I'm Meant To Hate You

2

"As you wish Miss Fox. It's completely up to you how much you care about your future, being unable to get ahold of me when you want to do something is going to make it very difficult for us to work together to make your future turn out how you wish. Your parents can contact me in regards to you, if that's how you want to proceed. I am here to provide you guidance, whatever you choose sticks, no matter how much I tell you different. I'm not here to control your life, I want to help you control your own." I said, looking over her parents as they relaxed. They were clearly worried about how she would affect me, something that made me unsure of what to expect from her.

"You're going to be exactly like every other agent I've had. They treat me like a child."She spoke up again, folding her arms across her body.

"If you continue to act the way you do I'm sure it's going to be very difficult for anyone to treat you any differently than a child. How old are you?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You know exactly how old I am." She murmured, sinking into her chair a little as her parents glared at her.

"I think we'll be heading out now, I'll send you a copy of her calendar, I'm so sorry about this." David stood up first, offering his hand to me as he apologised. I stood too, meeting his height, offering him a kind smile.

"Don't worry about it. I'm here to help." I said, looking over the three people who now stood in front of me. Mrs Fox offered me a gentle smile as she looked between her daughter and I.

"I'll see you all soon." I said, opening the door for them and leaning against it as they all exited. The other men who occupied the room silently followed behind them, not even glancing at me. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief as I was left alone.

Mr Fox's kindness almost made me falter. Had he forgotten? Maybe it was the many years of maturing that made him realise there was no use going down the same oath he did before. But one thing is certain, he was acting....normal.

"That bad?" Richard asked from the desk outside of my office. His nice smile turned into a smug one.

"Oh stop. I know how to handle people Rich." I said, running a hand through my hair and walking out to the desk that he occupied. "How come you didn't tell me you knew them?" He shrugged at my question.

"Wasn't really going to change anything. I know that you know her Kiana. I'm her uncle, or at least labelled as such. Me and her father go back years, I know what happens in that family and I know the two of you weren't the bestest of friends when you were younger. Just don't let her get to you, she's cold when she wants to be. It's her defence. She might be worried that you're the same as what you were." He spoke.

"I'm nothing like what I used to be." I deflected.

"Yes well she doesn't know that. You've gone from being someone who pissed her off and someone she hated, to someone who now has control over her life. No matter how you sugarcoat it, you have more control over her life than she does. She probably doesn't trust you to make such big decisions." He explained, appealing to my emotions. He knew how I felt about her, he knew that whatever happened between us when we were younger, on my behalf, has no effect on how I treat her now. But he also knows that it effects how she treats me.

"Listen to me Kiana. She is going to be difficult. But don't change how you are, she needs someone like you to let her express herself more through the jobs she takes and the events she attends. She needs help to explore things that her parents have tried to protect her from. She needs to understand that the world is a lot different than how she has been introduced to it. But she's been through some things too, and even though there is no excuse for being disrespectful, please let her get away with some things." He said, leaning on his desk towards me a little as he looked up at me.

My hand gently rested on his shoulder, nodding my head at him. "I know how to control myself Richard. You don't need to tell me what to let get to me because I know my limit and childish games certainly isn't it."

"Well." He said, clapping his hands together. "I can't wait to see where she will end up with your guidance. I know how good you are at your job Kiana, so go and be good at it." He said, standing and waving me off.

—————

It was slowly beginning to darken outside, and the city beneath my feet was bustling as I looked over it. My hands held onto the legal card that David had given me earlier as I typed in their number.

"London Guardian Legal Services, how may I help you?" A monotone voice with a slight hint of politeness in it spoke through speakers of my phone.

"I'm Kiana Jones, Emily Fox's agent, I was informed that someone would be getting in touch but I thought I'd do it instead and get the ball rolling." I spoke calmly, slowly walking around my office as the door remained opened. There was no one in the immediate area of my office, making it easy to leave my door open. By this time, most people had already left.

"The lawyers that you are currently after aren't working at the moment, but I'll put your name down on the system so they know to call you if they need you. I apologise that I couldn't be of more assistance to you." The voice almost sounded sorry. Call it me being stereotypical, but I was sure that the woman on the other end of the phone was not proud of the position she was working in. Her voice void of nearly all emotions nearly made you believe she was an AI. The distinct feature that made her all to human was the unhappiness wrapped so tightly around her voice that it even made me feel sorry for her.

"That's okay, thank you for your time." I said, allowing the line to go dead as I ended the call. I gently set my phone down on the desk, taking a seat on the edge of it as I allowed my attention to focus once again on the busy streets below.

"You almost seem respectable." A voice muttered from beside me, making my head snap in that direction.

"Miss Fox." I spoke startled, standing from my relaxed manner. "Do you need something?" I said, unsure on how to approach the situation.

"I want to know why you took the job." She said, turning her attention on me as we stood a mere few inches away from each other.

"I'm sorry?" I replied, I didn't see any reason to give her an explanation.

"Oh come on Kiana. You knew it was me as soon as you saw the name. You knew who my parents were, their names. What possessed you to take me on?" She said, seemingly distressed.

"Because of Richard. He exclusively set me up with you and your parents, I couldn't turn it down." I gave in, I didn't need her going round in circles about something so unimportant.

"Yes you fucking could have." She seethed, clearly she was very annoyed that I was now one of the most important people in her life regarding her future.

"Miss Fox. This is entirely unprofessional and I strongly suggest that you leave." I said, dismissing the direction in which the conversation was going and turning towards the door.

"Why are you acting as if we don't have a past?" She spoke from what seemed to be the same place she was, now no longer looking at me but instead walking in my direction, before finally looking up to me. My heart skipped a beat at her strong gaze.

"Miss Fox, please." I requested, almost desperately. Emily shook her head in disappointment at my reluctance to talk about the past before walking wordlessly out of the door. I shut the door this time, leaning my head back against it as I let out a shaky breath.