Part two

Second chapter is up now! I hope you enjoy reading it :) Audrey's life starts to get a bit more interesting... ;)

The morning came way too fast. I was snatched out of my slumber by Valery, who hit me over the head with a pillow.

“Wake up, sleepy! You are going to miss the whole day!” she chirped.

“What’s with all the noise, Val?” I yawned “It’s Saturday, I don’t have to drive you to school…”

“Nope.” She folded her arms “But you have to drive me to my samba course! It starts in half an hour.”

Only then did I notice she was wearing tights and a short skirt and was carrying a big red rucksack. Her hair was tied in a high bun, revealing her round face and her eyes sparkled with anticipation. She looked slender and graceful as a sapling. I jumped from the bed:

“Of course, of course! I am so sorry, Val, I completely forgot! I’ll be ready in no time!”

Saying that, I stormed off to the bathroom. For less than fifteen minutes I was washed, brushed and ready to go. I had no time for picking out an outfit, so I put on a pair of tight high-waist jeans and a black turtleneck blouse. I tied my hair in a messy bun, put on some sunglasses and got out in the hall to grab my short fur coat.

“Come, Valery! Let’s go!” I called my sister, while putting on my boots.

We ran down the stairs and got out on the alley. The weather was no better today… In fact, it was about to get worse. While walking to the white Porsche, parked on the side of the street, I heard a quiet thunder rumble in the grey sky. Yes… it definitely was about to get worse. Me and Valery got in the car and as I waited for the engine to warm up I asked:

“Do you know where aunt Sharon is?” not that I cared much.

“She went out in the early morning.” Val shrugged “She said she had business to take care of.”

       Hmmm… I was well aware of that particular “business”. His name was Elijah Swayze, the CFO

        of the Corporative Commercial Bank. No wonder my aunt was head over heels for him… she

had a thing for rich men with loads of money.

 

“Well, she knows what she is doing!” I sighed and stepped on the gas.

 

      Lucky for us there wasn’t much traffic today, so we quickly arrived at the gym, where Val’s samba course was.

 

    “Do you want me to pick you up, or are you going out with Andrea later?” I asked her before she close the door.

 

    “Andrea’s been sick all week…” said Val “So I’ll call you when I’m done, ok?”

 

    “Sure!” I smiled.

 

* * *

 

As I waited for my sister, something very interesting happened to me. The gym, where I left Valery was right next to the main boulevard of the town, so I decided to take a walk. It hadn’t started raining, but I took an umbrella with me just in case.

I walked slowly… ignoring the colorful signs and adds of the shops… looking straight forward, my mind rushing off to places beyond that small town and its people. The boulevard was empty… well, almost. The clouds were low in the sky, nearly touching the tops of the tallest buildings… There was no wind, the air was still and it heaved on me, making every intake of breath hard and slow. I looked up at the welkin and felt a tiny droplet of rain fall on my cheek. It was soon followed by many others, pouring over the earth like the tears of a fallen angel…

I didn’t even bother opening the umbrella. I just let the rain enfold me, let the beads of cold crystal water slide down my face and soak in my warm skin. Walking like that, my thoughts far away from reality, I didn’t at all see the woman that was walking towards me. I only noticed her when she bumped into me, nearly knocking me down. I staggered and she grabbed me, not so gently, by the arm.

“Careful!” she said, her voice soft and rich.

She then let me go and continued walking in the direction she was headed for. But I did not move from my spot. I stood motionless… pondering over what had just happened… For at that very moment… when the woman pulled me up, preventing me from falling… the moment her eyes locked on mine… I felt… I felt like looking in a mirror! The woman was young, about my age and height… with exactly the same hair, but raven black, the shape of her electric blue eyes the same as mine… Her lips were thin as mine, her skin pale as mine. She wore leather pants and a bright red shirt with a leather jacket on top. She gave me a puzzled look for a second and that was when she let me go.

I couldn’t believe it! She was like my ideal replica… like my inner self, the way I’ve always imagined it to be. I turned around, but she was already gone… What was that? Some kind of sign? Or a mere coincidence? Wasn’t I just tired and just starting to imagine things… I still stood like frozen, holding my closed umbrella, having the rain soak in my coat, making the fur slick and wet.

A familiar melody brought me back to reality. It came from my purse… Heart shaped glasses by Marilyn Manson. But… it was too early for Valery to call me…

“Hello?”

“Audrey, where are you?” that despicable voice made me shudder.

“Oh… it’s you, aunt Sharon.” I said “I’m at the centre, waiting for my sister… Do you need anything?” of course she did, otherwise she would never make the mistake of calling me.

“After you pick up Valery I want you to come to the main office of the CCB. I’ve got good news for you!”

A lump got stuck in my throat. That almost always brought trouble…

* * *

Time went by agonizingly slow, while I waited for Val. The rain had gotten too strong so I was now seated in the car, tapping nervously with my fingers on the steering wheel. Good news, good news… Good news most likely for her. I couldn’t see a possible reason why she would do something nice for me…

Half an hour later I parked the car in front of the tall glazed building of the bank. My legs were already shaking and I felt like I was going to face death for one final combat… Silly…

There she was. Aunt Sharon stood like a majestic statue in the middle of the large lobby. She wore a long flared black skirt, black shirt and a tailor-made jacket. Everything that surrounded her was polished and reflecting the brilliance of her heavy necklace. When she saw us she rushed in our direction. Snatching the car keys from my hands, she gave them to Val and crooned:

“Valery, dear, would you be so kind to wait for us in the car, please? We will come in a minute.”

I looked at my sister confused. She was as startled as I was and, after taking the keys from Sharon, walked silently back to the car.

“May I know what is going…” I could not even finish my sentence.

“Remove them glasses, Audrey! Why did you even put them on? Do you see any sun outside?” Sharon hissed and took my shades off “Now make yourself decent, he is coming!”

“Who, aunt? Who is coming? And why did you make me come in the first place?”

While assailing her with questions, I failed to see the tall black-clad man that approached us.

“Is this your niece, Sharon? The young Audrey Manson? I’m happy to finally meet her!”

I immediately fell silent and turned my gaze to the source of that deep, rumbling voice. The man, that now stood only a meter away from us, gave me a warm smile. He was tall as a skyscraper, with shoulder-length wavy brown hair, eyes like black diamonds and thin lips with soft curves. He wore an expensive-looking black suit and leather gloves.

“Yes, this is her!” smiled Sharon “Audrey, this is Mr. Elijah Swayze, the CFO of this bank.”

So that was Mr. Swayze… I smiled and shook his hand. I still had no idea what was going on. We stood like that in complete silence for a few moments, my aunt tapping nervously with her foot and Mr. Swayze looking at me intently from top to bottom. His penetrating gaze made me feel quite uncomfortable… and I didn’t at all like the look in his eyes… Suddenly, Sharon discretely struck me with an elbow in the stomach:

“It’s… it’s a pleasure to meet you too!” I said quickly, shooting an angry glare at my aunt.

The man smiled and gestured at a black sofa near us with a small table at the front.

“Why don’t we take a seat?” and after we did so he continued “I’m happy to inform you, Sharon, that we’ve got the perfect job for your lovely niece!”

“What the… A job?” I choked “Why am I being informed only now?”

“Please, Audrey, let the man finish.” Said Sharon through gritted teeth and despite her polite smile, I could sense the annoyance in her voice.

“I am willing to take her as my personal secretary here, in the main office of the bank. She will have to be here eight hours a day, with one day off and, I believe, a salary of $33 per hour will be completely sufficient. It is all up to you to decide!”

“When can she start?” asked Sharon.

“Aunt!”

“Whenever she feels ready! The sooner the better!” smiled Elijah.

“What about the contract and all the other documents? I know it is not that easy to employ people here.”

“It is actually… If you know the right person.” Swayze put his hand on my aunt’s knee and winked at her

“You don’t need to worry about anything, we will get the contract done in no time!”

At that moment I felt so betrayed, screwed and disgusted, it almost hurt! But as always… it kind of made sense… What better way for aunt Sharon to have me out of the house all day long than to find me a job? And why not it being one that brings tons of cash and an unlimited access for her to the CFO… I kept silence for the rest of the conversation. I had nothing to say… Whatever their plan was, it was too late for me to run away.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were planning this all along?” I growled at my aunt the minute we walked out of the bank.

She stopped, released the most heavy and demonstrative sigh and turned to me:

“First �" because you were going to complain about it, as you always do! And second, because you are twenty three, fresh out of the number one Business and Economy University, and need a proper job to start with… ” she made a pause “As I’ve already told you, Audrey, I’m doing this for you!”

Strong words… but her eyes were telling a completely different story…

“So… ” I gave her a questioning look “It is all because you want me to have a good job in the process of building an independent career? And it has nothing to do with a certain, hmmm, someone?”

“Why of course! I only want the best for you and Valery! Now go. Get your sister home and I want you to tidy the apartment. I have few more things to take care of and will be back in an hour or two.”

And here we go again. From the beloved niece I once more turned into Cinderella. For all the years that I had lived with that woman not one time did she call a maid to clean the apartment… With all those money… She just enjoyed watching me suffer…

I watched her as she got in her black car and left. OK… now it was going to get interesting…

Reviews

[Eagle Cruagh]

I am already worried about her in
the new job. Her new boss sounds and
looks like a slime job and to become his
personal secretary means she is in big
trouble right from day one.
Rushing off to read part three and find
out what terror awaits this poor girl.
'-=--- John

[Forest Green]

Audrey is pressed to be the valiant force for good, and she does it well and with class.

You're generous to the heroine in your writing. I liked the way this chapter closed out...it truly does lead on...

Very nice sentence structure and dialogue...flawless!

I loved the part where it said 'Pouring over the earth like the tears of a fallen angel'. The end of this part is making it so I'm at the edge of my chair. That is a very popular hook but you pulled it off somehow... well you pulled it off by being awesome!