Michael Pachter stood in his office. It was a large, well-appointed room, something any professional might aspire to. The shelves (mahogany) lining the northern wall were filled with books. Tomes on law and business, of course, but mostly books on the ever growing video game industry. Michael was proud of his collection, and prouder still that it wasn’t just for show. He had read them all, many of them multiple times.
He was less proud of his desk (oak). The piece was fine, exquisite in fact. The spiraling columns at each corner of the desk were hand-carved, as were the intricate, floral tendrils that framed the face of each drawer. The hanging, circular handles were bronze, tarnished on the edges but still gleaming in the middle where Michael’s hands regularly made contact. Each drawer would slide effortlessly and silently when opened, filled though they were with the tools of his trade – pens, legal pads and an honest-to-god accounting calculator, the kind that printed out its sums on honest-to-god paper. Continue reading “The Eastern Wall: A Short Story”
