Just An Act

Chapter two

Shocked, I shoot my eyes open. It takes a while until I realize why. My alarm clock is way too loud. Louder than I remember. Heidi must have changed the volume. I groan and snooze it shut.

It is 5 a.m. and I am up. What kind of messed up universe is this? Then I remembered the reason and now I'm in a way worse mood than before. Why can't I just skip? Right, I need my job. My career is young and right now I'm a top model. Not a lot of people can say that about themselves. I just roll my eyes about myself. Even in the morning I think about how amazing I am...really? Gosh I'm conceited.

Slowly, I sit up in bed and yawn. Well, at least I'm trying to yawn, although it sounds more like a dying cow than a cute girlish yawn. I rub my eyes while standing up. It is still dark in my bedroom as I take a step forward.

"AAAAAAAH!" I yell when I bang my toe against something. I HATE MY LIFE. I hate it. I do. I really do. I jump on the place while holding my foot. I hate it. Gosh, it hurts. Oh my gooood. I haaaaaatee my li- nevermind, it stopped hurting.

I sigh and try to find my house remote. Why did Heidi insist that I buy blinds that only open when I push some button on a remote.
I mean sure high tech is cute and all but it's just so confusing.

I smile when I find the damn remote. After pushing buttons, I didn't even know about, I finally manage to open the blinds. It is still dark outside but not as dark as it would be in Minnesota. I stretch again and make my way towards the bathroom.

Today is going to be long, so I at least need to take a long shower. Just thinking about Darmetir is making me angry. Did I mention that I don't like him? Probably just a few thousand times right?

After my long shower I quickly put natural make up on. Just mascara, some powder and lip gloss. I blow dry my hair and make a bun. It is almost six and I am late. Whatever, without the chauffeur Heidi promised me, I can't go anywhere. Just as this thought is coming through my mind, the doorbell rings. I quickly give myself a once over and open the door.

"My apologize, ma'am. But there's traffic everywhere." The elder man tells me.
"Don't worry. It's fine. We all know L.A.traffic." I give him a small smile, which he returns.

"Shall we go, then?" He asks and I nod and follow him to the car outside. It is nothing too fancy, just a black Mercedes sports car.

"Can I sit in the front. I feel weird sitting in the back all by my own. I'm not the queen." I joke when he opens the car door for the backseat. He laughs and closes the door again.
"Of course. I just assumed you'd feel more comfortable." He shrugs and opens the passenger door for me. I smile and slide in. Minutes later, we are already on the streets, trying to fight traffic.

"It looks bad. You may arrive a little later than expected." The chauffeur tells me and I shrug.
"It's not like I'm really looking forward to this, anyways." I assure him. He looks at me, shocked for a second before covering it up and averting his gaze back on the road.

"You can ask, if you want." I laugh and he chuckles.
"Was I that obvious?" He asks and I nod.
"I'm sorry ma'am. It just surprises me that you are not into Blake Darmetir. I mean, every female I've ever met is. Even Heidi." He says and I chuckle at Heidi's name.

"Well..."
"Mike." He tells me his name after I looked at him expectantly.
"Well Mike, Blake and I have met before. And let's just say we weren't exactly best friends." I tell him.

"Oh. So you both don't like each other?" He asks.
"I'll tell you at the end of the day." I smile and he nods. I seriously don't know of Darmetir likes me or not. I mean sure I have turned him down but other than this he has reason to hate me.

See, it's also not that I hate him, it's just that I dislike him. Whatever, let's hope the feeling is mutual, since I'm not looking forward to his catcalling.

~~~

After what seemed like ages, Mike and I arrived at Darmetir's home. My eyes went wide. I mean, Heidi said it was a mansion and I don't know what I expected, but this is a castle.

I wonder if he has somebody living with him, because if I'd have a mansion this big, I'd probably go insane for being alone all the time. It also be paranoid, thinking I'm not alone. You know, either way it's too big. At least for me.

I sigh when the doors to the mention open after Mike showed the guard the permission. I didn't know he was this famous. A lot has changed in only four years. Maybe he's even changed too. I highly doubt that, but let's not destroy my only spark of hope here.

Mike drives the car as much forward as possible and my heart bumps faster with every inch we get closer to the door, which is still closed. Maybe he's not even home. Or maybe something happened. Probably not. I bet he's forgotten about the meeting and the gala.

"There we go." Mike says and stops the car and gets out. He's stopped directly in front of the door and I gulp.
"Miss?" He asks and it's just now that I notice that the door is open. For how long? I don't know. I nod at him and get out.

He smirks at me after closing the door. Oh, he knows exactly how hard this is for me, right now.
"I'll be waiting right here. Heidi told me to drive you and Darmetir everywhere you want to go. Don't make me wait too long, ma'am." He jokes and I smile at him. At least I know how to successfully ignore him on the ride.

"Thank you Mike. And please just call me Gaby. I feel so old when you say ma'am. I'm only 21." I tell him and he nods smiling before getting the car.

Well then, let's go.
So I turn around and ring the doorbell.