“Excusez-moi!” the woman cried. “Halt there. Stop.”
Audrey frowned and turned, curiosity getting the best of her. Swallowing sharply, she eyed the tall, thin, almost angelic-looking woman as she floated across the front yard after her.
As she grew closer, Audrey saw there was nothing angelic about her expression.
“Excusez-moi,” the woman snapped. “What on earth do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m-I’m dropping off your things,” Audrey said softly, not accustomed to being accosted like this. “They are your things, aren’t they?”
“Who am I to know?” Claire said haughtily. “These dresses, I would rather have them burned than ever have them back. Do you know what he did to me? Can you possibly understand?”
Audrey pressed her lips together, conscious that her fight-or-flight response was telling her to flee. Her eyes widened. “I’ve been instructed to give them back. You can do whatever you want with them now.”
“But, darling, no,” Claire said, giving her an ominous smile. “You can’t get away with that so easily. I need you to tell him something for me. I need you to tell him I hope he dies in a hole somewhere. And I hope someone as ugly as you is wrapped around him when he goes.”
Audrey’s cheeks burned. Compared to Claire, the model, perhaps she wasn’t gorgeous, but she’d certainly never been called ugly. “I’ll pass that along,” Audrey said. “Thank you.” Her voice was sarcastic, yet wobbly, making her look even weaker. She snapped her hand back, beginning to open the back door of the taxi.
“Oh, I see now,” Claire said. Her eyes flashed. “You’re falling in love with him, aren’t you? I can see it written all over your face.”
Audrey rolled her eyes, hating that this woman was getting to her. “No, of course not. He’s my boss,” she replied. “I’m here on duty, nothing more.”
“That’s what he’ll have you think,” Claire said. “And then he’ll latch himself around you, and he’ll ruin you.” She stabbed her long, fake nail towards Audrey’s face, making her wobble uneasily on her black heels.
Shaken, sensing that Claire had said all she could think of, Audrey bolted into the back of the taxi and called out “go!” to the driver. He did, switching gears with a quick motion and speeding away from the mansion, Audrey chilled and shaking in the back.
“It got pretty heated out there, huh?” the driver asked, glancing at her in the rearview window. “Does she really hate you that much?”
“I think she hates my boss,” Audrey said, rubbing her palms together. “But I’ve never made someone so angry before just for existing. That was terrifying.”
“What are you then, a personal assistant?” the taxi driver asked.
“For now, yes.”
“Ah. I’ve driven your kind around before,” the taxi driver said, his eyes brooding. “It’s never easy for you. Never. I’ve seen too many personal assistants sobbing in the back of this very taxi. You’re handling it pretty well.”
“It’s my first day,” Audrey said, sounding hesitant. Her chin slumped down to her chest as the realization folded over her. She would spend the next two weeks being yelled at, being dragged through mud and unfortunate situations, and being told she was ugly? Jesus. Would this destroy her?
“Can you take me back to where you picked me up?” Audrey asked softly, crossing her arms over her chest.
The taxi changed course, skidding left at a stoplight before bolting back to the Mission. But moments before their arrival, Audrey received a text message from the Sheikh, explaining that he needed her to pick up his lunch on the way back.
“There’s something else,” Audrey said with a sigh. “If you could make a left at the light.”
“There’s always something else,” the driver said, his words somber. “Just get used to it, darling.”
About a half hour later, Audrey entered the offices again, carrying a large bag of Indian food. Its smell wafted toward her nose, turning her stomach into a raging, hungry machine. The Sheikh’s door was cracked open, allowing the sounds of her boss and his coworker, a man named Connor, to escape. They were discussing real estate potentials in the Los Angeles area, with Connor explaining the market in greater detail. Audrey knocked halfheartedly at the door, allowing her tired eyes to show through the crack.