Self-Seeker

3

Monday

The sound of her alarm bleeping caused Genesis to awake at seven thirty in the loft above the boutique. She had it furnished several months ago – having presumed there would be occasions where she'd be too tired to drive herself home and wouldn't want to inconvenience Hann late at night. Providentially, she had a spare key hidden in the third drawer of the desk in her office.

She stretched her limbs and immediately slipped her contacts on – her vision was disastrous without them and glasses did her no favours during her out-of-hours occupation. Genesis then picked her phone up off the nightstand, texting Deana to collect some suitable clothing from her apartment before coming in to work.

Deana was the only person Genesis trusted enough to know that she hid the spare key for her apartment in a hole in the welcome mat in front of her door. Genesis knew exactly where she kept all her clothing items, so she sent an additional message with the location of each piece she needed. Her closet was very nearly her best friend.

By the time Genesis had brushed her teeth, showered and eaten a breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs; toast; and an obligatory cup of tea, there was a soft knock at the loft door.

"I come bearing a light blue Armani shirt, black chinos and closed-toe heels. And let's not forget the extra set of lingerie, as requested." Deana called out from behind the door, to which Genesis opened in response.

"Forever my saviour, Dee." Genesis joked, taking the clothing to quickly dress herself.

She had left Deana to lounge in the living room and was now applying light makeup and re-straightened the parts of her hair that were beginning to curl again. Ever since Genesis was a young girl she couldn't stand her natural curly hair. It caused such hassle in her line of work, so she flat ironed it whenever she planned to leave the house. People often assumed her hair was originally straight as she never allowed anyone to see its natural state.

"Ready to go?" Genesis asked as she walked back into the living room, swinging the loft key around on her forefinger. It seemed she had caught Deana by surprise as she visibly jumped, quickly locking her phone and plastering a less-than-genuine smile on her face. Genesis decided it wasn't any of her business to ask what was going on. Deana's personal life was hers to know, so she didn't press on. But her reaction was noted.

"Yeah sure, let's go." Deana replied, wiping the thin layer of sweat off her palms and onto her Cashmere jumper. She grabbed her bag and coat from by the door as they left.

An unsettling feeling grew in Genesis' stomach at the possibility of Deana hiding something of importance from her, but she was one of the very few people in this world that Genesis trusted (to an extent), so she decided to let it go for now. Even if there was something to be suspicious of, Genesis was confident she'd find out - nothing often got past her.

The loft had two staircases that lead to separate entrances. The main one was from the outside of the shop, which took you to the front door of the loft. The other was hidden behind a bookcase in Genesis' office which led to the laundry room in the loft. She had that one installed in case of an emergency. Nobody knew about it - not even Deana - there were certain parts of her life that she intended on keeping private.

The women took the noticeable staircase down and exited onto the street. They found Genesis' assistant, Emily, struggling to balance coffee mugs in one hand and attempting to unlock the shop door with the other. She was such a sweetheart, bless her soul, Genesis thought. But much like the rest of her staff – she was also very intimidated by Genesis.

"Allow me to help you with that." She offered, taking the key from Emily's hand and inserting it into the lock. Genesis received a shy smile as she held the door open for Emily to walk in, with Deana close behind.