As I stood in front of the large estate, my new work place, I shivered in spite of the glorious sunny morning. I told myself, I can do this and stepped inside the enormous gates but no matter how much pep talk I had been giving myself, I could feel an air of chill all around me. It must be the jitters of starting a new job, I told myself again and kept walking the gravel road which would take me to the main mansion.
The bus had dropped me on the main road around 500 meters away from the gates. It was another one kilometer walk inside the estate. This job is surely going to keep me in shape, that is, if I am able to keep this job, my mind spoke to me again.
"Don't be a pessimist. It will work. You will make it work," I literally spoke aloud to myself this time and kept moving.
After another ten minutes of walking, I reached the entrance door. Pulling myself to my full height of five feet six inches, I knocked at the door. At first there was no reaction, but after trying it louder the next time, I heard some rustles behind the door. A little later, a girl opened the door. She appeared to be in her early twenties and was wearing something of a white satin gown which kept falling off her shoulders. Bringing my eyes back to her face, I noticed she was irritated and was waiting for me to state my reason for disturbing her.
"I am Melanie Griffin. Mr Albert Clement sent me here. To work as a model for Mr Norberto Fritz," I said tentatively.
The other girl looked me up and down, then scrunching her nose she said in an annoyed tone, "Didn't he tell you about the back door?"
With that she turned around, without bothering for my response. I was a bit lost at this reception. Mr Clement didn't mention anything about the back door. He didn't even mention a Mrs Fritz. But there was no point in wondering at the door. The girl obviously had not liked being disturbed to open the door and if I didn't hurry, the door would have closed back on my face, leaving me with no other option but to disturb the other girl again.
Worried about the closing door, I quickly stepped inside. It was nine in the morning but most of the curtains were drawn in, turning the house into a dark alley. I tried to listen to the voice of the girl and follow it. On my way I crossed a large sitting area, an exquisite stair case leading to God knows where, a number of other rooms on either side but doors for all of them were closed.
Without waiting around, I kept walking towards a small shaft of light coming from the other end of the corridor. Reaching there, I turned towards the light on my right and found there to be a large hall like room with hardly any furniture. There was only a couch in the center of the room, a mattress with few clothes scattered around at one end and a wooden partition at the other end of the room. Apart from these few things, the room was empty. But what clearly made the room stand out from the rest of the house was was the large amount of brightness. The curtains had been drawn back, filling it with bright daylight, unlike other rooms which were drowned in melancholy darkness.
I entered the room to find the girl who had opened the door for me standing on the other end. She was still wrapped in that white gown like dress, showing off her left arm and shoulder as well as her long legs through a high slit. She was holding the dress against her chest, stopping it from falling off completely.
Coming closer inside the room I noticed the girl was holding a cigarette in her right hand, blowing off rings of smoke, next to the open window. I was highly surprised with her state when a gruff voice behind startled me, "Get back to your position, Greta."
Turning around I found myself staring into the eyes of the most beautiful man I had ever seen in my life. He was a tall guy, above six feet, had slightly wavy hairs and icy grey eyes. He was wearing black jeans and a black shirt with all buttons opened revealing a highly toned body as if he went to gym regularly. He had a bored look on his face and his eyes were fixed on that other girl, Greta, I heard him call her.
Though I never liked men's attention, especially the way they stared at my more feminine parts, I did feel, not in a good sense, the lack of stare from this man. He had eyes only for Greta. Truth be told, he was hunk of a man and it wouldn't have hurt if he had at least looked my way. Now with the way I was being ignored by both of them, I didn't really know what exactly I came here for. I stood there motionless for few minutes, or seconds, when I heard Greta call me out.
"Hey, what's your name?', she asked.
"Melanie. Melanie Griffin", I immediately responded, glad to be doing something.
"Move out of the way, Melanie. As today is your first day, you may sit back and observe how this is done. But remember, no sound", Greta ordered with authority. I didn't really know who she was and what was her place here but at least she was acknowledging me. Unlike the man in the room who had completely ignored me.
Was he Norberto Fritz? I wondered, moving away from the center of the room. Greta had moved up to the couch and the man went to stand behind a canvas on a tall easel. I hadn't noticed the canvas and the easel earlier there. But then, I hadn't even noticed the man earlier, I reminded myself.
Since there was no other furniture, I decided to stand against the wall on the opposite side of the windows. From this place, I would be able to watch both the painter as well his model. I was still thinking when I turned around to face them again, only to find Greta on the couch, stark naked!
She was in the half lying position with the satin cloth flowing all across on the couch and the ground. Her hands were spread on the arm rest and top of the couch giving full view of her body - slender neck, erect breasts, narrow waist and... I couldn't continue watching her lying like this. She had raised her left knee thereby hiding her womanhood from the view but it was still too much for me.
A gasp had escaped my mouth at the sight and as an immediate reaction, my hands gone to cover it up. Not sure if they had heard me or not, also not sure how to continue in the same room with a naked woman and a man, I fidgeted around with lowered eyes. I stood there not knowing what to do for a long time.
Finally getting restless, I slowly moved my eyes back to the couch. Greta was still half lying-half sitting there in the same pose. Not wanting to stray my eyes further than her face, I quickly turned towards the man. He was holding a brush in his hands and watching Greta intensely. Even though he was looking at Greta, I felt my cheeks burning up red knowing that he was watching her naked.
Oh, get a grip of yourself, Mel. I tried to scold myself. True, I was not prepared for something like this but it's not that I come from an ancient place not knowing that such paintings exist. Not that I had ever seen any such painting or, for that matter, would ever see them in future, since I obviously had no such taste. But it was no surprise to me that there were people out there who would want to watch a woman's naked body on a painting.
I almost smiled at the irony. This world and its rules. All made by men and more men. And one of the oldest and most common desires to drive men, had been a woman's body. So one way or the other, they had to have it. It may be in their bed or on their wall.
I was still lost in my stupid thoughts when there was a sudden crash noise in the room. I jerked my head up to see the color palette thrown on the floor and Norberto Fritz standing with his head in his hands.
"No!" He screamed loudly, making me push myself into the wall, trying to disappear in the background. Greta on the other hand stood up from the couch, her two bit cover sliding down. She had not a stitch on, her last modesty cover, her posture, also gone but she had not a flicker of inhibition on her face. I watched in horror, as she crossed the length of the room and went up to Norberto.
"Rob, what happened?" She asked, touching him on his shoulders. But instead of responding, he jolted, rebuffing her outreached hands. Moving away from her, he barked loudly, "What are you doing here? When did I ask you to move?"
Greta was visibly hurt by the cold shoulder but she still tried, "But you... are you alright?"
"No, I am not alright. Damn it! Can't you see?" He snapped again. "Go take a break. I obviously need one," with that he went off the room.
I was stunned by the whole spectacle, still not sure what was the problem. Fortunately or unfortunately, Greta knew what was going on. She went behind the partition and came out wearing a shirt though it's buttons were left open. Walking past me, she flung a question, "Are you hungry?" Then without waiting for my answer, she too went out of the room.
Coming back to the current reality, I quickly followed her. Making few turns, we reached the kitchen, or so she told me. But looking ahead, I found a white marbled smart kitchen which was bigger than my entire apartment. A large steel grey refrigerator stood at one side which Greta opened and pulled out a bottle of marmalade and fat free butter. She also pulled out a packet of bread and few eggs from somewhere. Pointing towards the toaster at one end, she ordered me to toast the bread slices.
I wasn't sure how to use it and struggled few minutes before she moved me aside and did it herself. "Geez, you don't know to use a toaster?" she asked surprised but again, she wasn't waiting for an answer. Turning around she quickly prepared the eggs, sunny side up and served them up in two plates.
Sitting on the round kitchen table, she started eating. "I am watching my waist so I am avoiding butter, but you feel free to butter them up", she said pointing towards the toasts on the other plate.
When I continued to stand, not knowing what to do, she finally raised her head from her plate and said, "You don't like eggs?"
"Uh...I do... Is this for me?" I finally asked in a small voice.
"Do you see anyone around?"
"Uh... what about Mr Frtiz?" I asked while taking a seat next to her on the table.
"What! Rob?" She chuckled loudly. I was confused.
She continued, "Rob doesn't eat sweetie. Neither does he let others eat. So you must thank your stars when you get a chance and eat up."
"T..thank you. It's just that they never mentioned anything about the food", I said softly, appreciating the delicious taste of eggs in my mouth.
"No, they didn't. Just like they didn't mention a lot of other things", she said thoughtfully. It looked as if she was thinking about something else. But then turning her attention back to me, "You are starting new, I can see this is your first time. Let me tell you, working here is no easy game, but it comes with its own perks and benefits. This", she said pointing at her plate, "is one of them. So enjoy it as much as you can."
I listened to her carefully, somehow getting more jittery than relaxed. I looked around the kitchen to notice all kinds of smart appliances and gadgets. I hadn't ever used most of them and didn't really know what they were for. The refrigerator, I had seen earlier, was also stocked up well. All this for him and...? I wondered.
I wasn't sure about who else lived here with Norberto Fritz and wanted to ask Greta but didn't want it to appear too nosy. Before I could think of a right way to ask, Greta asked me to hurry up. After cleaning up, both of us returned to the painting hall and to Norberto Fritz.
But that feeling of uneasiness somehow continued with me.
What was it?
*************************************
Dear Lovely Readers,
So how did you find the first chapter of When Love & Hate Collide (Working Title - Artist's Muse)?
What do you think is going to happen to Melanie?
Aside, do you think is it okay to do stuff, which one would otherwise NOT do, for money?
Love,
Anna