The Spy • H.S

5| The Spy

I heard a knock on my door and I closed the book I had been reading shut and set it on the night table. It was a romance novel one of the maids had recommended to me.

"Come in," I say, watching as the door opened to reveal Harold. He was wearing a plain grey T-shirt and a pair of black sweats.

"Never seen you in that." I teased.

"I came to tell you that your mother is visiting in a few weeks, three to be exact if there are no interferences." His eyes looked tired but his body looked alert.

"She is?" I was surprised at the news.

"Yes." He nodded.

"That's great." I beamed. "Thank you for telling me."

"You're welcome. Goodnight." He turned to leave but I stopped him.

"Wait," I said, standing from the bed. "I want to apologize for what I did earlier today. It was inappropriate and being the presidents daughter I should have presented more class than I had. I'm sorry." I say to him.

"Apology granted. Don't do something like that ever again." His eyes were stern.

I felt like a child being scolded by the way he was talking to me. It felt a bit embarrassing.

"Can you stay?" I asked him. "The only thing I've been able to do is read that book, and to no offense to the author, but it's getting quite boring."

"I can't stay in your room, no." He shook his head once.

"Why not?" He gave me a look.

"Because I can't, and I won't. If you are bored play a game on the phone Mr. Frank bought you."

"You have to have WiFi," I tell him, though I wouldn't play any games on the phone anyways.

"Then sleep, it's late." He goes to walk out but yet again my annoying self stops him.

"Can we go-"

"Aratraya, I came in here to inform you of your mother's coming, that's it. Go to sleep, stay up, read your book, I don't care. I have much more important things to do." His voice became an octave lower as he spoke.

"Why are you being an ass, I apologized to you. I'm just trying to not be so lonely and secluded in this place." I defend myself.

He shut the door quietly behind him, making sure not to make any loud noises.

"I'm not being an ass, I'm doing my job. What you did in the den was beyond foul and you need to learn your place."

I scoffed at his last words. "Learn my place? Tell me, what is my place exactly?"

"I'm going to bed, breakfast will be served at 7:00 sharp." He said, dismissing my question.

"There are no places, Harold." I told him and he turned around.

"There is, Aratraya. Especially for me, one wrong step or incident can end my career, possibly my life. So where I came from and how I grew up we all learned our places pretty quick. What you did back there, if someone could have walked in, I would be fired and who the hell else knows what kind of punishment your father would bound me with. I don't know what it was but I'm not interested and it better not happen again." By this time his finger was pointing at me with eyes of fury.

I felt a pinch in my chest when the words "I'm not interested" came out.

"Get out of my room." I told him.

He squinted his eyes at me, clearly annoyed, before walking out.

Well that just happened...

I had fallen asleep sometime between one and two in the morning. I woke up with my book lying on my stomach, the page I left of obviously lost within the nonexistent world of literature.