the phone on the receiver and turned her attention to Anya. “Please tell me that is coffee,” she said.
“It is,” Anya answered and handed her a cup. “I thought you might need some. I could get tea…”
Lady Vivian shook her head. “No, coffee is perfect. My mum is American and prefers it, so I’ve developed an appreciation for both coffee and tea.” She smiled. “Are you ready for an exhausting but exciting day?”
“I am.” Anya smiled at her. “I am going to the Telekinema soon. I finished everything here. Is there anything you need me to do before I leave?”
She shook her head. “No. I’m leaving after I finish this coffee. I’ll see you there and please have Ben find me immediately. I want to discuss the first set of films we are going to show in the cinema. There are a few small changes that need to be made.”
“All right.” Anya nodded. What changes? They had been discussing everything in detail for months and the buildings hadn’t exactly been erected overnight. “I’ll let him know when I arrive at the Telekinema. He should be setting up the first film by now. I trust that one isn’t going to be changed.”
“It’s not,” Lady Vivian confirmed. “Some of the later ones today will be shuffled around. We will still have the same line up, but they are going to be screened in a different order and different days. Unfortunately, the programs already printed cannot be changed. We will make sure to post them on the marquee so the audience is aware of the modifications.”
Anya didn’t have much to add, so she nodded and turned to leave. As she reached the door, Lady Vivian called to her. “Wait.”
“Yes?” Anya asked.
“Did you finish that memo I asked you to write?”
“Of course. Did you want to review it before it’s sent out?” She should have considered Lady Vivian might want to do that. Her boss could be a bit controlling at times. She wanted to examine everything that went out in her name or she had a hand in executing.
“Yes,” she replied as she stared at a document on her desk. “Bring it to me before you leave. If there are any changes, I’ll make notes on it. Either way, I’d like it sent out tomorrow first thing to all the departments.”
Anya went to her desk and pulled the memo out of a stack of typed pages. Most of them had to be put in envelopes and mailed out. They still required Lady Vivian’s signature though, and she wouldn’t want to handle those until she was certain the festival was running smoothly. The letters were not high priority, regardless. With the memo in hand, she returned to the office. “Here it is,” she told Lady Vivian.
“Fabulous,” she said. “Set it there on my desk.”
“Is there anything else?”
“No.” Lady Vivian glanced up and smiled at her. “Go try and enjoy yourself and help me make this day the best for all of Britain.”
“I’ll do my best,” Anya told her. She left Lady Vivian’s office, for good this time, and headed out of the building. Her heart beat fast inside her chest. She didn’t know why, but it seemed like something profound might happen to her. It was probably a silly feeling, but it unsettled her a little bit.
She shook the feeling away as best she could and walked out of the building. If she hurried, she could catch the next bus to South Bank. Anya rushed down the street and stopped near a local bus stop. She didn’t have long to wait until a red double-decker pulled to a stop in front of her. After the doors swung open, she stepped inside and found a seat. It wouldn’t be long until she reached the Telekinema and she’d be able to learn firsthand everything involved in showing films to hundreds of people at a time.
Anya stared out the window as the bus rolled across some of London’s prominent streets. The trek from Lady Vivian’s building to the South Bank of the river Thames was a short one. Anya’s flat was located between both. Her parents would have preferred she stayed home, but traveling from Mayfair could be tedious at times, and she didn’t particularly wish to purchase an automobile yet. Not when she could walk to most places or take a bus for the longer treks. Perhaps she was an odd society lady in that she didn’t flaunt her wealth. She tried to avoid using her