"How much do you charge?" The man asked.
"What?" Erica was bewildered at the question.
"Look if it's a high price, I'll pay it as long as you don't have the clap or something" Erica then put two and two together. This man thought she was a prostitut...
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Word Count: 1,434
The journey to the hospital was eventful to say the least. The whole time Lizzie and John were bickering and apologizing to Erica for the previous incident with Michael. Her nose was still bleeding profusely and had destroyed her new dress that Lizzie gifted her.
The blue color of the dress was mixing with the red blood causing purple splotches across the clothing. John made one comment about getting blood on his car that had led Lizzie to give him a good scolding, nearly causing a death experience for all of them when John took his eyes off the road. Erica was sliding around on the back seat trying to hold on as tight as possible due to John's reckless driving. She felt like she was in an Olympic sport and thanked God when they finally reached outside the hospital.
John decided to wait in the car while the two went in. They were given a fifteen minute wait since the hospital wasn't overly busy that day. Erica's nose luckily stopped bleeding given the women a chance to talk about what happened in The Betting Shop.
"It would be your look to be Michael's assistant. You've been called a whore, have the person who called you a whore become your new boss and have a busted up nose. And you've only been here for less than twenty-four hours." Lizzie couldn't help but laugh at her cousins unfortunate time in Small Heath.
"I feel like I just stepped into dramatic romance novel." Erica pulled out a mirror from her bag and quickly wished she hadn't. Her hair was now loose with curly spirals, there was dried blood all over the bottom half of her face and her cheeks were tear stained with mascara from her crying in pain.
"Romance eh? So hitting women in the face with doors is the new buying flowers? You must really like him." Erica scoffed at that.
"I barely know him Lizzie, and I definitely don't plan to get to know him at the moment." Lizzie rolled her eyes
"Well, you've no choice since now your his assistant. And besides, you said at the moment." Erica gave her cousin the side eye and was about to defend herself until the nurse came out and called them in. She was a thin, tall woman with soft features and wore the general nurses uniform.
"Erica Stark" the women called. Both Lizzie and Erica stood up and walked into the small room. The nurses eyes popped out of her head which made Erica a little confused until she remembered her state and the fact she probably looked like a vampire who just ate it's prey. The nurse asked a few questions, cleaned Erica up and put a bandage on her nose. Taking out her clip board, she wrote down a few things.
"Okay Ms.Stark, the good news is that your nose is not broken. You will have to wear the bandage for two days and there will be some slight swelling and bruising. I recommend putting some ice on it every couple of hours and I will write a prescription for pain killers for the next two days. You will be fine for work as well. Any questions?" Erica was thankful that her nose wasn't broken.
"Thats okay , thank you for your time." Lizzie and Erica left the room and went to pay the hospital bill. They were told that a Mr. Shelby payed the bill which Erica thought was very generous.
They proceeded to leave the hospital. John was staring at Erica trying to stifle a laugh when he seen the two cousins exit the hospital. Lizzie gave him a look that said "don't even think about it" which shut him up. It was back to The Betting Shop where Erica would have to face Michael Gray again.
~~
Erica took at deep breath before entering The Betting Shop, her anxiety was in full swing at this point. Lizzie took her hand and brought her into her office before talking to anyone to get changed into some different clothes that she kept there in case of emergencies. She stripped herself of the once beautiful blue dress and put on a white dress and cardigan. Lizzie picked up the blue dress and took a good look at it.
"You know, we may just be able to salvage this. I'll take it to the laundry mat that's run by the Chinese later and see what they can do." Lizzie attempted to cheer up her cousin who had a pained expression on her face when she accidentally bumped off her nose while putting on the dress.
"That be great Lizzie. I feel so bad. You paid good money for that dress and-"
"Oh don't be daft about it, it's not your fault." They were interrupted when Tommy knocked and then came through the door when Erica said it was okay to come in.
"Very sorry about earlier on Erica. I paid the hospital bill as an apology. I'll show you to your office now." Erica said goodbye to Lizzie and followed Tommy. He led her to another office amongst the shop that read "Michael Gray" and "Chief Accountant" in bold writing. Erica realized that she was going to be now sharing an office with the enemy. "Fantastic" was the word that came into her mind.
When Thomas opened the door, her eyes flicked straight to Michael. No matter how much she disliked him, she would admit that he was very handsome. He had the phone in one hand and a cigarette in the other, puffing out rings off smoke. His calming blue eyes matched her hazel ones once he finished the call. She was delving deeper and deeper into her trance until Michael began to laugh. He couldn't help but howl once he seen Erica's bandaged and puffy face. She huffed loudly which got Tommy's attention.
"Alright Michael, that's enough. Both you and Erica will be sharing an office now as you can see." Tommy suggested towards the extra desk that already had some paperwork and supplies on it.
"No fucking fighting please." Erica ignored the smirk that was plastered on his face and went over to take a seat at her desk.
"And a warning for the both off you. No fucking on the desk." She felt a deep blush creep up her face as soon as she heard that. Tommy left the room and Michael let out another chuckle and looked over at Erica.
"Why are you blushing, love." Michael smirked, taking another puff of his cigarette.
"I am not blushing and I'm not your love, it's probably the blood flow in my face since it was just sacked with a door." Erica fought back. Michael felt a twinge of guilt. He truly didn't mean his clumsy mistake.
"Look I'm sorry. I didn't mean it." Michael tried to stay serious but couldn't help laughing as Erica stared at him with a concentrated face that looked incredibly funny with her bandages nose.
"You are honestly insufferable. I'm going to fill out some paperwork and then start helping with the books so just piss off for the next while please." He stared at Erica for a couple of seconds and stubbed our his cigarette.
"You know, I'm practically your boss now. And next time you say something like that to me, I might have to punish you" his gaze then dropped to her legs and he found a good portion of Erica's skin exposed from her skirt hiking up. Michael couldn't help but bite his lip as he ogled her soft, olive skin.
"Don't be so full of yourself, your not my type." Erica lied straight through her teeth and attempted to cover her legs more with the skirt. Michael chuckled at her choice of words.
"We all know that's a lie love. And besides, I'm everyone's type." Erica rolled her eyes and got back to work, trying to distract herself from Michael's cockiness. He did the same when she gave no reply but couldn't help himself drift his eyes on Erica's legs every once in a while.
Authors Note: This chapter is shorter than the others but I wanted to get it up today. I've a lot of school work to get through tomorrow and the next day but I will have another chapter up within the next two days. Very sorry if you come across any mistakes as well. I hope your enjoying the story so far and please vote, comment and follow💜💜
