Читать книгу The Path to Yourself - - Страница 4

“Hi there. Starbucks at the Gallery, tomorrow 10 a.m. Does it work for you? Dina.”

Rose read the message again. Then again. And again. Restarted the phone, but the message was still there. She thumbed, her hands shaking:

“I am so pleased to get a message from you! Of course, I’ll come.” Erased.

“You must have called the wrong number.” Erased.

“I can’t, I have work to do.” Erased.

“Maybe later, in the evening?” Erased.

“Yes, it does!” Sent.

The next morning, Rose was fifteen minutes late. She walked sideways into the coffee shop, picking at a hangnail on her thumb.

“Are you always late?” Dina asked without greeting her.

“I’m not. I’m sorry, the taxi got stuck in traffic and then the engine gave out. And besides – » Rose said even though it was a lie. She was about to burst into tears.

“I got you a latte. It was a wild guess.” Dina smiled, scanning her.

“Thanks. I love lattes.” Rose sat down on the edge of the chair and grabbed the paper cup with both hands.

“I shall be honest with you. I’m looking for someone nice. Loyal. Smart. Hardworking. Someone with an eye for all these fashion trends. Someone who can tell Balmain from Bottega Venetta. And a couple more things. I want you to become my assistant.” Dina fell silent.

Rose did not say a word.

“The pay is decent, no worries. Business trips at my expense. Milan, Paris, Tokyo. We – I have customers from all over the world. Benefits. Nice working hours. What else do they usually have in the package?”

What is she doing? Is she talking me into working for her? Rose stirred the tepid coffee with a stick, too afraid to look up. What if she does, and Dina is not here?

“So, what do you think?”

“Are you serious?”

“About the hours? I definitely am! Why?”

“No, about me. Me, Rose. Do you want to hire me?”

“I do”. Dina looked at her intently, as if trying to read her thoughts. “You will love it. You’ll meet so many celebs. Come on!”

“I don’t know, this is so unexpected – ”

“Well?!”

“I’m… Alright.” Rose did not take her eyes off the coffee, almost drowning in it.

“That’s great! See you tomorrow.” Dina disappeared, leaving behind a fragrance trail and an empty cup.

That night, Rose wandered about the apartment, devouring everything she could get her hands on. Some cheese, cookies, jam, leftover pizza. There was a repeating loop of thoughts in her mind: She would be laughed at, frowned upon, talked about. Leaving a stable job for an Instagram girl’s assistant. Had she lost her mind? She kept making excuses, trying to please everyone who’d be in doubt. Rose finished the last éclair in the fridge and did what she knew best. She called in sick so as not to appear in the office for a week.

She got out of the smoky taxi cab and pressed the bell push. The heavy door immediately opened. Déjà vu. A marble table, fashion magazines, flower vase, light-colored walls with abstract paintings on them. Rose had seen it all hundreds, if not thousands of times on her phone’s screen. Dina recorded Instagram stories every day, in this very interior. A familiar voice came from the kitchen. The woman that voice belonged to was rebuking her housemaid for something. Then she quickly walked into the living room, sat opposite Rose, and opened her daily planner. Unknown places, people, names. There was a flood of information, and Rose struggled to keep up with it and to maintain her composure.

“Any questions?”

“Yes!”

But Dina didn’t listen to her. She silently disappeared with a heap of papers in her hands.

Rose tried to decipher what she had just written, but her eyes were blurred with tears. With her body shaking, she slid onto the floor. She lay curled up in the fetal position and wept, ignoring the terrified housemaid who was buzzing about her with a towel. Someone made her drink an entire teapot of some herbal infusion, sweet and lukewarm; it had a soporific effect. And then, there was finally silence.

“Still breathing?” A woman’s voice echoed throughout the room.

Rose looked up and met someone’s intent gaze.

“Where am I?”

“At work, as far as I understand.”

The blue eyes moved away, and Rose was able to make out a young girl with a full head of blonde hair.

“I’m so sorry. I – I didn’t mean to – ”

“I bet. No one would want to screw up on the first day.” The girl was looking directly in Rose’s eyes.

Rose shivered. She got up from the sofa and headed towards the door. On her way out, she saw her planner lying on the stranger’s lap. The girl held her hand possessively on the open pages.

“The restroom is on your left!” the blonde girl shouted after her.

“Oh no, I just – ”

“Wanted to leave?”

“No, why would I?”

“Umph – ”

“Could I?”

“You can do anything.”

“I’d just like some water.”

“Aunt Sally, bring some water!”

“Thank you.”

“It’s Monday.”

“Pardon?”

“There are tons of tasks on Monday. I can help you. If you want, of course.”

The girl handed the planner over to its rightful owner.

Rose nodded and sat back down.

They spent the whole day driving around various joints, markets, and shabby offices. The glamorous star turned out to be the owner of a cheap restaurant chain and commodity stores. Poverty-stricken parts of the city, back-breaking labor, and unpresentable public provided money for the beautiful life everyone saw on Instagram. Behind every Chanel bag or Celine dress there was day-to-day work with suppliers, staff, and consumers. Dina worked like crazy. With her sleeves rolled up high, she had her finger on the pulse of a huge enterprise.

What she showed on social networks was another part of her personality. This life consisted of five-star hotels and fancy boutiques, endless shopping, impressive parties with expensive champagne and beautiful people. There was no room for any flaws, sadness, or failure. The two parallel realities were completely separate and could never intersect, but they both had the same goal – money. Dina used every opportunity to increase her income, tirelessly adapting to the demands of the great Kingdom of Consumption. Ella – that was the blonde girl’s name – had once been a part of both worlds, a faithful assistant, a companion, but something forced her to leave and fall off the radar for a long time. Today she returned, albeit secretly. No questions asked, Rose followed the girl everywhere and tried to retain at least something in her memory.

“Do you need a ride?” Ella was scribbling in Rose’s planner, adding new tasks and crossing out what had already been done.

“It would be nice, thank you! And thanks for the help!”

“Get enough sleep. There’ll be even more to do tomorrow. I’ll pick you up at ten.”

“Even more? Is it always like this?”

“What the hell did you expect? An endless extravaganza? You’d better get used to it, sis.”

That last block before her house, Rose decided to go on foot. She was rehearsing her speech for Paul, counting the pros on her fingers, finding excuses for cons. The air in the corridor was close and heavy with the smell of pizza and beer. The sofa creaked – must’ve been an old spring – and then came a lazy shuffle of footsteps. It was approaching the deceptress who was ready to come clean.

“Where have you been?” Paul was holding an unfinished beer can.

“I’ve got a new job.” Rose didn’t look him in the eyes and refused to approach him, as if he was no husband of hers but a scalding hot pan.

“Are you kidding?”

“No. They pay almost twice as much.” Rose pulled out her trump card which was the only trump card up her sleeve so far.

“What’s the company? And position?” A shadow passed over Paul’s face.

“I’ll be an assistant to a famous blogger. Her name’s Dina. You’ve probably heard of her.”

Pause.

“Are you mad? Running errands for an Internet whore?”

“She’s not… She owns a restaurant chain and a chain of stores, she’s a serious businesswoman. This is a great opportunity!”

“Why on Earth do you need it?”

“I can travel with her – to Europe, or Japan, or the US, anywhere! There’s insurance, social benefits, overtime paycheck… Everything is paid for. We do need some money, after all. That’s why.”

“You’ve never even left the city, and now you want to see half the world at once! Isn’t it a bit too much? Besides, what kind of fool would pay for all this? She’s lying!”

“How can you be so sure?”

“It’s just too good to be true. She’s gonna kick you out or set you up. And in the office, they’ll quickly find a replacement. You will lose your job, mind you.”

“Dina is a business owner. You should see the scale! Why would she want to set me up?”

“Why? Because there are no miracles! One cannot just get paid handsomely for nothing!”

For the second time that day, Rose cried on the cold bathroom floor. Alone, without any support or a cup of warm tea. Her inner voice got louder and louder until, by midnight, it burst into a scream. Torn into a thousand pieces, she made a choice.