Strange Attractions

Chapter 7

As the incessant pinging of emails from my grandma filled the quiet room, I reached over and turned off my phone. The constant buzzing was starting to grate on my nerves. Earlier, I had already spent a long time on the phone with my mum, who seemed to be playing devil's advocate in our conversation.

The dying embers of the fire flickered and cast faint shadows on the living room walls. I stretched out on the couch, too exhausted to make it to my bedroom.

The next morning the sun filtered through the curtains, forcing me to squint as I rolled over.

What time is it?

I fumbled for my phone and turned it on, groaning as I saw that it was almost 10 o'clock.

"Shit", I muttered, realizing that I had overslept. I promised to open up today.

My phone had been blown up with messages from Grace and my grandmother. I read each one in a daze, barely comprehending their urgency. I was a zombie in the mornings.

A meeting at 11am? With an investor?

Panic set in as I scrambled to get ready, knowing that I would be late if I didn't leave within the next 30 minutes.

As I hastily ate a peanut butter sandwich, I repeated the address - Alker Road - over and over in my head. Time was ticking away as I locked up and rushed to my car, checking the time once more before speeding off towards the meeting location.

After taking a few wrong turns, I finally found the right street. In my haste to get out of the car, I snagged my tights and created a small hole that ran from my knee up to my thigh.

"Just great", I muttered to myself as I tried to smooth out the fabric.

I'll have to hide it with my jacket. My appearance was far from presentable - my hair was a mess, resembling an abandoned bird's nest, and my makeup was far from neat.

I located "Albion House" on the plaque and made my way to reception. The young girl behind the desk greeted me with an obnoxious smack of her gum and a bored smile as she looked me up and down.

"Can I help you?" she asked in a condescending tone.

"Hi, yeah, I've got a meeting with Mr DeLuca at 11am", I replied, trying to maintain my composure.

"It's now 11:11am", she said, looking down her nose at me.

"I'm aware of the time, thanks" I said, feeling annoyed by her attitude.

"You're late", she stated matter-of-factly.

"Yes, we've established that already. Can you please tell me which floor I'm supposed to go to? That would be super helpful," I said through gritted teeth as I squinted at her tiny name badge "Nevaeh".

She snapped her gum and gave me one final disapproving look before reluctantly answering, "Floor six, room eight", as she pointed towards the lift.

"Thanks heaven backwards", I added sarcastically as I walked off towards the lift. Come on, come on! I repeatedly pressed the button, knowing that it wouldn't make the lift come any faster.

"Wait, hold that lift please!" I heard someone call out behind me.

I looked up to see none other than Leo, arm outstretched as he ran towards me.

A devilish smirk spread across my face as I pushed the close door button and gave him a little wave.

"No!" he shouted in frustration as the doors slowly closed and the lift began to ascend.

What was he even doing here? Maybe he worked at this company too.

Feeling severely underdressed, I stepped out of the lift and looked around. The women here were all dressed in statement suits that probably cost more than my entire wardrobe. I chastised myself for feeling intimidated.

They're just people. Sure, they may be incredibly rich and successful people, but they're no better than you. They just have nicer things, probably.

I hurried down the corporate corridor, everything looking dismal and grey. Not a single pop of colour anywhere. Room 8, room 8...there it is! Oh, thank goodness, it's Grace.

From ten feet away, I could already tell she was furious with me.

"Bella, what the hell?! You're 20 minutes late! I honestly could strangle you right now", she scolded. "Mr De Luca almost cancelled, but I managed to persuade him to see us".

"I'm so sorry. I wasn't prepared for this at all", I apologised sincerely.

"Neither was I; I had your grandma on the phone for the best part of an hour last night briefing me", she sighed exasperatedly.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that too. She's a nightmare at the moment", I confessed, feeling guilty.

"You both are. We really need to work on your punctuality!" Grace smoothed down her blouse and pushed back a rouge curl from her face before asking, "Are we ready?"

I took a deep breath and nodded confidently. "Let's go save our shop".