Secrets Vol. 2(9)

"Because it's the most romantic moment of their lives. It's the most important."

"And this isn't?"

"No! It's not! These are please f*ck me pictures. These aren't even art. Cole, the fact that you - "

He drops my hands like I've burnt him and shakes his head. He turns away from me and runs his hands through his hair. "Anna!" His voice booms. When he turns back his blue eyes are livid. I've insulted him. His jaw twitches like he wants to say things that he bites back. Finally he says, "If you can see this is art - if you see that this is romantic and important - will you do it? Will you try?"

"There is no way that I'll ever say that."

He laughs and shakes his head, "You are such a pain in the ass. Just say yes or no. If you can see that it's art will you do it?"

His laughter disarms me a little bit. I nod and fold my arms over my chest. "Yes. Now please prove to me that you haven't f*cked up my life beyond repair. Show me the artistic boobies so I can go beg Sottero for a second chance next year."

Cole growls, leaning close to my face, "The only person you'll ever beg for anything will be me."

My heart is pounding. I can't breathe. I want to punch him. I want to kiss him. This arrogant bastard thinks that I'll believe anything he says, and he says he made this place for me. I can't let him get under my skin like this, but he's already there.

I lean closer to him and breathe, "I'll never beg you for a single thing."

Cole avoids me for the rest of the day. He probably doesn't have any ideas on how to prove to me that this studio is artistic. I'm sitting in my new room, on my bed, with my head against the wall. It's a little guest room off the main hall.

A girl wraps her knuckles on my door and pushes it open. "Hello?" she says. A massive amount of red hair peers around the door with a strikingly pretty pale face at the center. Impossibly green eyes blink at me. "Are you Anna?"

I nod and scoot the edge of my bed. "Yes. Can I help you?"

She walks into the room. "I'm Regina Davenport. I'm Mr. Stevens' assistant. I heard you're the new intern, well, the only intern."

Confused, I ask, "What do you mean?"

She laughs, "I'm sorry. I thought it was common knowledge. Every year Le Femme takes in one intern, and every year that intern quits before it's over. Sottero usually scoops them up and it pisses Mr. Stevens off to no end. We've never seen him on speaking terms with someone interning after this long."

My mouth is hanging open, "It's only been a week."

Her eyebrows lift, "Yeah, like I said, a long time in internland." She hesitates and then asks shyly, "Is it true? Do you really get to run this if you finish the internship? I mean, it seems like a sweet deal, assuming you can tolerate Stevens..."

I nod slowly. "He chases off the other interns? How?"

Regina looks back toward the door like she shouldn't be talking, but she's the only person I've seen today that is within a few years of me. I know we'll be working together if I stay here and so does she. She grins, "He's just difficult to get along with. He's got his own ideas about things and if yours don't line up, well, there's no future for you here. But he offered you this, so he must respect you an awful lot."

I don't know what to say, so I nod. She says, "He's looking for you. He said something about some artwork to show you. I told him I'd check, that I thought you were sleeping. What would you like me to tell him?"

She's protecting me from him. I don't really understand why. I don't even know her. A thought occurs to me and I blurt out, "You're trying to make sure that I don't burn out?"

She smiles like she's guilty and nods. "A girl's gotta make a living, Miss Lamore. And it's so much prettier out here than in Manhattan. No commuting. Can you imagine?"

I finally understand, "You'd be the assistant who stays out here, with me?"

She nods, smiling, hope flowing from her eyes. "That's the plan, Ma'am. So, what should I say?"

"Tell him I'll be right there. And Regina..."

"Yes?"

"Don't call me, Ma'am. I'm younger than you. And if you talk to me like I'm an old person, I'll truly lose my mind."

Cole downshifts the car and accelerates hard as we enter highway traffic. Narrow headlights shoot beams into the darkness as we navigate the back roads. The drive to civilization makes me uneasy. There is nothing around for miles. It looks like an alien abduction road. Cole's gaze keeps shifting to me, and makes me extra nervous. I can't tell what he is thinking. The sick part of my mind wonders if he is taking me into the strawberry fields to kill me. My pinky lifts for the door handle as we slow.

Shaking his head, he grins, "Dear God. Miss Lamore, just jump. If you really think I'm going to kill you, please jump now before I really do."

I scowl, "I'm not - "

"You are so. Your entire body is wound so tight that I could... well, never mind what I could do. I can tell you don't trust me." His voice is cold like I've offended him. After a moment he asks, "Do you care to tell me why? What have I done to warrant this reaction from you?"

Biting my bottom lip, I'm not sure if I want to answer. I'm still upset with him, but I find myself saying, "I don't really know you and I don't know where I am."