Call Me Ella (ft. Niall Horan)

Chapter 10 - The Boss

Chapter 10 - The Boss

By the time I get to the kitchen, I’m already in the blue navy shirt and khaki shorts, my trainers in my right hand, the dress in the left one. I open the first cabinet I find and push the dress inside, cringing because it may get ruined and it’s a pity because Liv did such a lovely job. But Rhonda is on her way, I’ve received many texts from Charlie telling me that he’s trying to divert her, but it’s not working, if not it’s only making things worse. Rhonda now suspects there’s something wrong.

I put on my trainers and grab the mop and a bucket and I start cleaning, pretending I’ve doing this the whole time. I’m barely catching my breath when the doors slams open and Rhonda storms in, her red dress waving with every step in one imposing image that scares the shit out of me. I can’t help it. She looks like a queen that has caught one of her servants doing something forbidden and now she’ll ask for the servant’s head. In this case, my head.

Holy shit, I’m dead.

I freeze on the spot and she stops as well, watching me carefully, trying to find something that’s off. I get paranoid, maybe I forgot something, maybe she’ll notice I was in the ball. Maybe I left some makeup on, maybe I forgot the jewellery. I’m about to start hyperventilating although I know I did everything right. We planned this carefully, we left the things I was going to need in strategic points so I could gather them on the run, and that’s what I did. I only forgot the mask, but that’s long lost and Rhonda hasn’t found it… yet. Shit! How could I have forgotten the mask?

“Here you are,” Rhonda says and I snap back to reality. “You’re not doing a good job, though. The floor is not like a mirror.”

I take a deep sigh when she says that and then nod. “I’m sorry, I got distracted with all the music,” I say as humble as I can, avoiding eye contact so she can see my submission. I won’t defy her now.

“That’s not your job. You better mop these floors and then go to the other kitchen and help the catering service.”

“But that’s their job. You only asked me to clean this kitchen,” I protest and I bite my tongue when she raises her eyebrows. The complex is so large now that it has two kitchens, that way the food is always ready for all the guests and it’s always of the best quality. Tonight they are only using one because Rhonda hired a catering service.

“Are you defying me, Arabella?” Rhonda inquires, raising one hand to touch her lips in one falsely shocked gesture. “You do what I tell you to do.”

I close my eyes and bite my tongue not to tell her where she can put her orders. I don’t want her to take a step closer because I’m afraid she may smell the perfume and realise what I’ve been doing. “Yes, ma’am,” I give in, hating her so much.

“That’s more like it. Now finish here and go to the next kitchen. The ball is about to finish and then you have to clear the ballroom. And tomorrow morning you go back to your regular chores.”

I blink quickly, overwhelmed by her instructions. I won’t get any sleep if she expects me to clean the whole ballroom and then go back to cleaning toilets. What’s wrong with this woman? This is some sort of abuse.

She smiles, knowing exactly what she’s asking me to do and enjoying my suffering. “You’re legally an adult now and you can leave, but you have a contract, Arabella. I may not be your legal guardian anymore, but I’m your boss and I’ll make sure you do your job this summer.”

So she knows it was my birthday; that this whole ball started because of me. She knows it… that bitch.

“Happy birthday… oh wait, it’s past midnight. Forget it,” she adds next and I clench my fists around the mop stick, holding back. I repeat my mantra in my head, that I can’t kill my boss, I can’t go to jail.