Overture (Rain Dance, Book 1) (Rain Dance Series) (9 page)

     
It seemed that
the hardest part would be figuring out how to paint the glass ceiling. Ethan
had only instructed that the four walls be covered, so I hoped that I wouldn't
get in trouble for trying to take advantage of every surrounding surface. I
would probably have to raise the platform on the scaffold if I wanted to be
able to reach that high up. Sitting on it might hurt my neck. Lying on it would
definitely hurt my arms. But those were the only two options. It'd really suck
if an earthquake happened and I fell off the damn thing. From that height,
chances were likely that I'd get hurt. The ceiling would definitely have to be
saved for last.

     
There were
clouds in the sky Monday morning. When I peeked my head out the window, I could
almost taste the water in the air. I folded my arms as a chilly gust of wind
passed through into my bedroom. Smiling to myself, I went to put some food into
my body. I would sooner take the cold over the heat any day.

     
After a bowl of
cereal, I took my time getting ready. Not because I was trying to look nice,
but because I was tired. I'd gotten enough sleep the night before, but the
constant working must have been wearing me out. It happened sometimes, usually
when I spent too many hours at a time on a single project. I slipped on a pair of
black opaque stockings, a simple black dress to match my rather sluggish mood,
a cute gray knit sweater to keep me warm, and wedged ankle boots. It wasn't
even noon and I could already tell it was going to be a bad day for my hair, so
I simply pulled it into a high ponytail. Not feeling comfortably with how much
of my face was showing, I pulled a few pieces out to cover the sides.
Much
better.
When I was ready to leave, I switched my current bag to a mini
black backpack since I didn't feel like carrying anything.

     
Hoping that the
cool air might wake me up some, I walked to the Luxadigm. It did help, but it
just wasn't enough to give my body the push it needed.
Should I turn around
and go home?
But I couldn't do that. Who knows, maybe being back in the blue
room would jumpstart my desire to finish what I started.

     
I was warmly
greeted by Samantha and a few other familiar faces that I didn't really know,
but had somehow become smiley-buddies with. Trying to hide my drowsiness, I
smiled back and said a quick hello to Zach before heading up. By the time I
exited the elevator on the top floor, I couldn't help but let out a big yawn.
It was then that I heard voices in the distance.

     
"…goodness
sake. I shouldn't need permission to wait in his office," a woman
complained.

     
"I'm
sorry, Ms. Greene, those were his instructions. But if you'll just take a seat,
I promise Mr. Desmond will be here any second." When Patricia saw me
coming, she grinned. "Miss Myers, good morning."

     
"Good
morning," I replied, hopefully just as brightly.

     
The woman she
had been talking to turned around to look at me.

     
Oh.
It
was the blonde from a few days ago. The one who I knew was lucky enough to have
screwed Ethan - and was it any wonder? Now that she was here standing a few
feet in front of me, I could make out every feature. Her eyes were a brilliant
green, the most vivid I had ever seen on a human.
Are they contacts?
Somehow, I didn't think they were.

     
Her lips were
magnificently full, her nose little and pert, and her complexion was to die
for. My pale, clear skin was nothing compared to the soft cream that made up
this woman. She had perfect posture and held herself with absolute confidence.
She stood much taller than me, perhaps five-foot-six without the heels. Judging
by her clothes, jewelry, and handbag, money wasn't an issue.
There were some
things you just couldn't thrift
.

     
Yes, this was
exactly the kind of woman that I imagined any guy would ever want. She was
beautiful, and with her curvaceous figure she was also downright sexy. But one
look at her and I knew…

     
This woman was
a bitch.

     
Did that make
me one as well for even thinking such a thing before getting to know her? I'd
own up to it if I had to, but there was no way I was wrong. Anyway, it's as
they say…it takes one to know one, right?
You aren't a bitch, though. Not
really...

     
"Who are
you?" She looked me up and down with an expression that was both equally
as confused as it was scornful. I could literally feel the weight of her
judgment as she studied me. I don't think she even tried to hide it.

     
"I'm here
to work," I answered politely. Ethan had called me graceful, and I'd be
damned if I proved him wrong by reacting in any other manner.

     
"I asked
who, not why."

     
Who exactly was
she and what gave her the right to be so demanding? Oh, that's right - she had
fucked the boss. Hell, maybe they were still doing it. Maybe she was his
girlfriend.
Ugh…
Even so, I didn't want to give her my name.

     
"I'm
sorry, would you like to introduce yourself?" I countered.

     
For a moment,
she was silent. And then she was smiling. It was sickly sweet - a false smile.
The kind that only mean girls wore in the movies. "Karina Greene."

     
Well, then…
"Daphne Myers." Hopefully she'd forget it.

     
"What
business do you have with Ethan?" she asked, still faking politeness.

     
"I'm not
here to see Mr. Desmond."
That's right, make sure she knows there's
some distance there. I don't need any more unnecessary drama in my life.

     
"Oh...No,
of course not," she replied with a small laugh, looking me over once more.

     
If there was
one kind of bitch I couldn't stand, it was the catty kind. For a second I
almost considered playing along, but I was too tired to even really care.
Anyway, I wasn't in grade school.

     
"Are you
alright, Ms Greene?" I asked.

     
That seemed to
puzzle her for moment. "Why do you ask?"

     
"No
reason. You just seemed very agitated only a moment ago."

     
She took a
small step back and pursed her lips, contemplating something. "Come sit
with me." Turning away, she moved to the seating area and sank onto one of
the loveseats. "Please, I insist," she added when I made no move to
join her. "I've never seen you here before. If you aren't here to see
Ethan, what are you doing here?"

     
With a sigh, I
went to take the seat across from her. "As I said, I'm here to work."

     
"And what
kind of work might that be?" She looked genuinely confused, as though my
being here was simply absurd. I couldn't fault her for that.

     
"I'm
sorry…but are those your real eyes?" I had to ask.

     
Now she looked
a little pissed. "Excuse me?

     
"Your
eyes. Are they naturally that color?"

     
"...Yes," she answered very slowly.

     
"They're
gorgeous." Heaven help me, but I had to stare in awe. Lovely looking
things just had that effect on me.

     
She shifted
uncomfortably while I tried to think of what paints I had that would create
that shade of green.

     
"
Karina
."

     
My breath
caught. It had been over three days since I'd last heard his voice. It was
unfortunate that the first word to come out of his mouth was her name.
And
not mine
.

     
Turning my head
only slightly, I saw Ethan walking towards us with Douglas at his side. I stood
up when he was close enough that I could make out his bothered expression.

     
"Ethan." Karina smiled sweetly at him. Not the fake kind of
sweet this time, of course. "This little girl won't tell me what she's
doing here. She says she's not here to see you, but why else would she be up
here? Or are one of
those
clients looking for a new pet?"

     
…
The fuck?
I
kept calm and looked at Ethan again, who was now frowning disapprovingly.
Oh.
It's an inside joke, I think.

     
"I was
just telling her how gorgeous her eyes are," I said to him, looking back
at Karina. "I've never seen eyes so green."

     
It was Karina's
turn to frown.

     
Ethan came to
stand beside me, placing one of his hands on my shoulder.
Dammit, do not
blush.
"Miss Myers is an artist," he explained. "She's been
coming in for a few days, now." He looked down at me and spoke gently,
"Has this woman been keeping you from your work, Daphne?"

     
My name. He
said my name again.
My eyes fixed on Karina as I answered. "Yes. Does
she work for you, too?" I don't really know why I asked.

     
"She does.
Sometimes," he added.

     
"That's unfortunate."

     
When she
scoffed, I realized that I'd just spoken out loud.
Whoops.
Was I
supposed to apologize now?

     
...
Not to
her.

     
I bit my lip,
looked up at Ethan and said quietly, "I'm sorry. May I go now?"

     
"Of
course." I was glad to see that he wasn't angry. He just eyed me
curiously.

     
I quickly made
my way towards the hallway, eager to escape. What was the phrase? Oh, that's
right.
I knew I should have stayed home today.

     
By the time I
was safe in the blue room, I realized that there was nothing that could
possibly make me want to work. I wanted to leave, put on my comfy clothes,
bundle up on the couch, eat more pizza, and seek comfort in the lovely Mr.
Knightley. Or perhaps Mr. Tilney - it'd been a while since I'd last seen him,
after all.

     
I gazed up at
the glass ceiling. The clouds, all gray, coated every portion of the sky now. It
would be raining soon. When I yawned again, I knew I could no longer put it
off. I dug into the shopping bag that I hadn't touched yet. The one holding the
comfort items. From it, I produced the pillow, the fuzzy blanket, and the
stuffed rabbit. I pulled off the tags and threw them back into the bag. I
wasn't even sure why I had gotten the rabbit. The last time I had slept with a
stuffed animal, I was nine.
I'll have to think of a name for it.
Not
bothering to take off my shoes, I hooked up my iPod and selected my
sleepy
tunes
playlist.

     
You could say
that sleepiness made me a bit reckless. Instead of taking the floor, I decided
I'd take my chances and give it a go on the scaffold. Luckily, I knew I didn't
move much when I slept. Hopefully, my body would have the instinct to not turn
over onto nothing. I trusted my body to know things like that. Anyway, I wanted
to be closer to the sky.

     
How I wish
there was no glass…
I would've given anything for a source of fresh air. I
wanted to feel the wind on my skin. I wanted the cold chill.

     
The scaffold
wasn't comfortable. In fact, it was probably worse than the floor would have
been, but I managed to make it work for me. I'm not sure how much time passed
once I settled onto the platform. I breathed evenly and cleared my head, not
wanting to think of anything. Not wanting to imagine what kind of relationship
Karina and Ethan had. Although, I did happen to notice how he kept his distance
from her, which made it very likely that they weren't seeing each other at the
moment. But who knew, right?