Emily
My mouth hung open in the air. Before I came to my senses, the call had already ended with – was that Mr. Price's assistant? – coldly calling out demands. What was with the coldness? Was that a prerequisite for working with him or did all his underlings simply pick up on his character?
"Who was that?" Myra demanded, her eyes narrowing into slits. "You look like you just received a death threat. You're white as sheet."
Tonia jumped at this moment. "Whoever is calling her is none of your business, Myra." She snapped. "I'm sure if you pour as much effort into your work, you'd actually be good at it."
Myra bristled at that and I was sure she was about to lounge for Tonia when I scraped my seat on the tiled floor, jumping out of it. Turning to Tonia with a disapproving glare, I picked up my bag.
"I have to go." I told her. "It's urgent. Please cover for me until I'm back."
"Oh? You're leaving?" Myra taunted, swiveling her seat to face me. "But you just arrived. You're leaving so early when you resumed work so late. What will the manager think?"
I stiffened. Of course, I didn't care what the manager thought but I didn't want to lose this job. The salary was meager but it was good, most of all, I had my reasons for remaining here. This company was the only company with the resources I needed to gather information on the man who murdered my father and maybe clear my name in the process.
If I could find my father's killer and erase every trace of my past, that would be like killing two birds with one stone and I couldn't let that opportunity pass up just like that. After all, I worked very hard to be where I was now.
Myra's eyes glinted with barely concealed disdain. "Should we go ask her what she thinks?" she continued, seemingly oblivious to my growing frustration. Myra has always been a thorn in my side, but today, she was even more annoying and I was beginning to lose my patience.
To think that I had less than thirty minutes to prepare and meet Mr. Price. that cold hearted monster, why was he giving me such short notice and didn't he agree his business wouldn't affect my work?
I sighed inwardly. "Myra, please. This is a family emergency. If not, I wouldn't even consider leaving work."
Tonia rolled her eyes. "Why are you explaining yourself to her?If you have to leave, go ahead and leave. I'll cover for you like I said."
"Will you really do that?" Myra laughed. "Tell me who you're going to meet, Elena. Then maybe, I'll consider letting you off the hook this once."
"Did you not hear when she said family emergency?" Tonia sneered, not willing to back down.
"Is it your mother?" Myra continued, ignoring Tonia which only made her mad. "I heard she's being hospitalized, or that's not it?Didn't Tonia mention you were married? Is it your husband?"
I stiffened at the mention of that word and Myra took my reaction as a response to her question. She threw her head backwards, laughing till her eyes watered.
"Don't tell me you're really married." Myra snickered, clearly enjoying this. "Like, is he blind or something? Every man with eyes can see that –"
Tonia began pushing me to the door, looking irritated as ever. "Get out of here and go attend to your emergency."
"But –" I hesitated, glancing at Myra who was beginning to fume.
"Forget about her." Tonia said. Without sparing at Myra, continued pushing me to the entrance, stopping only when we were inches away from the front desk. "That girl's bark is worse than her bite, fortunately. I'll take care of her. Trust me."
"Are you sure?" I asked, trying to glance over her shoulder.
"Don't you trust me?" she retorted, feigning a hurt expression.
"It's not that…" I trailed off. It wasn't like I couldn't trust my best friend but I also knew what her temper was like and the fact that she was hotheaded and impulsive, taking actions without thinking in the heat of the moment.
She seemed to know where my thought was going and calmly said. 'Look, I know what this job means to you and I also know what that marriage means to you so I won't do anything to jeopardize it.
I breathed a sigh of relief and was about to relax when she continued. "But I won't hesitate to put anyone in their place if they dare disrespect you."
Ughhh… I thought we were making progress. I sighed, deciding to leave. My fake marriage was just as important as my need to find my father's killer but in this moment, it was crucial that I didn't lose my marriage.
My mother's health was still declining and Mr. Thomas Price still had a secret from my past I'd rather the public never knew about. Until I found a way to get my hand on that evidence, I couldn't risk losing my marriage.
With a slight smile on my face, I placed a kiss on Tonia's cheek and hurried away. Once I was outside the door, I quickly hailed a cab, giving him the address of the expensive fashion store Mr. Price had taken me to the other day.
Seeing as I had wasted fifteen minutes explaining myself to Myra, I couldn't return to the manor to pick out my dress and I recalled Mr. Price had given the orders to the other day that I should be attended to whenever I came to the store with all cost sent to his account.
As soon as the cab stopped in front of the store, I rushed out of the cab and into the fashion store.
Unlike the last time I was here, there wasn't a line up of staffs to receive me at the front entrance, merely a stiff middle-aged woman whose face immediately drained all color as soon as I stepped into the store.
"Good day –" I began to say but she rudely cut me off.
"I'm sure you must have made the wrong turn." She said distastefully. "The flea market is on the other side of town."
I stumbled back, feeling insulted by her insinuation. Regaining my composure, I smiled awkwardly, before stepping up again only for the woman to take a cautious step back.
"Did you not hear me? we only sell designer wears here, all from luxurious brands. Nothing you can afford ma'am."
I let the subtle jab at my wallet fall. After all, she was right. Before Mr. Price came into my life, I never would have dreamed of stepping into a place like this. Besides, I wasn't ready to argue with her. I was already running late and I hated to think about what Mr. Price will do if I didn't show up for his meeting a second time.
Still keeping my smile in place. "I'm sorry, you must be mistaken. I was here with Mr. Price a few days ago? Do you remember?"
She kept her face straight and impassive.
"You can call him to confirm. I'm his wife and I'm only here to shop. We both have an important occasion and –"
My story seemed to garner a reaction from her this time. She seemed amused and looked at me like I had lost a screw.
"Madam, if you don't leave here immediately, I'll have to throw you out."