ELARA~
Isla didn't say much of anything the next day, she just came asked about Angela then added as usual 'if you're not ready to talk about her, it's fine' . Then put on her headphones and threw herself into her iPad like I was nonexistent.
Was I really not worth talking to. This woman really just treated me like a job.
And I lowkey began to miss Chris. He always engaged me in conversations, he knew every of my songs and could sing them lyric to lyric and he didn't, treat me like an after thought.
I glanced at her, she didn't look like she knew any of my songs. She didn't even know I had asthma. I walked toward the center table in the living room.
I picked up my novel, the one I had completed three times already and crashed into the couch.
I didn't want to talk about Angela, didn't want to think about why Chris had such videos of she and I, talkless of posting them.
What really was his gain? But here I was being questioned about it everyday. And I hated I broke into tears every time I tried talking about it. Either to my reflection in the mirror or even to IL
"I really am a mess" I looked at Isla again and sat up. Well not today.
"Hey!" I called out. She looked at me and I gestured she lowered the headphones.
"I have a meeting in five" she said immediately. Her voice cutting me so off guard. Like I said, I was never getting use to that masterpiece she was gifted with.
"Yeah, you always do" I replied after regaining my composure.
"You sound, angry"
"I am angry" I answered.
"And what exactly is making you angry?"
"You"
"Me?"
"That shitty stuff you always have in your ear"
"I just don't want to disturb you"
"I don't mind, I'm doing nothing as you can see too"
She dropped her things on the table and sat crossed leg with folded hands.
Not long after her iPad began to ring and she let it while looking intently at me.
"Aren't you... getting that?" I asked barely audible.
"No, you seem bored and so you have my full attention now"
"You're making me look-"
"Attention seeking?" She cut in "Yeah even you would have that syndrome. Everyone does in this country"
Who the freaking hell spoke to their client that way?. There was no denying it too. She hated me.
I got up. "You can leave, the longer I look at you the more pissed I get" I lied.
"Why? Didn't you want to play a game? Maybe rock, paper, scissors?"
"Funny"
"You think?"
I looked at her still sitting in that damn fucking position. This woman was gas lighting me.
"I'm sorry" I apologized anyway.
"For what?" Her brow rose slightly.
"Seeking your attention". It was a flicker but I caught sight of it. Her lips culred up into what I'd usually call a smile. But no, she wasn't capable of pulling such.
Not with how skeptical she was.
" What did you do in your spare time before" she asked suddenly.
"Uhmmm..." My mind went blank. How didn't I know what I did in my free time?, Did I ever have free time to begin with?
"So you were an overworked monkey"
"Don't you fucking call me that" I sat back down "I did have free time"
"So what's keeping you from answering?"
"I was thinking"
"Thinking if you had free time?"
"Can you like shut up for two seconds" she was beginning to agitate me. She rose up both her hands and leaned in on the chair.
"I did write songs, photo shoots, charity events, spa... I-" I trailed off. I only ever worked and I hadn't noticed myself.
"So typically you haven't been this less engaged in years"
"You're just the boring one here"
She scoffed "If my act of self privacy bores you then that's fine" she stood up and picked up her car keys.
"Are you, leaving?" I asked without thinking and regretted immediately.
"You don't want me to?" She smirked and a weird sensation ran through me"
"I'm not leaving," she added almost immediately, twirling the keys once before catching them. "You're coming with me."
I blinked. "What?"
"You said I was boring." She tilted her head slightly. "Let's test that theory."
I stared at her. Was she serious?
"You want to take me out?" I asked, slower this time, like saying it differently would make it sound less ridiculous.
"Don't flatter yourself. I'm taking you somewhere controlled"
"Controlled?"
"Yes. As in, you won't get mobbed, attacked, or turned into trending topic number one before sunset."
"Wow. How reassuring."
She ignored that, already walking toward the door.
"Five minutes," she added. "Wear something that doesn't scream 'international scandal.'" The door opened and she was out before I could make out any other words.
The door shut behind her and I stared at it for a full three seconds.
"She's insane." I told myself before going up to change.
Five minutes turned into ten.
Not because I couldn't dress, but because I didn't know what wouldn't make me look like an 'international scandal'. I heaved a sigh.
Everything I owned either looked like, a performance, statement or money. Nothing looked… normal.
I settled for something simple. Baggy Jeans, a crop top and minimal makeup.
I looked at my reflection. I didn't look like Lara J,I looked like… someone else and I wasn't sure if I liked that.
When I stepped outside, she was already in the car. Engine running.
I got in, shutting the door harder than necessary. She glanced at me.
"You're late."
"It's been eight minutes"
"Ten"
"Are you timing me?"
"I time everything"
"That's very disturbing"
She pulled out without another word.
The drive was quiet.
I shifted slightly in my seat, glancing at her from the corner of my eye. It annoyed me that she looked relaxed.
She had one hand on the wheel, while the other rested by the window. Like she didn't have a scandal, a lawsuit, and a collapsing career sitting in the passenger seat.
"Where are we going?" I finally asked.
"You'll see"
"I hate surprises"
She didn't say a word to me and just kept on driving. She made too many turns that I began to freak out and then we were on a road where I only saw a car once in three minutes.
"Are you planning on selling me?" I asked. I had to. She didn't respond immediately and that made me start thinking about my options.
"Please" she finally said, breaking the silence. "What do I look like to you?."
"A freaking kidnapper at the moment"
"If I wanted to sell you, it sure wouldn't be this dramatic."
Through out the rest of the ride, I stayed quiet with cross fingers that whatever surprise she had planned didn't include me dying or sold off.
To my greatest surprise she drove into the airport. Not only was I surprised but shocked. Deep down somewhere in my mind, I knew the route was familiar, but, why though?.
She looked at me as I finally relaxed a bit and shook her head. She kept on driving and she didn't stop until we stopped at a private hanger.
She stepped out of the car and I stayed in for a second or two before stepping out.
"Why are we at an airport?"
She didn't answer again, she didn't even spare me a glance. Then a low hum cut through the silence and I followed her line of sight and froze.
A jet. She can't be serious.
"I'm in the middle of a scandal and here you are trying to create a bigger one" I said, loud enough that I was sure she heard me.
But she didn't stop walking. She got into the jet and I followed after her.
This was a bad idea. Besides who was sponsoring this madness.
"Calm down Elara, she's your manager, your new manager." Na... that only made things worse. She was new, I knew nothing about her except for she was hard to look away from and had a really annoying character.
As I got in, I watched her put on her seat belt, without a care in the world of how I felt about this.
The door closed behind me and I took my seat directly opposite hers.
Reminding my self that I was in a private jet, with a stranger - my manager - going to a place I didn't know.
Can this year get any better?