Impostor

Chapter 6

It felt like my world was turned upside down and then someone shook it around a bit. Everything just happened so fast. Yesterday I was worried about becoming a homeless person and today I was moving in with my employer. He was busy on his phone while we drove to his penthouse. The driver kept eyeing me in the rearview mirror every few minutes. To say that I felt awkward would be an understatement. I tried protesting when Michael said that someone would be packing my stuff and moving everything into storage, but he paid no attention to my protests.

It was like he switched personalities. He was the exact opposite of the friendly and easy-going guy I met this morning. Maybe he had Bipolar Disorder; I shouldn't be so hard on him then. I mean, he can't help it. I peeked a look at him. He was typing on his phone with a frown. He looked up then and I quickly turned my gaze out the window. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him smile softly. I looked over at him then and he reached over to take my hand. I retracted my hand and looked at him incredulously before turning my gaze back to the street outside. If he thought that he could just continue our comfortable relationship of stolen kisses, he had another thing coming. I was already sick of his hot and cold attitude and we haven't even started a proper relationship yet.

He sighed and continued to type on his phone without a word. My heart felt heavy at losing Michael as a friend. He was now my employer and I had to act professionally towards him. I will hold the memories of him being so easy-going close to my heart. I get the feeling that I won't be seeing that side of him again anytime soon. I sighed and relaxed into the seat as the cars and houses passed by. I felt my eyelids get heavy and fought as hard as I could against the looming sleep. I finally just gave in to the bliss of sleep and felt my muscles relax. We rounded a corner and I felt my head land on someone's shoulder, but at that very moment, I didn't care.

My deep sleep was disturbed when I felt someone lift me into their arms. My head rested on a muscular, but surprisingly comfortable, shoulder. I tried to open my eyes, but I guess I was just too tired. I heard the ding of an elevator and the nauseating feeling of the elevator moving upwards. The elevator pinged when the doors opened and I heard keys jingling as someone unlocked a door. Soon I was laid down on something soft and something like silk covered me. The last thing that I remembered before sleep pulled me under was a deep voice whispering, "Beautiful."

I woke up with a start and sat up in my bed. At first, I panicked and looked around dumbfounded. The room was bare with only a bed and vanity. The silk sheets were a dark purple that matched the curtains. The room was large with three doors. One was a bathroom and the other a closet. The last door opened into a short hallway with a few doors spaced evenly apart. Modern black and white paintings adorned the walls and a black coffee table stood against a wall with fresh white roses flowing out of a black vase.

I walked to the end of the hallway to find a spiraling staircase that led down. I slowly walked down the steps, trying not to make any noise. "Good morning. I had Trevor pick you up some clothes for your first day." Michael said and I nearly jumped through the ceiling. He was sitting at the kitchen island to the right of the stairs and to be honest, I didn't even see him. He smiled and pointed to the seat next to him where a plate of bacon, eggs, and toast was waiting for me to devour. I was starving.

I made my way over to him and took the indicated seat, picking up a fork and digging in. I have never had the problem of eating in front of a man. After devouring at least one egg and a piece of toast, I looked over at him. "How did I get in the bed last night?" I asked, keeping my eyes on my plate. "I carried you." He said and picked up a newspaper. I nearly choked on a piece of bacon. "Why didn't you just wake me up?" I asked and finally looked at him. "You looked so adorable while you slept." He said with a smile on his face, but he kept his eyes on his newspaper. I slapped his shoulder with a smile on my face and continued my breakfast with new hope that the Michael I got to know during the interview was still around.

After breakfast, we went to our separate rooms and showered before getting ready for work. Trevor had good taste when it came to clothes. He bought a black pencil skirt and a white button-up blouse. I also found my black heels and a bag with underwear and stockings. I wore my hair up and applied minimal make-up since Trevor didn't buy much make-up. I checked myself in the floor-to-ceiling mirror in the bathroom. I did a little spin to make sure that I was satisfied with the way that I looked and turned to go meet Michael downstairs. He stood in the doorway to the bathroom with his hands folded over his chest. His eyes were a shade darker than normal as he looked me over.

I felt a little self-conscious and tugged at the skirt before standing straight and biting my lip while he continued to check me out. "That will do." He said and turned on his heels. He didn't wait for me to catch up. "I know you can run in heels, Ms. Smith, I suggest you catch up so that I can read you my meetings for the day and you write them in your diary." He said as he descended the stairs. I jogged a little and stopped at the top of the stairs. He turned around at the bottom to look up at me. He raised an eyebrow in question before looking down at his Rolex. I bit my lip and looked down at my heels and then at the narrow steps. His eyes lit up with realization and he climbed the steps two at a time. He stopped in front of me for a moment, looking down at my lips, and then without hesitation he swept me off my feet and started descending the stairs with me in his arms.

I was still struggling to calm my rapidly beating heart by the time we reached the car. He was reading his meetings from his phone and I was trying to keep up with writing them down. We got in the car and Trevor started driving in the direction of the office. Michael finally stopped reading meetings from his phone and silence briefly filled the car. "You know, you still owe me lunch." He said looking at me with amusement in his eyes. My heart fluttered a little. I raised an eyebrow. "You mean like a date?" I teased with a small smile tugging at the corners of my mouth.

"That's exactly what I mean." He said with a little seriousness seeping back into his voice. I must have turned a beetroot color right then and there. "Oh..." was all that escaped my mouth. I turned my gaze back out the window to avoid his observant gaze. "Are you going to mope around all day or are you going to tell me what's wrong?" he finally asked. I could feel his eyes burning holes in the back of my head and it irked me. "Are you just going to pretend that you didn't betray my trust?" I asked exasperated. He lifted an eyebrow and I felt like punching his confused face.

"When did I betray your trust?" he asked with furrowed eyebrows. I looked at him in disbelief. Was he seriously denying what he did? "You pretended to be Michael." I said, unsure of how to explain it to him. "I am Michael." He said slowly as if talking to a child. "You know what I mean. You deceived me." I said with anger getting the best of me. "No, I did not. It's not my fault you didn't recognize me." He said and looked out the window. "You could have said something." I said incredulously. He looked at me then. "I thought you recognized me." He said. "Then why would I have asked for your name in the elevator?" I asked narrowing my eyes. "Well, when we met I only gave you my last name." He said turning back to the window.

"I would have greeted you with your last name then." I said and turned to look out the window. "I didn't know, alright?" he finally broke the silence that was threatening to drown me. "I guess I should have recognized you." I said defeated. "It's my fault. I should have told you who I was." He said and reached for my hand. This time I let him take it and he held on until we reached the office.