Chapter 1: How I got so lucky
The May sun was sending its warm rays through the high windows that took up the entire outside wall of the office, into our open-plan office. My desk was right next to the glass wall, and a few sun rays fell through the tilted window onto my hands, warming me pleasantly. I was working on an article about the development of the German music scene for our magazine ‘Music Lovers’ and reread the text I had written so far on my computer. My head was buzzing with the many ideas I still wanted to incorporate into the article, and I leaned back with a sigh of relief.
Through the glass door on the other side of the open-plan office, I could see that the editor-in-chief, Claudia Lehmann, was coming out of her office and heading for the coffee machine. She was an attractive woman in her mid-forties, slim and athletic, with enviable energy. It was no surprise that Claudia had made it to editor-in-chief! After completing my studies last year, I applied to the editorial team at Music Lovers and was very lucky to get the job. Not only because it was my dream job, but also because I got on well with my colleagues and my boss.
After Claudia took the cup of steaming coffee from the machine, I thought she would return to her office with it, but instead she opened the glass door and walked along the aisle between our desks until she stopped in front of mine. I looked up at her in surprise and she gave me a friendly smile.
„Can you please come to my office, Mara? I have some big news for you,“ she announced smiling.
„Sure, Claudia! I’ll be right there,“ I replied excitedly.
I saved the article on my computer once again before getting up from my chair and following my boss to her office.
„Do you want a coffee?“ she asked me as we walked pass the coffee machine.
„No, thanks,“ I replied and followed her into the office.
I had just had a coffee and didn’t want another one, as I was already nervous enough. At the moment I was much more interested in finally finding out what big news the boss had for me!
„Please sit down, Mara!“ she said, pointing to the comfortable chair in front of her desk.
“Thank you, Claudia.” I mumbled and sat down obediently.
Claudia leant over the desk towards me and looked at me thoughtfully. My heart was beating so loud that I feared she could hear it and I involuntarily held my breath. My boss didn’t mince her words and said things straight out, but she liked to make it a little exciting first.
“So Mara, I have an interesting assignment for you. But first I’d like to know if you’ve heard of the rock band Strayheart,” she said with a grin.
Her green eyes sparkled with mischief and I immediately realised that she was teasing me a little! Of course I knew the Irish rock band, whose latest album was storming the charts all over Europe and whose indie rock music was winning over more and more fans far beyond Europe’s borders.
“Of course! I love indie rock and Strayheart has only released amazing songs on the new album. And the lead singer, Sam Nelson, has a fantastic voice,” I said with enthusiasm and got almost carried away.
“Hang on, they’re currently on tour in Europe and are coming to Germany in the next few days. As far as I know, they want to perform in several German cities.”
I looked at my boss expectantly and she nodded in agreement.
“That’s right! The band wants to tour across our country and play concerts in at least ten cities. The manager contacted our editorial team a few days ago and asked if we could write a diary about the Germany tour,” she told me, beaming.
“It’s a unique opportunity to publish Strayheart’s tour diary in our magazine and will certainly bring us many new readers! I need a journalist who is willing to accompany the five musicians across our country and who has the necessary enthusiasm for the job. You’re about the same age as the boys, Mara, and that makes working with them a lot easier. So, will you accept the job?”
“Oh my god! I’m supposed to accompany my favourite band on their tour across Germany and write a diary about it. How I got so lucky?” I thought to myself.
The boss crossed her arms in front of her chest and was watching me with a smirk while waiting for my answer.
“Yes, of course I’ll accept the assignment! Thank you for entrusting me with this important job, Claudia. When do you want me to start?” I asked excitedly.
“The band will be coming from Belgium and arriving to Germany on their tour bus the day after tomorrow. They’re playing their first concert the same night in the Westfalenhalle in Dortmund,” she explained to me.
“I want you to turn up at the Mercure Hotel in Dortmund the day after tomorrow at three o’clock in the afternoon and meet the musicians there. I’ll book a room for you at the Mercure straight away, because you won’t have to drive back to Düsseldorf at night after the concert. The next morning you’ll be travelling with the guys on the tour bus to Cologne for the next concert. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask me, Mara!”
Claudia held out her hand to me and I squeezed it a little too much since I was very nervous.
“Thank you again, Claudia! I’d better get back to work so I can finish my articles by tomorrow evening,” I said with a deep sigh.
“I have to thank you, Mara!” she called after me as I left the office.
I could hardly believe that I would be accompanying the band Strayheart across Germany to write a tour diary. I really hadn’t expected that assignment! Maybe I was a little too old to be a fangirl at the age of twenty-six, but I was still able to get excited about the band’s great rock music. I was looking forward to meeting the pretty musicians from Dublin, who were very popular with the female fans. I was most excited about the hot lead singer with the beautiful voice. Okay, I may not be a fangirl, but I was pretty smitten with Samuel Nelson!
My colleagues immediately asked me about the news the boss had for me and when I told them that I was to write a tour diary about the band Strayheart, they turned green with envy.
“Really? You’re going to be with the hot guys from Strayheart 24/7 for four weeks? You’re so lucky the boss gave you the assignment, Mara,” said brunette Leni sighing deeply.
“When you return to the office, you have to tell us all the details of the tour, Mara! I don’t know who I think is hotter, Sam or Danny... Just don’t forget to bring autographs from all the boys, for each of us,” shouted pretty Franziska with the golden brown eyes.
After promising my colleagues that I would bring autograph cards from the Irish musicians, I was finally able to sit down at my desk and continue writing my article. I managed to finish the article by half past five and could leave the office on time.
When I returned to my apartment that evening, which is located in a nice residential neighbourhood in the Carlstadt district, I was far too excited to calm down. After dinner, I started packing my suitcase. I was in a state of euphorism and, for the first time after six months, I didn’t think about Emilio which made my heart hurt so fucking much. Emilio was my ex-boyfriend with whom I had been for almost three years until he confessed to me that he had fallen in love with someone else, my best friend Charlotte! It turned out that Charlotte reciprocated his feelings and they had a relationship behind my back...
I wouldn’t want anyone to experience something so bad! Fortunately, I wasn’t alone during that hard time as my family and friends stood by me, comforting and supporting me in every possible way. Although I would have loved to hide under the covers forever, I managed to get up in the morning and get ready for work. I love my job and didn’t want to lose it as well!
And lo and behold, thanks to my job, I now had the opportunity to meet my favourite band and accompany them on their Germany tour. I was so looking forward to living a lot of exciting moments with the five musicians from Dublin. However, with all the euphoria, I wouldn’t let myself be distracted from my work and was going to write down all my impressions to create a perfect diary. How could I have guessed that I would fall for the irresistible charm of the lead singer, even though I never wanted to fall in love again!
