I'm Meant To Hate You

5

"Oi sweet cheeks, there's a driver here for you!" Mel shouted from the front door, causing me to hurriedly slip on my Chelsea boots, folding down my collar on my black blazer and rushing out of my bedroom. "Oooo don't we look hot tonight? Any particular reason or....?" Mel teased, wiggling her eyebrows at me.

"Fuck off Mel, but do I actually look okay?" I asked, watching as her eyes ran over me.

"You look like a very soft, powerful person. You look amazing, go and be amazing somewhere else." She said, smacking my bum as I left, slamming the door before I could swear at her.

"Hi, sorry about that." I said to the driver who stood watching after me.

"That's okay Miss. I'm Harry, you must be Kiana." He said soflty.

"You're right there." I spoke, allwoing my eyes to flit over his appearance. He wore a long trench coat, done up by the buttons with a white shirt underneath. His trousers were jet black and his brogues shone against the lighting. He is what most people would define as attractive. His hair was a light brown, almost auburn, his deep brown eyes matching it beautifully. He was a pretty boy. His height gave him the most attention, standing at around 6'7 compared to my 5'9. I couldn't help but compare myself to him, how women would probably choose him in a heartbeat. But that was my negativity speaking, and I rarely delve deeper into it. When I could avoid my mind, I would.

"Well let's hurry, we have ten minutes to get to Miss Fox's house, and it would be a terrible shame if I'm late. She already hates me as it is." He said, grabbing ahold of my arm and pulling me down the stairs and out of the apartment complex towards the car.

"Oh?" Intrigued at where the conversation between us was heading.

"That's a story for in a bit, get in, seatbelt on and then I'll enlighten you." He said, opening the door for me before rushing around to his side of the car.

"I can't wait to hear this." I chuckled at him, shutting the door behind me, as he seemed even more anxious than I did and he wasn't even going in.

"And we're off. Well, I've driven her before, when she was new to the acting world. She used to be at your agency a few years ago actually. You work at Richard's right?"

"I do." I confirmed, my attention fully on what he was saying.

"Well she used to have Richard himself. She was a bitch then, and as I've heard, she's still a bitch now."

"Hey. Careful with that. People will probably agree with you but she is my client. She deserves as much respect as anyone else, whether she's been bad to you or not. Be the bigger person Harry." I defended her. Not because I was protecting her, but because it was the right thing to do.

"You're right, I'm sorry. Let me put it differently. She was hard to have in the car back then, she was rude. She had no consideration for anyone's feelings, but being with Richard seemed to help her until it all blew up one day. No one knows what actually happened but she dropped him in an instance."He explained.

Why hadn't Richard mentioned this to me? Was I only brought in as an attempt to redeem the company? Keeping something so important from me, I must admit, angered me. As much as I had always tried to force the fatherly bond he gave me away, somewhere along the line I had felt it. And now I felt somewhat betrayed. Not just by him, but by Emily too. Why did she ask me why I had taken the job if she knew that I was the last resort, that I was the last effort to redeem his business? Why? She knew all along what this was all about. I almost felt foolish. Almost.

"You look upset, have I said something?" Harry interrupted my thoughts.

"No, you've been perfect." I dismissed his worry.

"Thank you, we're here by the way." He said, pulling to a stop outside a black gated house. I didn't know the code to get in and I certainly wasn't going to stand outside and wait for her, so I remained seated in the car as Harry got out.

The door was opened for her as Harry offered a hand to help her in. She accepted his help, her heels making it much more difficult to get in. She heaved a sigh of relief, offering Harry a polite 'thank you' before putting her belt on and then turning to me. Her door closed a few seconds after that as her eyes took me in, my body, my face and then finally my expression.

"What have I done now?" She spoke softly, jumping to the conclusion that my mood was dampened because of her. I don't think she could have been more right, but it wasn't entirely her fault. Maybe the only reason she hadn't mentioned anything is because she thought that Richard had already told me.

"Nothing, you're on time." I looked away from her, meeting Harry's eyes in the mirror. He glanced away, trying to give us some privacy but also making it clear that he was there to help if it was needed.

"So what's with your face then. You're mouth is telling me that I haven't done anything wrong but your face says completely different." She said, to which I didn't respond to. She didn't appreciate that I wasn't talking to her. Her hand gently rested on my forearm. "Kiana?"

"Please don't." I struggled out, barely breathing. I can't tell if it was because I was overwhelmed by the intense feeling of being fooled around or if it was her touch, but either would be a bad thing.

"Tell me what I've done." She insisted, squeezing my arm to exaggerate her need to know.

"Why did you ask me why I took the job if you already knew the answer?" I confessed my thoughts, looking down at her hand before my attention moved fully to her expressionless face. She slowly pulled her hand away, knowing finally that it was in fact something that she had done, or more-so something she hadn't done.

"It wasn't my place. It doesn't really have anything to do with you." Her voice came out soft, but her expression said otherwise. She wasn't happy that I was approaching her about this.

"It has everything to do with me. Why am I here, why am I doing this? Because I'm the last option. I'm always the last fucking option." I muttered the last part, annoyed at myself. How did I not see it?

"It's really not like that Kiana." She tried to reason with me but I was already too far gone.

"It doesn't matter. We have a premiere to complete, considering we're here, I suggest you get out. Harry." I signalled for him to open her door for her.

"Kiana." She tried again.

"You're on a schedule." I reminded her, pointing towards the red carpet directly at the side of us. She heaved out a breath of disappointment before plastering a smile on her face and exiting the car. Harry then got back in and rolled the car around to the back entrance, remaining silent.

"Fuck!" I exclaimed, hitting the seat in front of me before running my hands through my hair to release some tension.

"Now that's out, go be strong. I'm sure she will need you to save her at some point in there." He said, offering me a slight soft smile as he reached into the back to open the door for me, nodding at me as I turned to him one last time before I got out. "I'll be here when you come out." He shouted after me.

I then made my way into the brimming film premiere. I occupied a less crowded place at the end of the red carpet, where the celebrities would finish their walk on the red carpet.

"Kiana?" A voice startled me from my watchful eye of the cameras.

"Jarvis! It's so nice to see you, how have you been?" My voice was filled with surprise at the person in front of me. He pulled me into a hug before releasing me with a big grin on his face.

"Not as good as you as it seems. You looked oh so very happy stood over here by yourself. Something troubling you?" He said, turning away from me when the cameras started flashing and his name was being called. He politely moved away from them again and came back to me, moving us slightly out of the way of the cameras out of respect for me.

"Nothing important." I dismissed.

"Who are you here with anyway? I assume it's their first premier with you, you always showed up to the first one that you had with them." He recalled, reminiscing.

"Emily Fox."