Lust, Lies, and Forbidden Ties ✵ h.s.

✵ three ✵

When I exited the bathroom, the three models were getting ready for yet another set of photographs.  I thought it was crazy that two hours had already gone by but figured it shouldn't have been that surprising.  After all, it was a lot of setting up and changing that took up most of the time.  Making my way over to Tommy, I sat down beside him once again.  My cheeks were red, the idea that my skirt rode up higher than normal a little embarrassing.  Luckily, though, he didn't pay much attention, his eyes focused on his camera.

"What are you doing for lunch? Has Natalie asked you yet?" Tommy asked.

"No, why?" 

"The models all want Mexican, so I figured we could go as a group.  You're welcome to join."

"Let me ask her."

As I was pulling out my phone to call, I felt a presence to my left.  Out of the corner of my eye, I could see all black.  There were only three people that it could have been, but with the indifference that the person was radiating, I felt like I had easily narrowed it down to someone in particular.  With the way today was going, I didn't want to deal with him anymore, though I found myself glancing up, harsh green eyes already trained on me. 

"Neonata, you're Mrs. Woods' assistant?" he questioned, my eyebrows pulling in with the first word of his sentence. 

"I am.  What is a neonata?" 

"What? It's just a nickname." 

"What does it—" 

"I need a coffee." 

"You'd have one if you didn't bump into me."

He narrowed his eyes on me.  Once again, I felt intimidated by his stare.  Truth be told, men did scare me sometimes.  I wasn't sure if it was all the horror stories I had read in the news recently, or a deeper reason from within, but there were times that I simply didn't trust them.  Then again, there were guys like the ones I lived with who were just a bunch of dorks always joking around with each other.  They were the only type of guys that I trusted, but in this moment I felt like I couldn't trust Mr. Grumpy.  He was clearly a different breed, and I wasn't sure what it was about him, but he wasn't someone that I felt confident being rude toward. 

"Stand up," he told me firmly. 

"What?" 

"Stand.  Up.  What about that isn't clear?"

Swallowing hard, I stood up quickly, tugging my skirt down as much as I could.  His voice was harsh and I felt anxious again, not really sure how someone could dislike me.  Normally, I got along with most of the models, but as of right now, that was not the case.  Harry wasn't pleased with me, and it terrified me.  Maybe it was his hard exterior, or simply the way his voice sounded like it could cut into me, but something about him bewildered the hell out of me. 

"I want an iced vanilla coffee with almond milk.  Is that clear?" 

"Y-Yes." 

"Don't stutter," he muttered harshly.  "Say it clearly.  Come on, neonata, let me hear you say it confidently."

I swallowed hard, looking into his eyes as I stated the simple word.  "Yes." 

"Bene, now repeat it back to me." (Good,) 

"You would like an iced vanilla coffee with almond milk." 

"Molto buona," he nodded.  "I want it within the next twenty minutes, neonata." (Very good,) 

Nodding, I asked everyone else if they wanted anything, but they all said they were okay right now.  On my way past Harry, I grabbed my wallet and phone, texting Mrs. Woods that I was going to get coffee.  She asked me if I could get her another one of her usual drinks, so I found myself ordering off my phone, practically jogging in my flats to the café because I didn't want Harry to be upset with me.  Mrs. Woods was one thing, but Harry was honestly a very intimidating person, and I hadn't felt that way about anyone in a while.  Sighing quietly to myself, I made it to the café within five minutes, asking a barista if they were positive that Harry's drink was right.  If it was any other person, they probably would have been annoyed, but all of the employees who worked there knew that I worked for important people that needed their coffees to be correct without any chance of them being wrong.  Luckily, the barista confirmed that they were both right, leaving me to rush back to the office building.