''Behave like you being there,''Sharon Ashwood thought to herself. ''Don't look suspicious. Don't be intimidated by the grandeur of the lobby. It is just a lobby. A lobby with a fountain in the middle. That is soo ridiculous. Why do they need a fountain—''
She suddenly realised that she had stopped her journey to the elevator and was frowning at said fountain. People were staring at and giving her a wide berth as they walked out of the condo. She felt embarrassment flush through her body and continued her way to the elevator. She slumped down when she was in the elevator and was alone.
'That went well,'she mumbled to herself. Why did her sister had to be a supermodel and married to the richest man in New York? ''Well richest and relatively young man,''she corrected herself. It would have been soo much better if she had married someone normal, middle class. At least they wouldn't have stayed in one of the best condos in New York.
Her sister, Amelia, and her had been simple girls, living in a small town in Georgia. Well, she was a simple girl. Amelia had always wanted to leave the town and explore the world. She had worked hard and with her dark hair, pale grey eyes, refined features and willowy body, she had gotten out through modelling. She had been lucky to be spotted by a big agency scout and had skyrocketed up to fame. Now, she was happily married to Scoot Garnet, one of the top and most successful businessman in the world.
Meanwhile, Sharon had stayed at their small town. She had gone to community college and graduated with an Accountancy degree. She had worked in the small town until something happened that she couldn't accept. She just had to leave, even for a little while.
She had called Amelia. Amelia had stayed In touch with her family, despite her fame. She had just wanted a list of recommended places to stay, places within her budget. She had not expected to be offered a place at Amelia's pent house. Technically, it was under Scott's name. She had tried to refuse but Amelia said that the both of them would be out of the country for a few months and would be more than happy to let her stay. So she had agreed.
Now she wished she hadn't. If the walk across the lobby hadn't stunned her enough, the pent house itself awed her stupid. It was huge and beautiful. The space was divided into four spaces:the kitchen, the living room, the dining room and the hallway leading to the bedrooms. The kitchen had an island and the deco was clean and sharp. All the utensils and cooking equipments were placed neatly on the counter and drawers. ''How do they do it?''she wondered to herself. She loved to cook but she couldn't clean for her life.
She moved to the living room next. The seats were placed strategically that anyone could converse and watch the TV comfortably. The rug was soo soft that her feet sunk into it. The color scheme was both warm and sophisticated.
She moved up to the bedroom, lugging her luggage along. She passed 3 rooms, briefly looking in. All were superbly designed and decorated. She didn't want to use use the master bedroom, so she chose one of the guest bedrooms and called Amelia.
'Hi Amelia,'she said cheerfully. 'I hope I'm not bothering you.'
'No, no. I hope you had gotten there alright?'she asked. Sharon answered yes and began to gush about the house. Amelia cut in while she was raving about about the kitchen. 'Good, good. Now, Sharon, I know you don't like it when people do something for you. You are terribly independent like that. But Scott has a position to offer you. Oh here he is now. I'll just pass you over to him.'
Sharon had tried to interject but Amelia had been talking too fast and now Scott was beginning to talk. Sharon didn't like to accept help. She didn't like to think that people had been inconvenienced so she was terribly independent. But she had her manners and listened to what Scott was going to say.
'Hey Sharon, how are you settling in? I hope everything is alright,' Scott said. Sharon made a noncommittal reply. 'Well let me cut to the chase. I currently have a junior accountant position in my office. I know from your sister that you were the top of your class in college and your previous workplace were more than happy with your work.' She was trying to figure out how to refuse this gracefully. At her silence, he chuckled wryly. I also know that you would not accept this immediately so I have arranged an interview with my senior accountant to review your suitability.'
'Won't he just accept me because I'm your sister—in—law?'she asked shyly. She wasn't close to Scott so she was hesitant in offering an argument or refusing his offer.
'Well, if you had accepted my offer outright, most would believe that. However, my senior accountant is an old curmudgeon. He won't hire you if he thought you couldn't do your job. So no, he won't hire you just because you're my sister—in—law,' Scott reassured.
She still had some reservations but she allowed Scott to schedule an interview with his senior accountant. She exchanged more pleasantries with Scott and Amelia, Amelia expressing her relief that Sharon was at least agreeing to an interview.
She settled into her room, unpacking the stuff that she would need for the interview and made a light dinner before heading to sleep.
In the middle of the night, she was awakened by someone sliding his waist around her hip and pulling her back to a hard body. ''Hmm, this was nice. A new man and a new place,''she thought to herself groggily. ''Wait, a man?''
She shot out of her reverie and pushed said man away. Or tried to.
