Half Hearted

Chapter Sixteen

| Teresa |

After school had ended, I couldn't wait to get to Denny's and finish my shift. Peter had told me that Ash had his first shoot - since his 'break' - at five o'clock in the afternoon, at some place called Delirious. I told him I'd be there, and he was ecstatic. He'd call his paparazzi, and they'd be waiting outside, ready to leak the viral information that Ash had a new girlfriend.

A part of me was ready to make Ash regret he ever crossed me, but the other part was terrified. I'd be known to the whole celebrity world, bashed by millions - most likely thousands - of his fans.

Would he go along with the act? Would he actually smile at me in front of the cameras? Or would he treat me like the usual, and make me the world's most pitiful girlfriend?

Either one sounded like a horror movie.

I got to Denny's just in time, and I was about to start my shift when I saw Peter and Ash - along with two other people - at a table. I greeted them, and got introduced to Maudie and Riel.

Maudie was from the American West, so she had a heavy southern accent. Riel was from Brazil, but when he spoke he held no accent whatsoever. "What should I get you for dinner?" I asked, getting out my notepad - again, my memory sucked.

"Actually..." Peter trailed off. He looked to Maudie, who gave an encouraging nod, and he continued. "We're here to talk about your job."

"What about it?" I asked, trying to look at their faces for some kind of clue. Peter looked weary, while Ash was unreadable. He was simply staring out the window with an expression of pain on his face.

"Since you're going to be exposed in a matter of," he looked at his watch, then turned his attention back to me, "four hours, we'll need to perfect your history. So that nothing looks bad on Ash's behalf."

"Right," I sucked in a breath through my teeth. I thought Ash would be smiling with pride right now, ready to bash me with insults about my job. "And how are we going to perfect my history?"

"Starting with your job. I'll need you to quit."

I couldn't help but stutter out a bitter laugh. They didn't like the idea of Ash Stymest's girlfriend having a job at a local restaurant. "And how do you suppose I'll go about my life if I don't have a job?"

"Oh you will have a job," Peter spoke. "Starting today you're Ash Stymest's personal assistant. It's the perfect story - we'll tell them we kept it a secret because we didn't want the fanbase to get mad about the sudden romance, but it was neither of your fault because you two just couldn't keep it a secret any longer."

I cringed, scratching the back of my head with my free hand. "So I'll get paid for sticking around him all day?"

"Yes. And since it is a paid job, you will actually have to perform duties he asks of you," he responded.

I felt hairs rising at the nape of my neck. I could already envision the labour he was going to endow upon me. Pick that up. Scrub that clean. Get my hair gel. Oh wait, I don't need it anymore, go put it back.

Again, Ash stayed blankly staring out the window. For a second I thought he was high. But then I remembered that being high meant being happy. "Would it be alright if I fixed you up a bit?" Maudie's voice cooed its way into our conversation.

"Fix me up?"

"I'll need to give you some tan - you're as pale as the paper you're holding," she critiqued. "And maybe a darker hair colour to go with your eyebrows. And your eyebrows, dear thing, I'll need to tame them today."

"But I love my eyebrows," I defended, shooting her a hurt look.

"Dear, it's the fashion industry. You won't survive with those eyebrows."

"Just let her fucking keep her eyebrows," Ash spat, finally breaking his gaze from the cars on the street. He stood up from his seat and walked outside of the restaurant to the white van, staring inside at Peter through the clear glass to unlock it. He did, and Ash stepped inside, visibly slamming the door.

"Well, he's going to do great at today's shoot," Maudie sarcastically remarked.

Peter laid a hand on her back, "he's going to better than he ever did before, thanks to our new member." The three of them looked at me, and I tried finding elsewhere to share eye contact with. I found eyes to be very intimidating. "You know, you can get out of that uniform now. The grease stain is starting to bother me."

Looking down, I realized that I was no longer going to hold down a job at Denny's. It had only been half a year since I started working there, but I felt sad for leaving it for something so big of a risk.

After changing, I followed the three of them to the white van, and Riel drove off. I still had to figure out what he was. I was now the personal assistant. Maudie was the stylist, and Peter was the manager. What the hell was Riel? His driver?

The ride was quiet, and I took my time appreciating the view. Being behind the wheel all the time, I had to stay aware of stop signs and pedestrians and make sure I didn't cause danger to anyone's life. Being 'just a rider' felt nice.

Passing by minor streets that I never even knew existed, we stopped at the busiest place in Toronto. Riel stayed in the van, while the four of us got out.

Peter led the way, with Maudie at his side, while Ash and I walked beside each other. I stopped when he grabbed hold of my wrist, staring straight into my eyes and making me lose my composure for a second. His words were quick, "don't let them look down on you like that."

And as fast as he said it, he left, walking ahead of me. Confused, I shook myself out of the daze and trailed behind them. Was that real? Had that just happened? But there were no cameras to film anything.

After taking the uncomfortable elevator ride with only the four of us, we made it to the floor, and I was appalled.

All around me were naked people - women. They were gorgeous, of course, but they towered in height. I found myself being ridiculously envious of their shaved legs, which seemed to stretch for miles.

"He's modelling naked?" I whispered to Peter. I thought I made my voice soft enough for only one person to hear, but Ash proved me wrong.

"Yes I am," he started stripping in front of me, and I found myself instinctively turning around. From behind, I could hear his devilish voice, and I could make out the smirk just by his tone.

He was back to being his old self.