Mimeomia

08 | hireling

CHAPTER EIGHT

HIRELING

( — a person who works only for pay, especially in a menial or boring job, with little or no concern for the value of the work. )

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆

          MICHAELA DOESN'T DARE TOUCH THE BOOK. It's too personal, too invasive—and she has stopped caring about whatever changes Lincoln splattered onto the book a while ago, knowing it's still about her and them and people will know—and it makes her uncomfortable.

          Granted, she owes him one, so she'll have to read it at some point, especially because he asked her to find any mistakes or scenes he should change. As of right now, it's Wednesday, the last day of the month, and the book remains untouched, resting on her bedside table and waiting for her to follow through her promise.

          Especially because it's also his thirtieth birthday today. It's the first time since the break-up that they're on speaking terms on his birthday and she has even gotten him a birthday present to show she's perfectly fine with how things are. Thus, to prove that to herself as well, not just to him, she promises herself she'll start reading the book by the end of the week, once both of their birthdays have passed.

          It's strange knowing she's about to turn twenty-seven. She doesn't feel a day older than twenty-one, which might explain why she's seemingly unable to behave properly and according to her age. Thus, when she arrives at work, she's determined to behave like she's supposed to instead of making one mistake after another as she's been doing until now.

          It's one thing to have hard to break habits. Michaela has plenty of those, but that's not the case here. Habits aren't your personality, even though Michaela should/has to change plenty of stuff regarding those two things, yet here she is, sabotaging her own happiness one gesture at a time. It does her no good to keep a job she hates just to prove a point, but she won't find another job if she gets fired from this one. That's a given.

          With her morning Pilates complete and her green smoothie resting comfortably in her stomach, Michaela is pretty certain she can handle whatever today throws at her. After all, she's a Tate and the Tate family certainly isn't known for raising quitters, even those who marry into the bloodline—Yvonne is the best example, making a name for herself in the fashion industry and working with A-list celebrities, which paves the way to become one of them herself.

          She almost forgets she's not on speaking terms with Ginny, and Lennox's desk has been placed in their office, so she's a bit taken aback by the cold reception once she steps through the glass door. She feels like a caged animal when she's here, with a snake habitat creeping closer to her whenever Blair decides to leave her lair.

          They're talking when she gets there and abruptly shut up when they hear the door slide open, quickly returning to whatever they were doing before the conversation began. It takes a lot more than that to make Michaela break and they all know it, so it's no surprise to see her stroll all the way towards her desk, chin held high, without uttering a word.

          The only sound in the room is that of keys being pressed on keyboards, joined by the faint buzzing of the heating system—which, fortunately, has already been fixed—and the occasional sniffling coming from Ginny's desk, proving she really is suffering from terrible allergies.

          Ginny opens her mouth to say she's writing about the National Snake Day and Lennox laughs, reminding her the National Snake Day lands in July—which happens to be her birthday—and earning an even louder chuckle from her. Michaela sighs to herself, wondering when these two ever became friends, even if they all know each other in one way or another in this business.