Member-only story
SERIAL FICTION
Kylie Gets Reassigned
Teach Me to Love — Chapter 4
Welcome back! In Chapter 3, Kylie and Richter officially meet on the first day of work, and it does not go well.
Richter’s office was on the top floor of Smithson Educational Services. In fact, his office was the top floor. From where he stood, he had a perfect view of the historic center of Xi’an. To the left, he saw the sun slowly set over the city wall. To the right, he saw the bustling streets at the edge of the Muslim Quarter. And all around, he could see the twinkling lights and neon signs outlining buildings that were each hundreds of years old. This was an ancient city in transition. Richter loved his view.
Tonight, though, he didn’t pay attention to anything in front of him. Instead, he was knee-deep in his thoughts, treading slowly through the events of the last four days.
“This is going to be a good year, isn’t it?” he asked his assistant, Janey.
“Oh yes,” Janey answered, adjusting her glasses. “A very good year.”
Richter Smithson had known Janey Adams for close to a decade now, and in that time, her appearance hadn’t changed at all. She was always short and plump, with horn-rimmed glasses straight from a 1950s sitcom and overly sprayed locks that gave her an extra three…
