Stay away

"June, there's someone here to see you." Haru, my manager popped his head in through the door of the dressing room to tell me. I had just finished my shift for that evening, and I was in the dressing room with my colleagues, changing into my clothes and getting ready to leave.

"Who is that?" I asked him just he began to leave.

"I don't know." Haru shrugged. "Just some strange guy in expensive suit and dark shades. He looks like one of those bouncers that accompany celebrities and VIPs."

"A bouncer?" I muttered.

"He must be from Daren." Sandra, my friend and colleague teased me. "Remember the last time he surprised you on your birthday? He sent a man in suit too, to surprise you with loads of expensive gifts!" She said.

"I still think about that day all the time." Lyn, another of my colleague and friend who was also in the room, chirped in. "I wonder how you got so lucky! I have been working at these tables for years, and I never met anyone reasonable. But you, in less than a year, you already got yourself a big catch! Girl, tell me how you did it!" She teased me too.

"Look at her Lyn, look at her! It's called beauty privilege!" Sandra said, flexing her hands all over my face and body.

"Girls, we don't even know for sure if Daren is really some big deal, do we?" I said to them, blushing with embarrassment.

"You can't tell me nothing! June, I checked out the price of every piece of gift item he bought you online! They were no joke! And what's more? He treated you to dinner, an exclusive dinner, at one of the biggest restaurants in the city! Girl, if you don't see it, I'll tell you! You struck gold there, and I'm jealous!" Sandra said, and we all giggled.

"If only you could stop being so modest and enjoy his generosity a little more!" Lyn said.

"Oh no, she likes acting like a saint." Sandra said to her, rolling her eyes at me.

"Well, we only just started dating. We've been dating for just two months, and if I start demanding so much, he would think I am a gold digger. I don't want him to see me like that." I said.

"Girl, you are a gold digger! You better be! If you find a gold mine, dig while you can!" Sandra hollered. "Wait, what did you think? Did you think he would stay with you forever? Or get married to you? You think this is some true love shit? Look, the young man is only here for a while, and while he is here, you better get all you can!" She said, while Lyn cheered her on.

"We're not even sure the messenger is from Daren yet." I said, laughing. "It could be someone from a big modeling agency, here to offer me a good deal. Everything happening in my life right now doesn't have to be all about Daren."

"If the man downstairs is from a modeling agency, then Daren pulled the strings! Either way, it's all about Daren in the end. You can't tell me nothing!" Sandra insisted.

"I specifically told him not to do that. He offered to pull strings for me and I made him promise not to ever intervene in my work. Whatever I get in my career, I want to get it because I deserved it and worked hard for it, and not just because someone made one or two calls." I said.

"Well, that's because you are a very dumb person, who believes that hard work pays more than connection! You'll never make it in the modeling world or anywhere else for the matter, with that kind of mentality." Sandra grilled me, while Lyn laughed, hugging me from behind for emotional support. I put my hand to my chest, feigning hurt. Then I picked up my handbag and began to leave.

"You know what, I'll just go." I said, putting my hands up. "Someone's waiting for me."

"No, don't go anywhere! Comeback here let me school you on how to use opportunities properly! I think you missed that class!" Sandra said, reaching out to hold me, but I escaped her grasp and ran for the door.

"Let me go! You girls are a bad influence on me." I said, laughing as I escaped through the door, while my friends kept teasing me.

I kept grinning as I made my way down to the lobby. My friends had been like that ever since they found out that Daren, my new boyfriend might be a very wealthy man. Even I had only just realized that too. When I first met Daren, I didn't know much about him. According to him, he had been smitten by me from the very first sight, and he did all he could to woo me right from that moment. I had tried to resist Daren's cuteness and charms for a while, but then I couldn't help but fall for him. But then, I didn't know how wealthy he was, not until my birthday a few weeks ago, when he treated me to expensive gifts and dinner. I still didn't know how wealthy he was, and I couldn't ask him. For some reason, he was being secretive about certain information about himself, like his family and what business he was into. But my friends were sure that he was either a millionaire or at least, from a very wealthy family.

I liked Daren a lot, but the fact that he was still being secretive about himself made me weary. I hoped that one day he would trust me enough to tell me more about himself.

When I reached the lobby, I found the man in a black suit and dark shades still waiting. Haru had been right about him, he did look like a bouncer or some celebrity bodyguard, as he stood there by the door, still as a statue, glancing into the space in front of him. As I approached him, I noticed that he was not the same man that had brought me those gifts on my birthday. It was either Daren had sent a different man this time around, or this man wasn't from Daren at all. If he wasn't from Daren, then who could he be? I wondered.

The man finally moved when I walked up to him.

"Miss Daniels?" He asked me, addressing me by my last name. I was startled. He sounded very formal and official, and for a moment, my heart began to race as hope surged through me at the thought that my passing guess earlier on, might have been correct. My guess that the man might be from a modeling agency who was interested in me, and not from Daren.

"Yes sir. I am Miss Daniels, June Daniels." I replied eagerly, my eyes bulging out hopefully as my heart began to race even more.

"My boss would like to speak with you." The man said, gesturing outside. I looked out through the glass doors, and I saw two expensive looking black cars with tinted glasses, waiting by the road. "If you don't mind." The man added.

I hesitated for a moment. The sight of the cars had incited some fear in me. What if this man was a dangerous person who wanted to harm me? After all, I didn't know him. He was a complete stranger. I instinctively stepped back, and I guess he noticed my fear, because just then, he flashed me a warm reassuring smile.

"Oh, you don't have to worry. We won't hurt you." He said gently. His smile looked genuine enough, but I still couldn't trust him.

"What is this about?" I asked. "Is this about work? Let me see your ID card." I demanded. The man smiled again as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his ID. He flashed it at me and I read through. He was a chief security at Rockshire Incorporated. Rockshire Inc.? My eyes quickly went up to his face. That was one of the biggest company in the city, one of the top in all the state.

"You work with Rockshire?" I asked, my eyes widening.

"My boss is the president of Rockshire Inc." He answered, and I quickly put my hand over my mouth to stifle a gasp. I looked outside again at the cars. The president of Rockshire Inc. was sitting there waiting for me? And I had kept her waiting for so long? I must have been out of my mind!

"Please, lead the way." I quickly said to the man, and he nodded as he began to lead the way.

When we got to the car, the man held the door to the passenger seat open for me. I hesitated for a moment. I was so nervous and my hands became sweaty inside. The man nodded gently, urging me to go on. I heaved a big sigh and wiped my palms against my dress before I entered the car. The man entered the drivers seat and began to drive.

The moment I stepped into the car, a rich scent of expensive flowery perfume engulfed me, filling my nostrils. It smelt like roses and it was so soothing, I had to breath in to take more in. The back of the car was very spacious, and the partition that separated the drivers unit from the back seat was rolled up. The car was dimly lit, but I managed to clearly make out the figure of the woman sitting across from me. There was enough space between us to take in two more people my size. She didn't even turn around to acknowledge my presence, she just sat there, sipping wine out of a wine glass.

She was dressed in a long black dress, with a furry white shawl thrown over her shoulders and arms. She also had on gloves, which made me wonder if she had just returned from a party or if she was heading to one. Her black hair looked simple, but expensively done, neatly tucked in a tight bun. Everything about her screamed class and wealth and money. Her jewelries, the rings on her fingers, her silver heeled sandals. She looked so expensive.

She finally turned in my direction. She looked like she was in her late forties, but she still looked so elegant and beautiful. I smiled nervously, but when she did not smile back, my smile quickly dissipated. Her solid blue eyes stared at me coldly, and I wondered if and why she was being so antagonistic towards me even though we had never met before. I became even more nervous.

"You are the June?" She said, looking me up and down. I nodded nervously, not sure why she was asking. "You are a pretty little thing. It's no wonder why." She said, her dark red lipstick coated lips curled up in a malicious smirk, and she sluggishly sipped from her wine glass. I was confused at this point.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but I don't understand." I said.

"You are my son's ideal type. Girls like you with a pretty face and a fine body, your type has always been his choice of playthings for the longest time." She said. "But what I am trying to understand is what you did to him to make him think that he is ready to settle down this time. Why does he want to marry you so badly? Did you get so greedy, having his gifts and money wasn't enough for you, you wanted more, so you decided to sink your fangs in a little deeper and stay on a little longer? What's the grand plan? Did you convince him to marry you without a prenup so that after a few years, you can get a divorce and get the divorce benefits? Is that how you plan to get rich?..."

"Wait! Wait, wait! Slow down." I cried, interrupting her. Her words were sending me spinning into confusion. I didn't understand a single thing she was saying. "I'm sorry ma'am, but I think you got me confused. I don't know your son, I have never met him! I'm not even engaged to anybody at the moment, so I have no idea what you are saying about marriage or divorce." I said.

"Don't play dumb with me!" The woman snapped at me. "I have had you two followed for a while now. I have images of you and Daren together, so don't even try to play dumb with me."

"Daren?" I gasped. This woman was talking about Daren? No way! Daren was a Rockshire? The only son of Dylan Rockshire? No way! I had been dating the heir of Rockshire Inc. for two months now, and I didn't even know?

"But wait, that's not right. Daren and I have only been dating for two months now. We have no plans of getting married or anything. We've only been dating..." I stuttered.

"Tell that lie to someone who will believe you. I have proof of Daren purchasing an engagement ring and wedding rings. He's been browsing wedding locations and honeymoon sites, and he's been contacting event planners recently." The woman said to me.

"It's not me! If Daren is planning a marriage, I swear it is not with me!" I swore desperately. The woman scoffed.

"I told you, save your lies for someone who would believe them. Did you think I would come here if I didn't have my facts right?" She asked, her blue eyes looked cold and dangerous as she glared at me.

"Ma'am, I promise, you are mistaken..." I began to say.

"Shut up!" She howled at me, and I was startled into silence. "I asked Daren myself. I asked him and he told me he was going to marry you. You, June Daniels!" She said.

For a very long moment, I remained quiet, staring into her cold blue eyes, which had suddenly filled up with rage and an inexplicable hate. I didn't know what to say or do. The whole thing wasn't making any sense to me. Daren and I had never discussed marriage, except for one time when we had joked about it. He had playfully asked me if I would marry him if he were to propose to me, and I had told him that if he convinced me enough, I might. I had thought he was joking, because there was no way that I could have guessed he was serious when we had only been dating for two months.

"He thinks you are different from all the other girls he has met, but I know your kind. I know who you are." Daren's mother began to speak again. "You are an opportunist with fine skills. You've learned your art well and you've mastered the act of getting men hooked, slowly but surely. And you've used that skill of yours on my naive son. He is naturally dumb, so he is an easy catch for your kind. You've sank your fangs deep into him, and now he's hooked, obsessed."

"Pardon?" I said, appalled at the amount of bile and disgust I could hear in her voice.

"But you are a peculiar one though." She continued, ignoring me. "I thought your kind usually go for older men. Men who already have families? Or did you have a bigger plan? Wait, did you plan on staying with Daren forever? Since you know he is the sole heir of Rockshire, you decided to remain by his side? Being the wife of a billionaire, is that the big dream?" She asked, smirking wickedly. "Well, let me inform you, I won't sit still and let you play with my son!" She stamped out.

I felt rage boiling up from the depth of me, I was so furious that I felt like I was going to throw up at any moment.

"Please, stop the car here, pull over!" I cried.

"What? Do you feel uncomfortable now that you've seen that I know all about your dirty little plans? Does the truth make you nervous?" She asked me.

"Stop the car now! I will not sit here and have you keep insulting me like this! Let me off here, now!" I cried.

"You really have no shame. With the truth glaring you in the face, I thought you would be more remorseful and regretful or apologetic at least. But look at you, raising your voice at me! You really are a shameless gold digger, with no conscience." Daren's mom said to me.

"I said stop the car, now!" I cried, banging at the partition that separated the drivers unit from the back seat. Just then, the car slowed down and pulled to a stop. Daren's mom scoffed as she watched me struggling to open the door.

"I'm just going to tell you this once." She said, leaning close to me across the space between us. "Stay away from Daren! If I ever have to visit you about this again, I swear, I will make your life a living hell."

The door of the car opened up and I quickly jumped out, and then they drove off. I looked around and realized that they had dropped me off in front of my apartment building, but I stood there, my head spinning in circles. I couldn't bring myself to move. I just stood there, gasping for air, like a fish out of water.