Chapter 5 - 'O'

"Once upon a time…" Yvonne massaged her temples just by looking at the first line.

'Just great! I'm reading fairy tales now. What will the next script be, kindergarten rhymes?' She chuckled and started reading.

'Hmm… Ok… Will people be willing to pay money to watch this?' She shook her head and seriously continued reading the entire script.

Many things ran through her mind as she read it and she made it a point to constantly jot down all the things that she would change in it.

It took her half an hour to read the entire script and another half hour just to write down her opinions about it.

'I think this was the first time this writer has written a script. Maybe the person will improve after this.' 

She closed the script and stamped *REJECTED* on it with the glaring red ink and put it on her left with all the other rejects.

Out of the dozen scripts she reviewed, only four had made the final cut. 

But she was okay with this result because she was sure that Platina would earn just as much money with these four than all the rest combined, maybe even more.

There was the futuristic Sci-fi, a famous sportsman's biopic, a Rom-com, and a teen flick that were selected.

They just had to conduct auditions for the roles and very soon they could start shooting for these movies.

She placed the selected scripts in her desk compartment and locked it.

Having completed her work for the day, she got up from her chair and after picking up the rejected scripts, she walked out of her office.

She arrived at Asst Terra's desk and saw her playing with her phone. 

Yvonne knocked on her desk to get her attention and she succeeded.

"Sorry, Madame. I have already completed all my tasks and was just trying to pass my time." She was startled and hurriedly explained.

Yvonne just nodded and placed all the scripts on her desk.

"Send these back to their owners and tell them to think about the things that I have mentioned. Also tell them that if they can produce better scripts in the future, Platina would be happy to work with them." Yvonne saw that Terra had neatly noted down everything that she had just said onto her Tablet.

"Since we do not have much happening in the office this week, I will be working from home. Just send me a text if I am needed." Finishing what she had to say, Yvonne turned and walked into her elevator.

'I finally get to rest at home.' She got off the elevator on the ground floor and walked out.

The security guards bowed as she passed them and went to her car.

She took the longer route back home to clear her thoughts from the tiring scripts that filled her mind.

Soon the St. Claire Mansion was visible from afar and she drove into the private road that led to her house. She reached her house in no time.

She quickly parked her car and entered silently to see if those two childish men were still fighting.

She tried her best not to make any sounds while walking and slowly peeped through the door when she did not hear anything from inside.

"What are you doing, Miss Yvonne?" Someone whispered in her ear and she screamed as she turned around.

Standing right behind her was her grandpa's confidante and the St. Claire mansion's butler, Emory Powell. 

He was a man in his sixties but took great care of his health, therefore he was still fit and energetic as ever.

"Mr. Powell, how many times have I told you not to appear so suddenly. It might give someone a heart attack." She chided him but paused.

Butler Powell's face grimaced when she uttered the word 'heart attack' and she knew that she had touched a sensitive nerve.

"Where is everyone? I was here because I couldn't hear anyone inside." She spoke to divert his mind and he smiled once again.

"Master and the young master are playing chess in the back garden. Would you like to join them?" He told her their whereabouts.

"No, I would like to take a short nap before I come down for dinner." She rejected his offer and walked away.

As she entered her room, she quickly took off her clothes and hopped into the shower. After scrubbing herself squeaky clean, she went to her bed.

'I'll just close my eyes for an hour then I need to be down for dinner.' She set an alarm on her phone and then putting on an eye mask, she fell asleep.

---

While Yvonne took her nap, Terra was still in the office.

'Who just writes the number of a post box as their address? Do they still exist?' She frowned looking at the script in her hands.

All the writers are asked to give Platina their addresses in case their script was rejected and needed to be returned.

She had put all the scripts in individual envelopes and wrote their addresses on top. Before leaving, she would drop them off at their mailing department.

But the last one just had a post box number written on it and even the scriptwriter's name was just signed as 'O'. So she too just wrote the same things on the envelope and sealed it.

'Whatever, it's not my headache anymore.' She picked up her bag and the envelops and headed to their mailing department.

"Hey Jim, can you send these scripts back to their owners tomorrow?" She spoke to the only person she found in the room.

"Sure, Terra. Let's see where they need to go." He looked through the addresses and nodded.

"Terra? This one just has a postbox number on it. What about the other details?" Jim enquired and Terra told him about what she had found.

"Do we still have functioning post boxes?" She asked because, in this modern time of emails and messages, people rarely used the postal system.

"Of course we do. There's one at the end of the block. Now that I think about it, this is the number of that postbox." Jim pointed at the number on the envelope.

"That's strange! Do you mind if I drop it off myself? I've never used one before." Terra asked and Jim nodded his head and handed the envelope back to her.

"Looking at your age, I never would have guessed that you did not use a post box before." He quipped when she said goodbye.

Terra just smiled and walked out of the room.

'I'm just thirty! What does he mean by that!?' She strode out of the building angrily and looked around to find the post box.

"Ah, there it is!" She saw a rusty red post box at the end of the block and walked to it.

"Looks like no one has used it recently. Will this be okay?" She wondered and then just dropped the envelope inside.

'Can check that off my bucket list.' She wiped her hands using a wet wipe and walked back to get her car.

She could finally have a relaxing week ahead just like her Madame.