How much clothing to pack for a three-month job assignment was a dilemma for Arianta Collins?
She scrutinized her choices, hastily tossing clothes onto the bed, trying to decide what to pack and what to leave behind. Not wanting to come off as too butch, but femme wasn’t her style either; she hated most everything she owned because nothing fit her right after the break-up with her last girlfriend.
All her clothes hugged her new curvy figure, which came from eating too much ice cream over the past few months. She considered the unpredictable weather of southeast Texas and decided to pack for all possibilities. Arianta knew she had to be prepared for any temperature. She couldn’t overpack, however, wanting to take up as little space as possible while living in a stranger’s home for three months. Assuming laundry facilities were available on this Texas ranch in the middle of nowhere, she would be able to do her laundry as needed.
Shannon, Arianta’s current roommate and best friend, stood in the doorway of the room while Arianta packed a sweater into her luggage. “Are you sure this is safe? Why not just work from home and have her email you the concepts? Or even better, use videoconferencing.”
“She wants it to be organic. Creativity comes when it comes, and I need to be there when it strikes. Besides, Katherine Bishop isn’t some unknown author. She has written a couple of dozen books. I’ve done my research, and I wouldn’t go for just anyone,” Arianta explained.
“A couple of dozen horror books. If she wrote romance, I wouldn’t be so apprehensive. But you’re going to rural Texas with someone who thinks of ways to kill people for a living.”
Arianta chuckled. “If it were Stephen King, would you worry?”
“Yes,” Shannon stated without hesitation.
Shannon fretted about everything. She despised the monotonous routine of a nine-to-five job, but was not one to seek out adventures. They had been inseparable best friends since graduating high school and attended the same college and shared an apartment, with Shannon shouldering most of the rent burden. Arianta struggled to find a full-time job with her English major, settling for sporadic temp jobs that lasted only a few days. She had diligently pursued a full-time writing position, but nothing materialized until the opportunity arose to ghostwrite for a published author. Despite the job taking her away from her comfortable city life, the handsome paycheck and the boost to her resume were too enticing to pass up.
“It will be fine. And besides, how much trouble can I get into on a remote ranch in the middle of nowhere?” Arianta reassured Shannon, her tone confident.