I silently followed Scarlett as she made her way to her apartment along with the three more girls. The girls sniggered and tittle tattle while I was psyched up in my head to focus on my work only. I can't waste a minute of my life.
My brother was my only family left and I was his only hope. My father died as his heart couldn't put up with the betrayal my mother bestowed upon him by running away with her co-worker and that left me and my brother alone. He was my only family, I knew I must do it for him. I knew I had to do anything for him.
While we walked I stole a quick glance at everyone's outfit; splendid. I looked like a walking trash among them with the old jeans and a baggy sweater from years ago. Since I couldn't do anything about it, I kept my back upright and elected to rely on my confidence and hard work since they were the my only things in my possession.
''Okay, girls these are your rooms. They are a bit smaller but that's all I can do for you as you are living here rent free. Make sure you keep them clean and adjust yourself or else you can go ahead and find yourself a place.'' Her commanding voice made us focus on her every little gesture. I examined her red stiletto as she instructed us gloriously; she was very stunning.
Her looks were appealing and the way she talked, gorgeous. She was born to be a boss; her whole attire has been just perfect.
"Now this is my apartment." She took a few steps forward and opened a door to a very luxurious apartment. We all peeped inside and followed her as she led us in. "I'll be giving you girls some lessons here and the ground floor is the Boutique, there will be certain rules that you must follow because no company thrives without rules and regulations." She rubbed her hands together, keeping her spine straight and proudly watching our faces.
She was a wealthy fashion designer, living with her long-term boyfriend, an Instagram model, and gym instructor Ryker Malarkey. We haven't seen him in person before, but he was quite a hot topic these days.
Scarlet was doing this favor on us, she has appointed us for a job in her Boutique and it was nice of her that she was letting us stay in her place for free. That was extremely substantial on her behalf.
"Hey, babe!" We all shook in our places when a beautiful, husky voice fell upon our ears. The owner of the melodic voice was none other than the famous Ryker Malarkey. Together we glimpsed at the handsome hunk standing before our eyes; aesthetically pleasing.
He was drying his hair with a towel; shirtless and it took us a minute to notice that he only had a towel wrapped over his waist. A line of remarkable star tattoos caught our attention, which went to start from his asis to his ribs. As much as I wanted to count the stars, I found if inappropriate to stare at my boss's boyfriend right in front of her.
His advent bewitched our eyes from deterring away to the surroundings. The majestic way of lifting his eyes while keeping his face down was simply beguiling.
Fortunately, I wasn't the only one who had her eyes glued to him or it would have looked awkward, but all four of us were shamelessly checking him out. He smiled, pulling his lip from one corner and squeezed his eyes as his smile widened.
He lightly hugged Scarlet, who was sharing the same sweet, but a less attractive smile than his. His closeness has not only brought shivers down our spine, but I bet everybody sniffed his fresh and soothing scent hitting our nostrils.
"Babe these are the new girls." She whispered and stood with him, his hand wrapped around her back lightly. Wow, his strong hand might feel very warm, my mind drooled over his firm hands.
"Girls! He is my boyfriend Ryker Malarkey." Her voice was filled with enthusiasm of introducing the heartthrob Ryker to us. His lips were curled upward, forming a mild welcoming smile as he watched us.
"Hi!" We all said in unison. He had a small towel hanging down his neck. My eyes traveled along with the driblets of water that made their way down his naked chest at a leisurely pace.
"She is Lacy, that's Willow, and she is Nichole." She pointed at each girl and as he looked at them, they all swigged. The moment his beautiful eyes landed on each girl I noticed a shift in their moods.
"That tall one is Kathleen." I was busy scanning every little detail of his existence when her mentioned shook me back to reality. The way she mentioned my name made all the girls to chuckle except me. Obviously, I wasn't very pleased with how I was being introduced, but well, beggars can't be choosers.
She turned everybody's attention on me and I hate to announce it that I wasn't very well known with the audience.
"Hi!" I mumbled while I nervously played with my fingers. I peeked at his face and found him roughly looking my way, he then itched his forehead and looked down on the floor again.
"In the meantime, he will help you girls maintain your body." She announced abruptly with a huge smile plastered over her lips.
This was never mentioned before; we didn't bargain for that. It made me question if she didn't like the way we looked or she just wanted us to maintain ourselves? Now that wasn't the only thing that bothered me, Mr. Ryker over there was kind of caught off guard as well.
His neck swiftly turned to Scarlet, indicating he too was surprised as they both awkwardly communicated through the eyes in a fiddly silence.
"Right, honey?" She forced a what appears to be a fake smile and hastily held his hand to coax him into agreeing with her. Her gentle touch seemed to work as Ryker retrieved the smile on his lips and vaguely smiled.
"Sure!" He casually spoke, maintaining his posture again. The smile he was wearing was charming, but something about it didn’t seem genuine.
I felt bad for him, for a moment, it felt like she was the boss in their relationship, which wasn't a bad thing as us woman wants to be treated like queens at times as well. I shook my head secretly as I remembered their relationship was none of my business.
Scarlet was nice enough to give me a job, a roof over my head, which was much needed at this time. This job was like a golden ticked dropped in my lap for me so I wasn't going to jeopardize it for some suffering handsome and rich boyfriend of my boss.
"Girls! To your rooms now." Once Scarlet was pleased with how everything went, she declared and turned on her heels to trample past us to her room without sticking around for our departure.
"I'm your biggest fan." Willow giggled, finding a moment to praise him. She clasped her arms together over her abdomen and wriggled her shoulders to look cute.
"Well, that is sweet." Ryker's tone sounded rather sham, but hey, I haven’t heard him in real life before so maybe that's how he used to sound like.
Everyone turned around to shove off to their respective rooms and that's when I caught Ryker sneaking a look at Willow weirdly. It was such a brisk stare that I couldn't figure out if it was impetuous or he was being defiant. I followed the girls in the lack of certainty and soon we were out of Scarlet's apartment.
There was a huge hallway outside their apartment to which our rooms were located from across each other. I pulled out the key from my purse and got in the room I was blessed upon.
Locking the door, I let out a deep sigh. It was a hard day, leaving behind my town to earn money for my brother's hospital bills was not only tiring but somewhere sucked the energy out of me.
I passed a full glance into the room from one corner and to the other. It was a cozy little room with an attached bathroom. There was one dressing with a beautiful mirror and a single bed in the middle. All and all, Scarlet has saved me from much trouble, I couldn't ever thank her enough.
I sat on the soft mattress and begin to debate if I should take a shower or leave that chore in the morning since I was tired as hell and it was 11 pm already.
Before I could think too much, I dozed off as soon as I closed my eyes. I could say it was the most peaceful sleep I had after months of feeling unsafe and constantly waking up in the nights to make sure nobody has found me.
Knowing someone is chasing you can be a vigil, but I slept peacefully because I knew that no one knew I was here. Nobody was here to disturb me, right?
Right?
Then why was it that I kept hearing someone pounding and calling my name in utter bitterness?
''Kathrine!'' I heard a yell and a hard knock on my door. I frowned in my sleep and pulled my pillow over my head to prevent my ears from getting damaged by that annoying calls.
"KATHERINE!" the high pitched voiced drilled holes through my ears, but my first reaction was to be vexed over that person for pronouncing my name wrong.
''It--is Kathleen,'' I mumbled in my mouth, yawning and changing my side.
I opened my eyes gradually and smiled at the window previewing the beautiful sunny weather outside.
I've no idea how I slept for this long but the sun was already shining through the window. I furrowed at the opened blinds that I forgot to shut last night and chalked it up to me being incredibly worn out last night.
''Wake up! You are late.'' The voice called forth me in the bed in disbelief, I was late?
I looked over to the alarm clock and realized I didn't have one. I slapped my forehead, feeling stupid for being late on the first day and decided to make a run for it.
''Shit!'' I cursed, throwing the blanket afar and stumbling into the bathroom. ''I'll be there in a minute,'' I yelled from inside the bathroom to Willow, who was now impatiently banging my door.
Dammit! I knew the schedule, Scarlet had put out an announcement in our WhatsApp group last night with the schedule and timings mentioned repeatedly. Ryker was going to give us some workout tips and as our gym instructor he was going to help us get in shape and maintain it.
They had gym equipments in their apartment which by the idea of Scarlet could be utilized by us in order to save our time from leaving the apartment building and paying for a gym fee.
''You have ticked off everyone,'' I perceived Willow's remark distinctly, perks of leaving the bathroom door opened. I rolled my eyes and scowled under the shower while my hands kept rinsing my hair in a quick circular motion.
I knew I have pissed them off, obviously, they wanted to start working out with him so they could slobber over him stretching and sweating before their eyes.
"Now don't be late, we are not here to tolerate your indiscipline." She shouted again abrasively from across the door with all the strength she could gather. I couldn't leave without getting a shower, I've been sweaty since last day.
Imagine being her roommate, okay don't, that would be a torture. I remained ignorant of her soft tapping on my door and continued doing my business hastily.
Right off the bat, I knew this girl and I were going to have some drama. I had seen her during the interview and she was kind of snobby to everyone.
''I'm sorry I'm late.'' I rushed inside, thirty minutes tardy yet tripping on my way inside. My long blond hair was wet and I was in my gray yoga pants and black Nike crop top. I was running out of breath as I reached the terrace where they were working out that day. The cold breeze caressing my skin tremored me into scrunching myself together to warm myself while my eyes picked at them working out.''Don't enter.'' I ceased my foot in midway through entering the terrace at a loud grunt from Ryker. His response knocked me for six. I hadn't stepped in from that glass door yet and he voiced, not even bothering to look at me. His vast back was facing me as I stared at him in surprise.''I'm so sorry, my alarm didn't go off.'' I lied bluntly, I had to give an excuse to gently stroke his ego. This job was important for me to get the amount that could pay my brother's hospital bills and all the classes I have to take for the job were mandatory. Now that I've alre
Once I walked out of their apartment someone clobbered her shoulder against mine. The excruciating pain hindered my movement and I took a step back to look at the person's face: Willow.Obviously, it has to be her. I had seen this look on her face every time I came into her sight."He was right, you shouldn't be acting like a queen. There are certain rules and regulations you must follow." Willow in her smooth accent and sassy attitude muttered. It was the battling of her eyelashes for me that made me cringe. She kept rolling her eyes and passing these diva vibes. The other two girls just silently stood by her side like obedient guards."Yeah! You are right." I was not in a position to start a fight again. All I wanted at that moment was to just walk with the flow and remain a low profile for at least a few hours."You should burn some fat too." As I was about to leave, I heard her passing a gibe at me. I halted on my pace, her com
Well, now that they had enough fun on my behalf, it was my time to stand up for myself.''I believe in simplicity, I wear what I feel comfortable in, not in what others feel comfortable seeing me in,'' I replied and slowly pushed my hair back from my right shoulder.Of course, I couldn't say, I'm lying because I can't afford a designer dress which was okay as the reason I chose to work in a boutique was to earn in the first place. If I was rich enough to afford designer dresses, I would have never taken this job.I sensed not just the girls, but Ryker stared at me for a moment too, even when I swirled my head back at them, he was still looking at me. He was zoned out in some deep thoughts and I was just an object where his eyes were stuck upon.''Yeah, but sweetie, we sell clothes. I would want my workers to look pleasing enough for the customers to not only spare glances at them but also compliment your choice.'' Scarlet, being a fashio
I was ready to listen to Ryker. But his response was something I didn't expect."Kathleen, I'm sorry to hear that." He continued, keeping his eyes on me. Looking him in the eye gave me shivers down my spine.It seemed as his eyes would only focus at one point and every other thing disappeared from his surrounding, this is how intense his gaze was.His stare was always intense, "and Willow, if you can't understand the meaning of her simple sentence, then how do you aim at understanding fashion?" He shook his head at her lack of empathy towards others. His glare made her squirm in discomfort and focus on her fingers.Ryker didn’t bid his time to hang onto what she had to add and began ingesting his food. Scarlet bowed her head down in her plate, cognizing her boyfriend went totally against everyone, she looked very distracted, and honestly speaking, I didn't expe
"Oh my God! Oh my God!" I panicked and who wouldn't? He was standing with his back facing me, an unclothed back. I saw the crack and that cracked my head.I heard his scream but I had quickly closed my eyes by placing my palm on my eyes. I was murmuring random things in hesitation. Thankfully, I didn't see his frontal part, but damn, my heart was racing in my chest."What the hell are you doing here?" He yelled, I felt like he was facing me now but my eyes were closed. Not uttering a sin
The issue wasn't the contract alone. I had all the hospital bills and my previous job contracts in that file too. There was also this one name written on a piece of paper that could end my whole life if it got exposed. I thought it was easy to keep files together and whenever I need one I would just pull out that one. Never in a million years, I thought I would drop it in his room. If he sees my files, I'm doomed. If anybody sees the files, I will have to run away from this place as well.
I restrained from tailing him by breaking out of his grasp to pull away from him. Once confirmed he wasn't dragging me anymore, I recovered the strength to assert myself.''I'm not going anywhere,'' I stated loudly enough to be heard. I can't let him get his revenge on Scarlet with me. I have no business in their matter, I should not suffer. I was holding onto my chest, keeping my hands prepared to make sure our bodies don’t come in contact. His eyes scanned my face like a hungry beast.''Are you disobeying me?'' the strange look on his face was something worth watching. He looked as if he had seen a ghost, why was it so hard for him to understand? Everything was in front of him. I just simply didn't want to jump in his bed. He knew I had heard their conversation, he really thought I would be okay to be his toy? Or did he take our weird encounters as my attempts to feel him?His broad
Unknown: So if you want those files, you know what you have to do.I was back at being in trouble in less than a minute. I knew he didn’t plan on giving me my documents back. In the meanwhile, I determined to feed my empty stomach some food. I am the type of person who eats a lot of anxiety.I slipped in a denim jacket that my brother used to wear and slid my bag’s strap over my shoulder and make my way out of the building. The night was cold but pleasant, seemed like I wasn’t the only one who had left the roof. The streets and roads were filled with people.I marched across the road to the small café where I could buy something not so expensive"Hey, there you go." I handed the money to the fine lady and got my order from her. I walked outside the Cafe and sat down by the pavement to eat something in peace.Can you imagine I was struggling inside my mind to come up with a good idea to get my fi