Illusions of Trust

Chapter Two: The New Beginning

Two and a half tiring hours later,

"Whoa," I gazed in awe at the supposed "apartment complex" that stood before me. Tucked into towering evergreens a CASTLE with a modern parking lot jutted into view. Backed by large snow capped mountains that dipped into a sharp valley with a baby blue sparkling lake in the background, this castle screamed 'old money' and 'I'm more important than you' vibes. Seriously - it was a castle. Complete with gargoyles, marbled grey and brown stones pebbled up to a grand elegant roof, large french oak doors, and . . . a valet stand.

Fuck.

Not wanting to embarrass myself at the valet stand with my old honda, and obviously underdressed self (had I even brushed my hair today?), I quickly found a parking space between several Lamborghinis, Lotuses, and G-Wagons and caught myself blushing from embarrassment for my little car.

I quickly gathered my things and hurried past one of the Valets.

"Ma'am?" A man called. Clenching my teeth, I continued forward, begging God he wasn't speaking to me.

"Ma'am!" the man yelled, trying to catch hopefully some other poor soul's attention. "Ma'am, you can't park there. We ask all cars be valeted by our service."

Fuck.

I slowly turned back to the Valet, my face hot. "Oh, sorry. First time here, I didn't know."

The Valet raised his eyebrows at me. "Are you one of the new house keepers?"

Choosing to believe it was because of my age that he asked that question and not how I looked, I faced the valet head on.

"No, I am going to be living here." I quipped back, adding a little flamboyant hair flip over my shoulder. "Just need to get to the leasing office before they close . . so. . . "

I lost sight of the Valet's eyebrows as they met his hairline. "Is that so?"

"Yep, so . . . can I just save you the hassle and leave my car there?" I pointed to my sorely out of place blue honda, watching as the valet turned and appraised the poor car.

He turned back to me, clearing his throat. This was clearly a first for him as it was for me. "Uh . . . sure?"

"Wonderful, well, uh, that'll be all . . ." I turned quickly on my heel, cheeks hot and heart pounding as I replayed that awkward encounter over and over again in my head. However, my embarrassment was cut short as I took in the grand entry I was standing in.

Large stain-glass windows streamed in multi-colored cues of light that glowed like spot lights at my feet. High, cathedral ceilings with custom murals and renaissance styled paintings graffitied the entire span of the ceiling. White, polished marble floors ran into an opulent staircase backed by a towering, roaring fire place. The space smelled of cedar, rosemary, and crisp dollar bills.

I moved deeper into the . . . well, I guess it was the lobby? A large oak desk, tucked neatly behind a large pillar in the corner of the space caught my eye.

A woman sat behind the large oak desk. Her midnight dark hair was neatly pulled back into a tight bun at the base of her skull, little wisps of dark curls winding along her ears. Her slanted dark eyes appraised me as I approached. I could already tell there would be war between us one day.

"There is a dress code for our maid staff." Her voice echoed across the halls. "Black slacks and black button down."

Valets are condescending, leasing office personnel are judgmental . . . Wonderful. I already miss Debbie.

"Hi, um, no, I'm not part of the maid staff. I recently got a new apartment here and I was wondering if I could get the keys and begin the move-in process?"