Maria walked to the dinner hall and found Bruce at the table, his head buried in a book. He sensed her presence when she walked in and he raised his head to look at her. He gave her a smile that disappeared as quickly as it came. She unconsciously rubbed her hands on her clothes and walked forward."Did you call for me, young master?" She asked, trying to portray timidity. He only stared at her for a while."Come, sit." He gestured for her to sit on the seat right next to where he was seated. She would have gone there with no reservations but she had to think. Was this a test of some sort? Was she being pranked? "Uhm, May I ask why? … Young master?" She felt inclined to ask. She was certain servants did not just sit anywhere with their employers. Bruce smiled at her hesitation. He took her hesitation as a good sign. He had placed a call to the phone number of her neighbor and it never went through. He wondered if her neighbor was also a junkie."Alright, then. I tried reaching your
One could clearly sense that Claire was getting tired of their gig. Bruce would obviously never trust her enough to let his mental walls fall. He would never trust her enough to let her woo him. They could get used to everything else. The expensive foods, the maids waiting on them at every turn, the wines straight from fresh grapes into a bottle. They would get used to all of these and it would lose its appeal. For the first time in a long while, herself and her mother were travelling out of the country to Beijing on a whim with no worries about costs, accomodation or what to eat. This lifestyle was easy to settle into."I do not understand what you mean. You have wanted this for the longest time. You have wanted this life for the longest time. When I was sick and almost died, I thought you would get sick of caring for me. You would probably stay with and care for me out of guilt but feel like I have chipped away moments of your life from you. I thought you would hate me You never wa
They drove in separate cars to the airport. Bruce came in twenty minutes after Claire and her mother had arrived. His excuse was a buisness meeting but he was only avoiding having to stay in a confined space with Claire and her mother. It was bad enough that he would spend hours in a plane with them. Who knew what they would do to him?He nudged himself for thinking such silly thoughts. It was his plane, his captain, air hostesses. He had at the top of the power balance. They could not do anything crazy to him up there. He walked up to the airplane and into it. He saw Claire and her mother already settling in. Claire was taking selfies. Her Instagram feed was beginning to get interesting. She had to thank the almost limitless black card he had given her for that. He walked past them and chose a seat far from them but close enough to see whatever they were up to. He needed a break from all the drama happening in his life. Maybe Beijing was the place to forget these two and just live.
Maria's room never rang since the last time. She wondered why. She had expected to be worked like a mule. But, considering there were less people to attend to and more floors to clean, it made sense they had not ringed her yet. She tossed around her bed impatiently and then stood up from the bed. She walked around left and right. She knew Steele would call soon, asking for information about Bruce. She had nothing to give him. She could not wait here, he could put his threat into action and the identity she had worked so hard to maintain would be destroyed.She stepped out of her room and knocked on the door next to hers. The blonde smiley girl. She was not looking forward to seeing anyone but she had to do this. Just as she had predicted, the girl had opened the door with a wide smile already on her face."Hey Maria. How are you doing?" She asked her and Maria nodded awkwardly."I am alright. I have just been wondering. No one has rang for me in a long while, the last time was just an
"Look at me being a bad host. Would you like anything to drink?" She asked and stood up immediately so she could get whatever Maria requested."Aurora, I live literally next door. You do not have to play beneficial host. Trust me." She said this with a scoff and Aurora smiled. "I will get myself a drink and then we can continue our talk." She left Maria there and went to her little fridge in the corner of her room. She produced a bottle of root beer and opened it with her teeth. Maria was glad to see this side of her. This was the Aurora beneath the cute hair and flawless skin. She took a long swig and set the bottle on a table close to where she was seated."Is there anything else you would like to know?" Aurora asked. Maria nodded as and Aurora opened her hands in acceptance."Be my guest." She said."Where is the young master now? I have not been seeing him around." She hoped she was not sounding like Sherlock Holmes on an investigation. "How would you see him around? You barely
Claire was furious that she had to share this fancy suite with her mother. This place was meant for couples, not mother daughter duos. Her mother did not seem to care. She was the ultimate tourist. This was day two and she already had a bag stuffed with souvenirs. Claire had not seen Bruce in a while nor spent any time with him. It felt like the entire trip had been planned for them to get Bruce to see her again. Really see her. It was backfiring instead. She decided there and then while her mother rambled on about seeing the great wall of China and how magnificent it was.Now that she thought about it, they had different tour guides. Bruce's tour guide was a round, stout red head woman who liked to call Bruce "dear". They had gotten a scrawny college student who was volunteering, he was always chewing gum and pointed at landmarks with his index finger while his face was glued to his phone. The reaction they seemed to get out of him was the one time he had gasped loudly and he followe
Claire woke up earlier than usual this time. She rose from bed and went to clean herself up. She brushed her teeth and hummed a tune while she was in the shower. She was ready for the tour one hour before the time Maggie had mentioned. Her mother groggily lifted her head while she was doing her make-up and stared with a confused look. Claire ignored her. She began to mutter gibberish."Uhm, where you… where are you?" She said with a drowsy voice. Claire shook her head and a smile almost came to her face."Mom, we both know you are not much of a morning person. Unless you are about to be given a stack load of cash or luxury gifts. Go to bed. I will be back soon, okay?" Her mother nodded like a child and laid back down. A slight snore lifted into the atmosphere almost immediately. Claire shook her head and went to put on her shoes. She put on her favourite perfume and body mist and stepped out of their suite feeling confident. Her energy felt alive and bubbly. She even smiled at the do
The entire group stared at the angry man approaching them with a rush. The chanel lady almost went to hide behind Bruce. Bruce held her hand so she would stay put beside him. "Kate, what the fuck are you doing here?" The angry man asked, breathing wildly. He looked ready to throw his energy on someone."I am on a tour of the city, obviously. What are you doing here?" She tried to put some confidence to her wavering voice. Bruce held her firmly beside him."I am not the point here. You take my child and you take my money. You run away and pretend you are on a buisness trip. How long did you think that lie would hold?"Maggie and Claire can not hold the gasp of shock that escape their mouths. Bruce's eyes went wide and he could not help his facial expression. "I did not take your money. She is my child too. Do not act like you have forgotten how I carried her in me for nine months. Go find someone else to hassle." She began to find her courage and removed her hand from Bruce's grip. B