The Apprentice (Girlxgirl)

Chapter Seventeen

The next day, Ellie brought a cup of tea to me in bed. I guessed she was feeling sorry for me after what happened with Adam, but I wasn't dwelling on it. I was about to be divorced from him so there was no loss.

I checked my phone for the time and I had received a text from the bank.

"The cheque has already cleared, I'm officially a millionaire," I grinned.

"Shit! Shall we go shopping?" Ellie asked, excited.

"No, the models will be at the studio in a couple of hours. But if you don't mind, can you just set Alex up with one of them? I'm gonna go down to the estate agents to buy our new house." I said happily, and she agreed.

I got ready, and went down to the estate agent.

"Mrs Collins!" It was Gareth, the guy who showed us around the studio.

"Gareth, hi! And it's Miss Collins, if you don't mind." I smiled, "I've come to buy my new house."

I showed him my paperwork from when I viewed the house, and he brought my details up on the computer.

"So you're a cash buyer?" He asked, and I nodded, "Okay, so we'll take the payment, then I can give you the keys today, and you can move in straight away."

"Perfect, thank you," I made the payment, signed a few papers, and as promised, Gareth gave me the keys. I was so excited.

I thanked Gareth and said goodbye, and headed down to the studio. It was almost lunch time when I got there.

"Eleanor!" I shouted, and waved the keys at her. She was photographing one of the models, but lay the camera on the ground and ran over to me, jumping with excitement.

"Oh my god, you got the keys already?!" She shouted.

Everybody was looking at us like we were mental patients, but we didn't care. Alex smiled, I thought that Ellie must have told her where I was. She was standing with Mona, talking and flirting.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt," I heard a man's voice from the reception area. I turned to see Damien.

"Damien, hi. It's good to see you." I said, and noticed him looking over toward Alex, who hadn't noticed him.

"Yes, you too. I just thought I'd see how it's going, and see how my girl is doing." He said.

"Yeah, Ellie, why don't you take over with Mona, and Alex can come show Damien what she's been up to." I suggested, hoping that Ellie would realise why I wanted to get Alex away from Mona.

"Yeah, of course, I'll send her over."

Damien eyed Alex suspiciously as Ellie reached her, and she looked scared for a second when she saw him. She quickly moved away from Mona, and over to her father.

"Hi dad, what're you doing here?" she asked.

"Just thought I'd come see how the apprenticeship is going." He replied.

"Why don't we go show him your portfolio?" I said, and she nodded, leading the way into the office.

She showed Damien all of her work so far, and he seemed impressed. She told him about how we went up the mountain to take photos, and about all the work in the studio. When she had finished, he told her he wanted to speak to me alone, and she went back to assist Ellie. I was nervous about what he might say.

"She seems happy here," he said, and I was relieved. "I was worried she wouldn't be into it, but she seems to be enjoying herself."

"She is," I assured him, "and it's like she's been doing it forever, she's a natural. If she carries on this way, we won't be able to let her go after the apprenticeship!"

"That's good to hear, I'd be more than happy for her to join you permanently, if it gives her a career, and something to look forward to." He smiled proudly, and it was difficult for me to imagine him being so awful with her about her sexuality.

Damien didn't stop for too long after that. He spoke with the models, and the hair and make up team, and made his way out after congratulating us on our work.

"Thanks for saving me guys, I'm glad he didn't see me around Mona for any longer." Alex said, after he left.

"It's no problem, just be careful, he probably has eyes and ears in this room too," Ellie said. "So guys, I know we can't go out tonight, cause the girls are back tomorrow, but Friday is free for everyone. I was wondering if we should have a housewarming party?"

"Not yet, Ellie. We need to furnish our house first, I thought we could do that over the weekend." I said, and she pouted.

"Fine!" she stomped off back to the models.

"She's such a drama queen," I joked, and Alex laughed.

"What did my dad want to talk to you about?" she asked.

"He was just saying how you looked happy here, and he seemed to like the idea of you having a permanent job with us after the apprenticeship." I said.

"Really? That would be amazing!"

"Don't get too excited, we're only three days in, this is a six month apprenticeship!" I laughed, and she smiled happily.