To nanie100 for spamming my feed reading SMLITBD!
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I looked up at the tall building that seemed to reach up to the sky. It seemed so endless, like nothing could stop the company to do whatever they wanted. I stomped into the front entrance, expecting guards to stand there to stop intruders - like me.
I touched the doorknob that was ice cold, ready to open and freak out. "You don't need to do this..." Amber grabbed my sleeve. She looked at me with puppy eyes, something I could never imagine before.
"Oh yes I do." I chuckled, then opened the door. I walked into the clean-looking lobby with Amber taking small insecure steps behind me. It sure was weird seeing her so weak since she'd always be so strong and dominant.
I walked to the receptionists that were looking at me with scared eyes. "Hello, how can I help you?" she said with a weak smile. I smiled back to her.
"I need to see Craig."
"Have you booked a meeting with him?" she asked me, still smiling. I shook my head.
"I haven't, but I really need to see him." Amber touched my arm, trying to make me go back. I bumped her a bit so that she'd know that I wouldn't give up.
"You need to book a meeting with him because his schedule is very packed. He isn't available right now." she said to me, trying to make me go away.
"Oh, he's busy? Busy in his office napping?"
"Audree, let's go..." Amber tugged my sleeve.
"Very right , Audree Melany." I turned around and there he was. Craig Maste. "It was a nice nap. "Amber let out a small shriek when she saw him. It was creeping me out that he was calling me by my full name. Or calling my name at all for that matter. I marched to him, then pulled on his collar to show him who's in charge. The guards took notice of my attack, running towards us.
"It's fine, don't mind us." Craig waved them off, looking right into my eyes with a glare despite my tight grip on his shirt. The guards went back, looking back at us several times. "What brings you here, Melany-girl?" he smiled to me.
"You need to give back Amber her job." I roared.
"Nopes!" he grinned. "No can do."
"You took her job. You can give it back, you know." I grunted. He was getting on my nerves.
"Let's make a deal, Mel-girl." he smiled. I didn't like him giving me nicknames. I hated it. It felt like he thought that he knew me.
"I refuse." It still didn't stop him from telling me whatever he wanted though.
"I'll give Amber tons of jobs." That did sound interesting. "If you join West Bite." Of course that would be the condition. Never in my whole life.
"No way I'm doing that." I laughed. "No way." His expression was changing. His aura was growing, darkness sipping out rapidly. Invading my personal space. He pulled me to the sides, getting away from Amber. She was looking at me with her head cocking to the side.
"How about this, Mel? If you don't join West Bite I'll tell the whole world about your aura thing." What? Craig Maste... knows about my ability? My mouth was almost falling down. How did he know? "Now that expression is awesome!" he laughed. "You don't have a choice, Audree." I was terrified, feeling like the first time I met him. He had something on me. Something I never wanted to reveal to anyone. "I need that aura thing you have. Just think about how powerful we would be with you. It's perfect."
"How do you know?!" I yelled, shaking as I dragged his collar all over.
"Now I know for sure." he smirked. I wanted to hit him so badly.
"You can't prove it. No one will believe you and everyone will think that you are crazy." I said, then let go of his collar. I walked to Amber, looking back him with a worried expression. No one would believe him. But I knew something. He'd somehow ruin me.
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"What did he say to you, Audree?" Amber kept grilling me. I tried to shrug it off but she wouldn't let it slide. "Seriously, Audree. Tell me! It seemed like he was threatening you. I don't want you involved in this I'll fix this myself!"
"It's nothing, Amber!" I sighed. "He said something that freaked me out but he it's not anything serious." I looked around, making sure that Craig wasn't following us. How did he know about my ability? No one in the whole world knew about it except of Matt, mom and Krystal. I had never told anyone else. I turned to Amber, grabbing her shoulders. "Amber."
"What is it...?" she looked at me with big round eyes.
"I think you need to quit West Bite. If the boss doesn't want you to get any jobs you are only wasting your time." Amber was hesitating but in the end she knew it too that it was useless to stay there.
"I want to. But I did sign a contract." I grinned at her.
"We'll fix this." I said to her. "We might need to structure this up."
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It felt awkward to go back after my rejection. But it had to be done. "I need to see Craig Maste." I told the same girl at the lobby. This time she just called Craig immediately, telling him that the "crazy girl" from before was back.
It didn't take long until he was down there at the lobby, standing right in front of me. I was looking up at him, thinking to myself to do this well. I glanced at Amber behind me. She looked calm this time. I looked straight into his eyes. I wouldn't let him see through me. He would fall for the trap. "I'm here to take up your offer."
"You're kidding." he chuckled at me. Craig straightened his tie as if he didn't have anything to do. "You were here 30 minutes ago. You said that you'd never join West Bite."
I needed to come up with something. "I still haven't found an acting job. I don't work part-time either for now. I need money. So I'll help you with my ability if you pay me 1000 dollar per hour." I reasoned with him. It was a high price, but I knew that he'd pay up. There was nobody else who could help him except of my mom. "And I want Amber to get back her job." Craig didn't even try to lower the price.
"It's taken." Craig smiled at me. "Seems like you'll be my worker from now on."
"I guess so." I shook his hand then gave him a smile. He broke the handshake to hug me. It felt gross.
"I need to show you around!" he shrieked, then pulled me into the lift. I waved at Amber that was sitting on a bench in the lobby. She smiled at me, giving me a surreptitious thumbs up. The lift stopped and I only saw a long hall when the doors opened. "Now this is the most important room we have in the whole building. My office!" We entered a big room with lots of wine red. Wine red draping, wine red chairs, wine red everything. "The boss's room!"
After just five minutes I had gotten into his office. It was scary how fast I had gotten in. He was trusting me too fast. "I'm not falling for it."
"For what?"
"You wanting to join West Bite for money." he grinned. "You're acting is good, Audree. Very good. You'll be one of our best actresses. But you clearly want to join because you want to access this very room and ruin this contract." He was holding up a contract. Amber's contract. My plan was completely ruined. "So it seems like you'll have to join for real. Or I will make Amber pay up the damages of not following the contract."
"You can't do this!!!" I yelled at him. I hit his table, trembling. "Amber hasn't broken any kind of rules."
"Oh yes I can. She let out business information, which can affect our success." he said while looking out the window showing the whole city. "Also, her contract is binding for at least two years. She can't get out of the contract unless we ourselves attempt to release her." I flinched. Awful conditions. I remembered how Amber didn't read the contract in the midst of the drama between Clair and I. Craig turned around with a smug smile. "You are going working for us, Melany-girl." He showed me another contract. "This is your contract. Unless you sign this, Amber will have to pay 500 000 dollars for breaking the contract." He slid the contract closer to me, then a pen. I looked at the contract, feeling tears fill my eyes. I couldn't let Amber pay that because of me. I grabbed the pen. Then signed the contract. Craig was smiling at me, then took both of the contracts, my contract and Amber's, and locked it inside a vault that was attached to the wall. He locked it with a password with thousands of numbers and letters.
"Welcome to West Bite, Audree Melany."
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Ohno.... Commotes