Hollow Hearts (The Harkwright Trilogy)

I lift my eyes up the rest of the way and my cheeks are warming profusely and I can barely catch my breath as my eyes connect with a pair of steel grey ones that are so dark it feels as though I’m staring into a mirror of my own soul. The smirk is well in place and I can feel my blush spreading down my neck and no doubt my chest is well on its way as well.

“See something you like Snow?” The cocky bastard asks and no doubt he can see the way my throat bobs as I swallow my nerves. I know he can see it as his eyes are fixated on my throat and he’s either watching the way it moves or fantasizing about strangling me.

“Sorry,” I

stutter on each letter as I force the word out and duck my eyes down before I bring my chin into my chest and fish my fake earphones out of my pocket and place them into my ears.

I don’t even have a device to play music on, but I’ve found this an effective way to get people to stop talking to me. I can feel his eyes burning holes into me but I won’t look up, I don’t need to draw anymore attention to myself. My hair, pale skin and eyes and then the boobs do that enough on their own.

“I know you’re pretending Snow, terrible manners if you ask me. Did your parents never teach you any manners? It’s only polite to join in when a conversation is started.”

I tighten my fist in my lap, not only because of his patronizing treatment but also the sound of his voice. It sounds as though he’s got the power to drug me with just his speech and my head feels a little woozy. This is crazy, who is this guy and how is he causing such a reaction in me? Although I guess I already know the answer, my self imposed sheltered lifestyle and the fact that I avoid most people like the plague unless I’m related to them or their surname is Stevenson. I can’t hold in the sigh that passes my lips at the thought of him and I only just manage to hold back the smile.

I don’t want sir stare-a-lot to think it’s for him, I really hope he gets off at the next stop. It will be just my luck if he’s here for the duration of my journey.

This town is crazy! Every street is in some way connected to Arthur Harkwright himself. Harkwright Street, Wright Avenue, they all have some resemblance. The fact that the Academy is in this town is not lost on me but I can’t even see it. The wall surrounding it is so tall and even the gaps in the electrified gate don’t reveal anything to me. It’s better if I don’t stay too long looking at this place, I have thirty minutes to get to the building where my fate is to be decided and I need to be early. She made that point perfectly clear.

There are boutiques, high-end restaurants and hotels, I can’t see anything here that could ever be within my price range, I knew he was pretentious, but it’s growing more and more obvious how much this man loves himself. Will all the men inside the Academy be like this? Is this what I have to look forward to if I get accepted? No, I don’t think I can do it, I just don’t.

A lady is leaving one of the stores, I clear my throat and her look is all kinds of haughty.

“Yes?” Her tone is rubbing me the wrong way and I still can’t meet her eyes, as mine dart to the side and I can’t stop myself from wringing my hands as I shuffle on the spot.

“Well, spit it out girl. I do not have all day.”

“I’m s-s-sorry, I was just wondering if you could tell m-m-me where the Harkwright offices are p-please?” I hate that I can’t get my sentence out without the stuttering.

Her sighs almost gut me, she’s going to walk away and not even answer and I won’t have a clue where to go.

“You poor kids really do not get much of an education do you? Look for the tallest building, you cannot miss it,” she looks me up and down before tutting and walking off.

Clearly she’s too good for contractions as well, stupid woman. Did she have to make me feel like such an idiot? I’ve had that my whole life, I don’t need it anymore. Although I can kind of see her point, raising my head and seeing the building looming over me with the Harkwright name lit up in bright, golden lights even though it’s morning and the sun is shining high in the sky.

The click clack of my heels is ringing in my ears as I walk down the sidewalk, I’m mere feet from the building and it’s even more imposing the closer I get. It has revolving doors and a marbled sidewalk leading up to them, like its very own permanent red carpet. Swallowing deeply, I place my palms on the chrome bar in the middle of the door and push my way into the building. Wow, this place is immense. It’s so tall I can’t even see the ceiling and there is layer after layer of balconies looking down upon us. This lobby itself is fit for a royal visit, I feel so out of place.

I approach the reception desk, which could sit ten of me around the curved marble and my heels are sounding even louder now.

The woman behind the desk has a cordless headset on her head and her nails are a bright red and filed into talons. She could probably scratch my eyes out with those things, if she was that way inclined. Her lips are as bright as her nails and her hair is pulled back into a fierce ponytail, I guess she is pretty but I just find her terrifyingly intimidating.

She arches a perfect brow but isn’t saying a word, am I supposed to say something or wait for her to say the first word? I am so out of my element.

“Are you sure you are in the right place?” Hello to you too, you snotty bitch.

“Yes, I am here to see Ms. Vanderbilt. I’m Luna Carter,” the amount of pauses I have to take between my words to ensure I don't stutter is ridiculous, but I’m still counting it as a win.

“I see, put this lanyard around your neck,” she’s throwing it at me, what have I done to piss her off? “You need the first elevator and to go to the thirty-eighth floor, she encompasses the entire floor so you can’t possibly get lost.”

She swivels her chair to the side, not inviting any further questions from me. If it’s at all possible, I think she became even frostier towards me once she knew who I was here to see. Better to be a riff raff than a visitor of Ms. Vanderbilt.

I walk away and enter the first elevator I see, it even has a bellman standing in place and ready to select my required floor. I mumble out the number and he gives me a grimace before pressing the button and staring straight ahead. My nerves are only growing worse with each second that passes, who the hell is this woman? Is she the reason I’m getting these reactions or is it because of the reason behind her job? Maybe I should run the other way while I still have a chance, but I can’t help but think that I’ve already crossed the point of no return.

“Good luck,” he whispers underneath his breath as the doors open with a loud resounding ping and I cross the threshold onto a floor that has no other color than white.

A white tarnished hardwood floor, joining up to white walls on one side and high windows on the other and a white marble desk sitting within the center of the floor with a glass walled room sitting behind it. I guess pretentious loves pretentious in this place, I exhale deeply before walking over to the desk and waiting for the receptionist to look up at me.

I have twenty minutes before my appointment time, so at least I cannot be accused of tardiness. That has to be one thing in my favor, at least I hope it is.

“Take a seat Miss Carter, you will be called in when she is ready for you,” the woman doesn’t even look up at me or finish typing away for a single second.