The Job, Mary-Kate Olsen

Chapter Seven

"How much did you hear?" I asked because denying Emily, Niguel, and I's conversation now would be futile. She looked at me, but I kept my head straight, not wanting to meet her eyes. 

"All of it," she said as we arrived at the elevator. We got inside, she pressed the button, and there I finally looked at her. I knited my brows together. 

"If you were standing at the door during the whole conversation, why didn't see you? They were facing the door. They must have seen you, otherwise how..." I paused when I saw her grinning. 

"I hid. Of course, they would have seen me otherwise." She said, which caused me to smile. 

"You hid?" She nodded and added, still smiling, "Who doesn't want to know what rumors are running about them?"

I couldn't believe what she had said. The elevator's doors opened as we had finally arrived at floor 1. We went out and walked outside. 

"And you were right" I tilted my head, 

"About what?"

"Ashley and I didn't have a fight" She replied. 

I nodded rapidly. "That, I know." 

"What do you mean you know?" She asked, with a small smile on her face. 

"It couldn't possibly have lasted two days. If you two had a fight, you would have been back this morning and whatever argument you might have had would have already been resolved" I shrugged.

We arrived at Mary-Kate's usual smoking break, and I realized why she had asked me to come with her. I was relieved. Just a smoking break.

She handed me a cigarette "Oh, wait, don't worry I already have my own-"I waved it off 

"It's okay just take it." She cut me off while lighting up her cigarette. 

"I.. okay, thank you." She looked at me as she took a drag. 

"You're welcome" She said and exhaled.

...

The whole week went pretty fast. We were done with the fabrics and the boards so now was going to be the time to start making the samples for the new Spring collection that was to come in a few months.

It was now already Saturday afternoon, and the weekend would start in a few hours. I was starting to build a routine, especially with the smoking breaks. Mary-Kate and I met every day at 11 am and 3 pm for a smoke, and we would continue doing so in the future. We didn't go looking for each other to smoke anymore, we automatically met up at Mary-Kate's spot. Ashley would join the two of us sometimes but never smoked once. Maybe she was trying to quit.

I was sitting at Mary-Kate's spot, waiting for her while looking at the streets. This Saturday was very calm. People were subconsciously becoming more agreeable as the Christmas holidays were coming in a couple of weeks. Thankfully, this spot didn't overlook a crowded street, otherwise, we would have been bothered by the enormous number of tourists that came to visit New York for Christmas.

I heard footsteps approaching and squeezed myself a little tighter against the wall to make room for her to sit down. She sat down beside me and remained silent. Something was probably wrong. She usually greets me, and even if we don't always talk afterwards, she always says hello.

I looked at her and observed her for a moment. Something was different than usual. Her hair wasn't in its natural curls as it usually is. Instead, it was messy and straightened. Her skin looked pale, and she had smudged mascara under her eyes. From the look of it, it probably dated back to yesterday. Her clothes were so oversized on her it looked like she was drowning in them. I couldn't tell if she looked sick or if something else had happened. I wanted to make sure she was at least okay, but still, this was none of my business. 

"Stop staring at me Ana" My heart raced in my chest. I looked away and blushed at the embarrassment.

"Have I got something on my face?" She asked. 

I tried to keep my breathing steady. I didn't look back at her just yet. 

"What?" I asked, looking at the streets. 

"You were looking at me. Do I have something on my face?" I finally looked back into her direction. 

"Hm... no" I mumbled. 

She frowned, still looking into my eyes. 

I breathed deeply. "Are you okay?" I asked in a low voice. 

She stood still. She had heard what I had said, and yet, she did not say a word. 

After a moment, she spoke again and broke eye contact with me to take a drag of her cigarette.

 "Why wouldn't I be?" She was trying to ignore my question. 

"Because you look..." I paused when I realized what I was saying. I couldn't comment on my boss about her appearance. "I... N-nevermind" I said, stumbling over my words. 

"Ana?" She called me but I ignored it. 

I averted my eyes back to the streets. 

"Ana?" She insisted. My face was too flushed from the embarrassment. I didn't want to look back at her.

I heard her get up, so I assumed she was about to leave. I thought she had gotten my message about not wanting this conversation to go any further, but instead, she kneeled in front of me. She kneeled in front of me so that our faces were now at the same level, and I had no other option but to look at her. 

"Ana." She spoke. This time it was not a question but a statement. 

I raised my eyes to look into hers. "Yes." I said. 

"Why so nervous?" She asked with a low voice. Her eyes were locked with mine. Even blinking was making me uncomfortable. 

"I'm not nervous" I lied. 

"Then why don't you finish your sentence about how I look?" She asked with a teasing tone. The corners of her lips were up. 

I sighed, realizing that I didn't have any other choice but to tell her. I got rid of my cigarette and clasped my hands together on my knees, fidgeting with my rings. 

"I asked you if you were okay because you looked a bit off, that's all." I stated. She raised her eyebrows. She looked lost in her thoughts for a moment. 

"Off?" She repeated and I sighed. 

"Yes, off. You look very pale, and your mascara is smudged. Your hair is not like it is per usual and... I don't know... Let's just not make a big deal out of it okay? I shouldn't have said anything." I murmured, looking at her.

I couldn't figure out what she was thinking about. She looked confused. Her eyebrows were knitted together but she was still looking at me. 

"So, are you okay?" I asked again. 

"I thought you said you shouldn't have said anything. Why asking me again?" 

"Yeah... Well, I already did it so now I might as well..." I took a deep breath. She wasn't making it easy for me. 

I saw her slowly raising her hand to mine, which were resting on my lap. Her fingers grazed my skin, from my fingers to the back of my hands. I froze and my eyes drifted to her hand. My breath got caught up in my throat. 

"I'm fine, Ana. It's nothing you worry about. It's just that I didn't get a good night's sleep." 

She said softly while holding my hand. "So, no more worries, okay?" She added. She was looking at me with her eyes wide open.

"Okay." I whispered.