Page 4 of Skin
He takes one more step toward him and slips his finger under her chin, lifting it up so her dazzling eyes are looking right at him. My chest contracts and heat rushes through my veins.
“I’m leaving,” she says, shaking free of his touch and backing away. Her back hits the tall, dented metal locker behind her. She turns quickly, opening the locker, and takes out a duffel bag. “Can’t you see I’m just trying to get the hell out of here?”
“Oh, baby, Avery” the man croaks, “I’m afraid it won’t be that simple. You have a contract. The terms of which dictate that if you leave of your own volition or are terminated for any reason prior to the completion of one year of tenure, you will be liable for paying back your advance.”
She turns around slowly.
“Please,” she says. Her voice is small. It’s so small.
“What?”
He takes one more step toward her.
I’m happy she is speaking up for herself.
But now I can’t stand by any longer.
“Excuse me,” I say, my voice low and steady.
The man turns, his face contorted into a wicked expression. I’m thankful she isn’t seeing his face like that anymore. Ugly, angry. Her eyes shouldn’t see something like that.
Her thoughts shouldn’t be polluted by him.
“Hey, how the hell did you get back here?” he says, pushing his rimless glasses up his nose with his chubby index finger.
“Sorry, I guess I got lost. You should really have better security if you don’t want people back here.” I throw a thumb over my shoulder.
If he doesn’t want people back here, he reallyshouldhire security.
He sizes me up. His fucking tone changes.
“Sir, if you wouldn’t mind going back to the waiting area. One of our girls will be with you in just a moment.”
“I don’t want one of your girls,” I say. The beautiful brunette behind him perks up slightly, stands up a little bit taller. But her face doesn’t change. She is still like stone. Her lips are still turned down at the corners.
“How can we be of service, then?” he asks.
“Oh, you can certainly be of service. But I don’t want just any of your girls. I wanther.”
My eyes narrow on the girl.
“It’s Avery, right?”
She doesn’t belong here. I don’t know what the fuck she’s doing here. Clearly she doesn’t want to be here, because she just got herself fired, whether it was on purpose or not. Either way, she doesn’t belong to them anymore.
“Yes,” the man replies, his eyes flashing between us. “That’s Avery. She’s a very sweet girl. Beautiful, too. Just look at her. But you’d have to be beautiful to be a hostess here.”
“I thought you just fired her,” I challenge him.
“Oh, no.” He waves the air in front of his face with one hand.
“I don’t like being told I’m wrong,” I say, “especially when I know what I saw.”
The man chuckles nervously.
“I was just reminding Avery of the terms of her contract,” he says, voice shaking. His eyes shift left and right. He is looking at nothing and at everything all at once. A sheen of sweat begins to plump up along his hairline.
Avery looks at me silently. There’s that secret behind her eyes, still. If I could just unravel it...just find the edge of it and pull and make her come undone. Unwind her. Unravel her.
