'You gave a month off?' Audrey asked, clearly shocked that I'd given that much leave to my assistant. Audrey's ankle remained in a thick, white cast that I was surprused she could carry around, given it probably weighed more than she did. Her leg was elevated, resting on the table in my office, next to her coffee and laptop; the photos from mine and Mia's shoot were scattered all over it.
I didn't look up from my screen. 'Yep.'
'Ronit, why?' She scowled. 'Surely she is needed non ? How are you keeping on top of your diary?'
'It's a trial.'
'A trial for what?'
'To see if I even need an assistant.'
Audrey scoffed. 'And how are you finding it so far?'
'It's easy.' I replied, though I was skimming through my multi-coloured calendar, with all its many meetings, phone-calls, lunches and appointments over the month and I felt slightly overwhelmed. I closed the lid of my laptop. 'I didn't have one in London.'
'No, no... I suppose you've always been stubborn enough to look after yourself.' Audrey started rubbing her toes which were poking out of the end of her ankle cast, then she picked up one of the photos from the photoshoot. 'Jesus, she is a good model.'
'She is.' I admitted and my thoughts flickered back to the day of the shoot. I'd thought about it every day since it happened. Mia's behaviour, her eyes, the way she'd leaned into me. It made me feel guilty, angry, uncomfortable, but to my surprise, I also felt oddly flattered. It was confusing. I hadn't mentioned it to anyone.
'If you don't want her as an assistant, I think we should keep her as a junior model.' Audrey murmured, and then she huffed loudly. 'Darling, I want a cigarette, are you sure we can't smoke in here?'
'No, but I want one too. Let's go downstairs.'
'Ugh, smoking on the street like delinquents.' She responded with a dry smile as she limped upwards.
We grabbed our coats and Audrey spoke of Mia the entire ride down in the elevator. She spoke about her posture, her face, her modelling history and how useful she would be as an understudy. I stayed mostly quiet but agreed with her when I could. I was mostly thinking of Esti again, I spent most of my days thinking about Esti, and the child she was carrying.
'-I mean, do you not like her?'
'Audrey, please-' I laughed as I took one of the cigarettes she was offering me. 'I just don't like relying on someone, that's all.'
Audrey sniffed hard. 'I just can't understand it. I think that's what it is. Does Esti not like her?'
'I don't think Esti has an opinion on her.' I lied.
Audrey crinkled up her face, that lovely face I'd known for so many years now. 'I think something else has happened ma ch é rie, and you are not telling me.'
I looked up at her and smiled. 'You're paranoid.'
'Pah. I am right, but if you do not want to go into details, I do not mind.'
We smoked in silence for a little while, both choking slightly each time we inhaled the icy Manhattan air with the fumes from the cigarettes.
'Esti's pregnant again.' I said, after a while. Audrey almost swallowed her cigarette whole.
'Good god, Ronit! Good, Christ. You two have definitely stuck to your roots non ?' She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me close to her quickly, I almost burned her. 'Congratulations, my beautifuls, uh. This is such extraordinary news! How? When? What is it?'
