We both look at the door in unison.
"Mira, I think we really have to talk about your online shopping-" I raise my fist, and he stops talking immediately.
The knocking gets louder.
"Remove whatever appendage you want from my body later," he quips. "Your friend outside is getting antsy."
I give him one last scathing look before I drop his collar, snatching the blaster off the ground while I stalk to the door.
"Mirabelle~" the semi-familiar voice called in a sing-song voice. "Mirabelle, I know you're in there! Please don't tell me you're planning on using this box hair-dye."
The camera outside my door shows the same girl from earlier, staring distastefully into one of the open boxes in front of my door, surrounded by what looks to be Elias's takeout food. She picks up one of the boxes of hair dye, and looks into the door camera, as if to ask me seriously?
With a sigh, I shove the blaster into my jacket pocket and return to where Elias is watching me with an amused expression on his face. I grab a pillow from off the ground, then use the case to tie a makeshift gag.
Dusting off my hands, I stare down at my handy work with satisfaction, wondering why I hadn't thought of this earlier.
Elias doesn't look too happy about the gag, but I pay him no mind, throwing a blanket and several pillows over his body.
The knocking has stopped by the time I get to the door, and I click it open with a sigh.
"I really don't want to call security-"
"So I know this sounds insane, but I was passing by and I couldn't help but notice the boxes of hair-dye on your porch. I'm an esthetician. I was thinking about our previous interaction, and you looked so distraught. So I'm here to make it up to you! Also, I feel bad about your broken stilettos."
My brain, still being fried from my interaction with Elias, only catches about half of what she's saying.
"You want to... dye my hair?"
She lifts her bags, proudly showcasing her bags of makeup, skincare and barber-supplies.
"I'm about to turn you into a Victoria fucking secret. I take payment in forms of copious amounts of food and praise," she says, moving to take a step in. I quickly block her with my arm, eyes darting back to the bed where I have a man tied to my bed.
"You can't come in right now."
"Do you have someone over right now?" The girl peers over my shoulder, looking completely unfazed by the dozens of boxes littering my floor. "It won't take more than an hour, promise."
"Maybe come back tomorrow. I'll be free then." By tomorrow, I'll have Elias stuffed into the back of my pod, and this god forsaken mission over with.
The girl looks slightly sheepish, and laughs awkwardly.
"Actually, my crew and I will be headed off port tomorrow morning, which is why I wanted to talk to you." She leans forward, and drops one of the bags into my arms, and I stumble back from the weight. What the hell is in these bags?
My words of protest die in my throat as the girl struts into the room, and throws her bags onto the bed. I think one lands directly on Elias' face, but to his credit, he doesn't make a sound. She grabs the spins out the rolling desk chair, then pulls out what looks to be an entire vanity.
"Well? Are you going to take a seat?"
Maybe I'd be returning to earth with two bodies in the back of my pod. Elias hadn't started thrashing and screaming yet, and I didn't trust him enough to believe he would be silent for an entire hour.
YOU ARE READING
Artificial
Romance3.8 billion dollars. That how much it had cost Billionaire Lewis Bronson to create his daughter. 3.8 billion, and decades of research. Nothing about Mirabelle Bronson was a mistake. From the exact HEX number of her hair, eyes, and skin, to the wire...
