You have to at least try, Drew. You haven't even tried yet." she was starting to plead with him. "Just give it a chance" she paused a beat "What if I went with you?" she suggested without thinking.
 
When Drew heard Veronica talk he immediately knew she wasn't happy. She quickly explained why. He was now her client apparently. That was good. She was doing more than his old production assistant. She seemed very determined that he should go, but really didn't give him any confidence that it would be worthwhile. Then she gave the suggestion he liked. If she joined him she could keep him on track and keep giving him ideas to try to spark inspiration. He smiled. "That would be perfect. If you came with me you could help me a lot. I can get everything set really quickly if you can pack your bags by either tonight or tomorrow morning."
 
Veronica hesitated. Could she really go with him? How long would she be gone? What about her job? "Ok. Definitely. I..I can be ready tonight," she said, quickly thinking about everything she had to prepare to go. Her free hand tapped a pen against the side of her desk, one of her nervous tendencies. "Don't worry about a thing. You'll be back in no time, Drew. I know it. This is just a starting point. I know it seems a little random but I honestly think this could work out." She cradled the phone between her ear and shoulder, putting the pen down to write up an email to give to her boss about her absence. "When should I be ready?"
 
Drew nodded to himself when she said she could be ready that night. That was good. She told him not to worry and he smiled. She askedwhen she should be ready and he thought about it. He considered the transportation and came up with an approximate time. "I think if you are ready by five or six tonight it would be fine. We can go catch a plane that leaves at seven. I will call the hotel and try booking a second room for you. Is that ok?"
 
"I'll be ready by 5," she said matter-of-factly, marking the time on a post-it note. She mentally went through her wardrobe in her head, picking out what she would bring so she wouldn't waste time when she got home. It was already close to 2. That didn't leave her a whole lot of time. "That's perfect," she replied, relieved that for the first time she wasn't the one making reservations. She didn't mind the responsibility, in fact she loved having to coordinate things, but it was nice not having too. Veronica couldn't remember the last time somebody else had done anything for her, much less make travel plans. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd even taken a vacation. "Thanks a lot for working this out, Drew. I have to head home to get ready. If anything comes up, you can reach me on my cell. The number is on the back of my card. I'll see you soon."
 
Drew was glad she was sure of what time she would be ready. Missing the plane would be a bad thing to do. When she thanked him he smiled softly to himself. She told him he could call her cell phone. He made a mental note of it. As she said her farewell, he made his last comment and goodbye. "Ok, I will see you later. Give me a call when you are ready to go and I will come get you to take you to the airport. It is better than getting lost in the airprot and not being able to find eachother there. Anyway, I'll talk with you in a few hours." He hung up and then made quick phone calls to get an extra plane ticket and to try getting another room. He wasn't able to reserve one on such short notice though. They would have to wait until they got to the hotel to get her a room.
 
Veronica told Drew she would call as soon as she was ready. It took another 45 minutes for her to settle things at the office, but before long she was home. She didn't know how long she would be gone so it took her some time to decide which suitcase to bring. She decided on her smallest one, fearing she would be more embarrassed with anything more. She threw a variety of clothes inside and gathered her toiletries. She figured that if she forgot anything she could just buy it when they arrived. Her stomach grumbled and she realized that she'd never had lunch. While making a sandwich, she decided to call her best friend, Angela Ramon.
"Ramon," a voice answered.

"Ang, I'm going with him," Veronica said.

The voice on the other end ate loudly before responding. "Who is this?" the person teased before they continued. "Going with who and where?" Veronica had to roll her eyes. Angela was her best friend but could be the most forgetful person ever.

"Drew. I'm going with Drew. How do you not remember this?"

Angela crunched loudly on what Veronica assumed were chips. "Oh, you mean that writer guy? Why the hell are you going with him?" Angela asked.

Veronica winced because she wasn't really sure. "It's to help him. Duh. He said he needed somebody to keep him in line."

"So what are you going to do?"

Veronica sighed. "I don't know. I'll figure that out as I go."

"Does he know you're flying by the seat of your pants?"

"Ang! Come on. it isn't like that."

"Yeah, sure, whatever. So what's wrong with him? Something happen to him?"

Veronica's ears perked up. She hadn't thought about that before. "Something happen to him?" she repeated slowly.

"Yeah, you know, like in a game when you miss a shot and you lose your confidence. Maybe that happened. Or a psychic told him he'd be a failure."

Veronica was ready to jump through the phone and hug Angela. "That's a great idea. I never thought of something having happened to him. I'll ask." She checked her watch, it was close to 4:30. "Hey, I gotta go. I'll call you in a few days."
Angela just responded with a grunt and hung up the phone. Veronica smiled to herself. That was so typical of her.

She finished her sandwich and called Drew to tell him she was ready and to give him directions to her apartment.
 
Drew spent his time at home relaxing after making sure he had everything he needed. He caught a small nap and then ate an early supper at home. When Veronica called he told her he would be there soon. Hewrote down the directions and then loaded his things into his car. He sat in the driver's seat and started out on the road.

The drive took him a short while and he soon pulled up in front of Veronica's place. He honked and got out of his car. He went up to her door and knocked. He wated for her to answer. He had the trunk of his car already open. He smiled, happy that she was joining him on the trip. He was looking forward to getting some work done on what he hoped would be a good manuscript. He felt that is anyone could help him, it would be her.
 
Veronica lounged on her sofa as she waited for Drew to arrive. She was actually feeling very anxious about the trip. And also very excited. It was like an adventure and she was looking forward to experiencing it with Drew. As soon as she heard the horn she jumped up and grabbed her bag. He was knocking on the door just as she was about to open it. It happened at nearly the same time. She opened the door to find Drew with his hand up, ready to knock again. She smiled and held up her bag. "I'm all set" she declared. "I'm glad you found my place ok."

She turned her lights off and closed the door, locking her apartment up. She followed Drew out his car, placing her bag into the trunk before getting into the passenger set. "Did everything work out with the flight and hotel?" she asked.
 
Drew was surprised when Veronica was right there at the door when he was knocking. He lowered his arm and smiled. He let her close up her apartment and then led her to his car. She seemed content to carry her own things so he let her. He got back in the driver's seat and got the car started up as Veronica asked about the flight and hotel.

As he pulled out onto the road he glanced over at her. "The flight is set. You have a ticket waiting at the airport. However, I was not able to book a hotel room on short notice. We will have to set one up for you when we arrive. As long as they have a free room, it should be fine." He smiled and drove them toward the airport.
 
Veronica settled against the smooth leather interior of Drew's car. She sat on her hands to keep them from shaking. She hadn't been this nervous until they'd gotten in the car. She was in her idol's car, taking a trip to save his career. it was almost too much to deal with. She closed her eyes momentarily, taking deep breaths. She didn't want Drew to freak out and think something was wrong with her.

"Oh ok" she responded, relieved that the most important part of the trip and the soonest was already taken care of. "Thanks for bringing me along. I have a good feeling about all of this" she told him honestly.
 
Drewnoticed that Veronica seemed a little nervous. He had theories about why, but couldn't be sure. He wasn't going to ask though. She seemed a little quiet. When he had met her before she had been more talkative. He didn't mind too much. He focused on driving. When she said she had a good feeling he smiled. "That's good. I've got a good feeling about it too. I think with your help I will be able to start something good."

He got them onto the highway and it wasn't long before they were parking in the airport lot. He got out and opened the trunk. He got their stuff out, got a parking pass, and locked up the car. He then picked up the heaviest bags and left the lighter ones for Veronica.
 
Veronica grabbed her bag out of the trunk, following Drew inside the bustling airport. "How's the traveling?" she asked. "You know, when you're on book tours and all that? Have you been to a lot of great places while promoting your books?" Veronica actually knew the answer to her question. The technical answer anyway. She could have looked up a list easily but she wanted to know how Drew felt about it personally. Actually she wanted to know how he felt about a lot of things personally. She wondered if she would get time to explore those things with him. She did want him to get his inspiration back as soon as possible, but she also knew that the longer he had writer's block, the longer she could spend time with him.
 
At first Drew was confused by what she meant by the travelling, but when she clarified he smiled. He made his way to the proper counter to pick up their tickets and looked over at Veronica. "Travelling is fairly nice. I have gone to some very nice places, but it can also be stressful. Overall it is good though." He stood in line and waited, luckily it went quickly. He went to the desk, gave them his name, and got the tickets. He handed one to Veronica and then checked the gate number. After dealing with their checked luggage he turned and led Veronica toward their gate. He smiled over at her again. "So, do you enjoy travelling? I assume you must do some travelling with your clients for the same kind of thing I do."
 
Veronica trailed behind Drew as he checked in. She smiled and muttered a thanks when she got her ticket. "Oh, I love traveling! Well, not business trips. I'm always the one coordinating things. It gets so hectic and I always get so nervous that something will go wrong." She laughed softly "Usually I don't allow myself any fun. Just work work work. Gotta make sure the client is happy." She shrugged "I guess that doesn't leave much time for me." She quickly clarified, worried that she was disparaging her job or her clients. "But I love what I do. I wouldn't change my job for anything in the world. I like being a part of the success. Even if the only thing I do is book some flights and hotel rooms."
 
Drew nodded as she explained that she loved travelling. He could understand how it could be crazy trying to be the one organising everything. I sounded like she didn't enjoy that part much. He made a mental note of that. They arrived at the security post and had to wait in line. Drew sighed and looked over at Veronica again. "So, on the flight, would you prefer the window seat? Or the aisle seat?" He didn't care. He intended to sleep for much of the flight.
 
She had to think about Drew's question. She flushed a bit, realizing that nobody had even though to ask her before. "Oh, uh, the window I guess" she said with a shrug, looking down to play with her boarding pass. They shuffled forward slightly and Veronica looked back up again. "Which do you prefer? Do you always let the person you're traveling with choose or do you normally travel alone?" Veronica's question was a blatant inquiry to Drew's love life. Every bit of reading she had done on him had left that part out. At least the legitimate things. The rumor mill had plenty to say about alleged relationships that he had with men and women alike. Veronica hoped that she had crouched her question in innocent enough terms but could find out more from how he answered. She looked at his left hand several times but it was devoid of a ring or even the lines of one.
 
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