An American Cinderella

Gus nodded and pulled it out from under his desk. I had a feeling that he would have lent me his uniform if it meant getting Audrey out of his building faster.

I took the umbrella and went to the door. I held the heavy wooden door open for Audrey and she waltzed out, all smiles. The rain poured down and she took my umbrella as her own.

I sighed and stepped out into the rain. I would just deal with being wet since apparently Audrey didn’t bring her own damn umbrella.

Other than Henry’s flowers, this day was rather sucking. How was it that he kept being the bright spot in my world without even trying?

Chapter 10

Audrey walked in a stately manner to the coffee shop with my umbrella while I ran ahead. I knew she wouldn’t share with me, and I didn’t really want to be that close to her anyway. She took her sweet time, knowing that every moment she kept me out of the office was a moment that I could get in trouble for.

She really was a sweet woman.

I waited for her in the shop feeling like a hunted animal. I wished I had something on her. Something that I could use to free myself. An idea came to me. One that I should have thought of from the beginning, especially considering I worked in politics.

She was still halfway down the sidewalk as I downloaded a recording app. It would record all sounds once I turned it on, but would look like a calculator app if anyone checked my phone. I knew that DC law allowed single-party consent for recording, so I could legally record without her permission.

It wasn’t much, but it at least felt like I was fighting back. I hit start on the app and held my phone in my hand.

Finally, she walked into the coffee shop and handed me the umbrella like I was her servant.

“What do you want?” I asked, shivering slightly. My shirt and hair were all wet and it was cold.

“Coffee,” Audrey replied. She moved to stand at the end of the coffee line. There were at least six people in front of her. I wanted to push them all out of the way. This was going to take forever.

I joined her in the line. “Can we discuss this while you wait for your coffee?”

“No.” She smiled and turned back to waiting in the line. She clasped her hands demurely in front of her as she waited politely with all the time in the world.

I, on the other hand, was about ready to scream. I was already behind on my work. Work that she wanted. I took a deep breath, willing myself to stay calm. This was what she wanted. She wanted me angry and upset because it would be easier to manipulate me if I wasn’t thinking clearly.

But knowing that I should calm down was easier than doing so.

I counted in my head by sevens as we waited in line. It kept my brain occupied on something other than my stepmother. I had a harder time after 77, which was good because the line barely seemed to move. I kept glancing at my watch and seeing the minutes pass by.

Finally, Audrey had her extra large, non-fat, three pumps sugar-free vanilla soy latte with extra foam.

“Oh dear,” Audrey said, putting her hand to her forehead. “I’ve forgotten my purse in the car. Aria, will you be a dear?”

I took a deep breath and handed the barista my credit card. I just wanted this meeting to be over.

“Now can you tell me what you want?” I asked, as we found a small unoccupied booth. The rain was still coming down in sheets outside, muffling the sounds of our conversation. If I were with anyone else it would have felt peaceful. With Audrey, it felt like gloomy hell.

“Of course, dear. Time is of the essence,” Audrey said with a smile, like it was my idea to wait in line for coffee.

She took a deep sip of her coffee. I waited.

“So, Anastasia has some research due,” Audrey began. “I told her she should at least attempt to get it started, but she’s young and impulsive. And of course we both knew that you’d do a better job of it anyway.”

She’s older than me by two years, I thought to myself.

“Anyway, the senator wants it by tomorrow evening,” Audrey continued. She pulled out her phone and tapped a couple of things. “There. I’ve emailed you the specifics.”

I carefully opened my emails and found hers. My eyes widened as I read what Anastasia had put off until the last minute.

“This is over a week’s worth of work that you want me to pull off in twenty-four hours,” I told her. “There’s no way I can get this done. If you had come to me when she first got it, maybe...”