The Living Statue

6.

The official trailer for the book is here! I've uploaded it in the first chapter (Hawks and scaredy-cats). Go check it out and tell me what you think :)

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The next morning, after an invigorative eight hours of sleep, I woke up fresh and full of energy, overexcited for my first day of work to begin.

I am not a morning person. I never was. But today I had no problems waking up at 6am and enjoying a cup of coffee beside the window. For some time I just kept watching the foliage swaying in the swift breeze, resembling playful ballerinas, boastful of their esteemed skills. It had been raining throughout the whole night and it hadn't stopped in the morning. The whole field of vision through my large appartment windows was cloacked in dreary, grey colour, but I didn't mind. The view was somehow dreamy, romantic even. Not that I am a soppy idiot or anything, I am just a sucker for beautiful scenes, and rain has some inexplicable beauty in it. It calms my nerves and relaxes my limbs - something not a lot of things succeed at.

Last night, after Mr Torres finally slacked under my pressure and avered his terms, I decided to set up some terms myself. The thing is, I don't want my father to find out I'm working for another company. It would devestate him. He had a dream for one of his daughters to inherit his business one day and after I had enrolled at an Art Academy and my sister, Arabella, skipped college to become a fashion designer, those dreams ended up crashed for good. Therefore, my one-month adventure at the Northern Empire has to remain a secret. Thankfully Mr Torres was more than eager to accept my term, considering he didn't want anyone to find out about a girl working at his company, let alone another businessman. The word would spread like fire and the scandal would ruin his 'precious reputation'. How he reckoned to keep his other employees' - and might I add, around two thousand of them - mouth shut, I had no idea. But oh well, that is his problem now, isn't it?

Finally it was time for me to get dressed and the whole process of it alone, much to my surprise, didn't take too long. The deed of getting a cab, however, this early in the morning and with an add of a downfall pouring onto your head was one hundred percent impossible. Okay, maybe not one hundered percent, but definitely ninety nine percent because it took me half an hour to get one. Add fifteen more minutes spent in the cab and voalà - I'm late for my first day at the Empire.

One month. I have one month to prove that chauvinistic son of a bachelor that women are just as capable of dealing with business affairs as men are, and yet here I am late for my first day at work.

How utterly convenient! Splendid! Spiffin! It's all rainbows and pink balloons out here!

And don't you dare ask me about the balloons. It's an obsession I've had my whole life. So what? I like balloons. Big deal.

Forty five minutes later I was rushing through the main hall, panting like I've been running a race at the Olympic Games with Usain Bolt on my tail. Now that race wasn't very likely to happen. But I tell you something, the speed in which I've managed to reach the elevator, with success of avoiding the invasion of countless, robot-like ants, would've put a cheetah to shame, let alone Bolt.

When my gaze fell on my reflection in the mirror I gasped in shock. In front of me stood a living mess, a creature with a nest instead of a hair and clothes so wet that it seemed as if it had just taken a swim in the Thames. I could've easily been mistaken with a Loch Ness monster Nessie, except that Nessie probably looked more appropriate for public appearance.

Great! The day just couldn't get any better.

I ran a hand through my hair, trying to appease the restless strands of my brown, bland hair. Thank God I haven't put any make up, otherwise I'd look like Samara Morgan with my mascara dribbling down my face. I frowned at my red cheeks and nose. I've always hated my small, perky nose and the red dot on it really wasn't helping, it only made it more noticable.