Line between Love

With a flick of her waist, Juliette straightened the tablecloth one last time. She took a step to observe the entire hall and then the smart bracelet—Galaxia Bracelet Lite(GBL1) on her wrist; it was the oldest model ever released and was unfashionable—it was her brother's, who let her borrow it for her big day. Juliette thought to herself. This was the turning point in her career—her entire life, she would rather not mess it up, or it was the end as she might never have a job anywhere else again. ‘Come on Juliette, no time to start mobbing’ she told herself as she straightened her black pants and adjusted her off-white sleeve. She tried to arrange the workers in a straight queue down the hall—the cream and brown checked waxed floor squeaked under her feet as she ran down the hall to ensure everyone was in order. “Excuse me Manager—” “Mama Chou, please just call me Juliette” the girl replied to the elderly woman who was wearing a white apron and holding two metal spoons. “Rhodium or Platinum?” the woman asked as she heard both spoons. Juliette was just about to reply—from the corner of her eye she could see the large brown wooden door swing open. A girl with a charcoal metallic hair color walked in. Her wide plain eyes squirted and from the end of the hall back to the workers standing close to the wall. Juliette could tell she was observing everything, looking for any errors. She took off her coat to reveal a pair of white office sleeves and brown printed skirts with matching brown leather four-inch heels— Rhoades Astor. Juliette didn't need anybody to make any introduction to know that she was the boss, the quality of her clothing alone was enough. Not like what she was wearing had any large logo design, but Juliette was well updated to know that her shirt was the customized Gucio Fendie limited edition. Soon a muscular man skipped into the room panting, he cleared his throat before standing beside her. “You are welcome, ma”-the gray-haired girl—Juliette said. Rhoades didn't reply but continued to look around the room as her eyes seemed unfocused and, with no emotion on her face—soon she settled her gaze on the waxed floor. Juliette knew for certain that people like Rhoades were the most dangerous, people who you couldn't guess what they were thinking, cold and unreadable. “James”—She turned to the muscular man—“what is this?”. James looked at her confused, then followed her finger that was pointing at the floor. Rhoades sighed. “The floor” he replied, “What is our brand color again?” she asked as she turned to the line of workers who were too afraid to look at her in the eye. Before anybody could answer, Juliette's head was running at full throttle—her mind was in shambles. What was wrong? What happened to the floor? Was it her hair? It took all her willpower not to run out of the building screaming, then it clicked—sadly not just for her but for James as well as, he walked close to her and whispered something inaudible. Juliette's heart was pounding like it wanted to run away, her stomach clenched, and her head was spinning, she wanted to throw up—no, she was having a panic attack. “Who is in charge?” Rhoades asked as she turned to the crowd of workers standing in front of her but was already looking at Juliette. “I am” Juliette replied as she clenched the brown book pad against her chest, “What's your name?” She asked, looking at the girl. “Juliette”, The girl replied, bowing her head. “Okay, everybody wave at Juliette as she takes her leave”, She replied, smiling coldly. “What? No, please, I can fix it” Juliette begged. “Too late, next time do it right or don't do it at all” she replied as she gestured to the security to take her out. “Fix this before the weekend” she said to James and walked past him down the hall. James nodded and watched her walk away, even if he wanted to complain that interior design wasn't part of his job—he better than to voice his complaints. To anybody, Rhoades was a monster, a spoiled child that should have no business walking round making such decisions that ruined people like but to her, that was a typical day in her life. She didn't have the time or afford the luxury to pity people, Rhoades was ruthless—exactly what she needed to run theAstor foods industry. She was obsessed with perfection, and she would do anything to ensure that she got on top, and she proved this when she returned from Verneville three years ago and took over the food industry in two years. After spending the next few hours inspecting the new branch restaurant, Rhoades decided to leave as she had a meeting in a few hours. James had no plan of getting her out of his sight as Rhoades had a knack for disappearing from him—she got to her pink customized Bavarian Huracán—twin turbo, turned to him and flashed him a genuine smile—one that only people close to her like her parents, her close friends and him happen to know that she had. “You know you don't have to follow me everywhere, right” She said, smiling. James swallowed hard, he had been her bodyguard, manager, and friend since she was born—he could proudly have said that he was the only one able to keep her and her rough attitude in check. “I need you to do something for me Jamey dear” She said, smiling. “What's that?” James asked. “Help me grab my bag from inside, I forgot it” She answered. Both of them heard eye contact for a while before James nodded, heading back. He was already a few meters away when he suddenly remembered that she never carried a bag. As he turned to her, he heard her engine roar as she sped through the driveway into the main road as she smiled and waved at him before turning a corner. “Madam won’t be happy, that brat. I will deal with her later” James said as he took out his phone to make a call. He wiped the sweat from his face—wait it wasn't sweat as he looked up at the dark sky as the rain began to pour. ⸙⸙ “I hate fancy cars” Rhoades called out as she closed the trunk. Her car broke down on the highway, and she tried calling for help, but the signal had been interrupted by the heavy downpour. She tried to see if it was something she could fix the car, but she only got drenched by the rain as she couldn't get the car to start. Soon, she gave up as she tried to stop any vehicle that would care to stop. But surprisingly none did, as the rain had washed her make-up, making her look like a lunatic. She was getting frustrated, but she was taught to keep her composure at all time. Her eyes lit up as she saw her company delivery trunk coming from afar as she waved furiously at it to stop, it moved past her as disappointment appeared on her face, only for the trunk to park a few meters away from her. A young handsome man came down carrying an umbrella as he walked to her, covering her. “Hello there” he said, smiling. She nodded as he walked her to the truck, helping her to the passenger seat. Soon they were on the road. She shivered from the cold as she tossed her a black jacket and sweatpants. “Change in the back” he said, still smiling. “No, thank you” She said, looking at the clothes with disgust. “Okay, freeze to death them” he replied as he turned his focus to the road. She could feel her ribs burn up from the cold as she eyed the clothes before moving to the back to change. “You better not watch” She said as she disappeared, to the back. “Trust me ma, there isn't much to see, besides, if I did, we would both die”, he replied. “What do you mean nothing to see?” she asked angrily. “Hey, look, you are beautiful, but you are not just my type” he replied in soft laughter. Her face reddened from anger as she threw her shoe at him. He ducked as it flew outside the window. “I like my woman with a little flesh on her bones” he added, pulling the rear mirror to see her just in time as she slipped her skirt off to reveal a pair of black underwear. He coughed before lifting the mirror.