CHAPTER SIX: A House Built On Power
1393 Words
The Laurent mansion was really scary when it was storming outside.
Rain was hitting the windows hard and thunder was making a lot of noise in the dark morning sky. People who worked there were running around in the hallways with trays and papers and flowers and expensive decorations. Security people were watching everything that was going on in the mansion.
Everything inside the mansion was very organized. People did what they were told.
The person in charge of all this was Richard Laurent. He was an important man. The Prime Minister of the United States. People looked up to him. He was one of the most powerful men in America.
Phyna had only seen him a times since she started working at the mansion.. When he was around everyone was quiet. Even rich people who owned companies were quiet around him.
Power was something that Richard Laurent had a lot of.
That morning, Clara, who was in charge of some of the workers told everyone that the Prime Minister was going to have some guests over that night. She said that all the rooms had to be perfect and that there could be no mistakes.
Everyone said yes away.
Then Clara told Phyna that she had to go and help with the cleaning. Phyna said okay. Started walking to the second floor with some clean sheets in her arms.
As she was walking she saw some pictures on the walls. They were pictures of Richard Laurent shaking hands with people from other countries.. One picture caught her eye.
It was a picture of Smith, Richard Laurents son. He was younger in the picture maybe twenty years old. He was standing next to his father. Wearing a suit.. Even in the picture he looked like he was not really happy.
Phyna looked at the picture for a second. Thought about what kind of life would make someone look so sad even when they were rich.
Then she heard a voice behind her say "be careful".
She turned around. Saw Smith standing there with a cup of coffee in his hand.
"You walk quietly " she said softly.
Smith smiled a little. Said "you were not paying attention".
Phyna looked back at the picture. Felt a little awkward. "I was just looking " she said.
Smith looked at the picture too. Then his face changed a little.
"That picture was taken after I got my award for business " he said.
"You do not look happy in it " Phyna said without thinking.
For a second nobody said anything.
Then Smith started laughing. "You are very observant " he said.
Phyna felt a little nervous. Said "I am sorry I did not mean to -".
Smith stopped her and said "no you were right".
He was being honest with her. That surprised her.
Rich people do not like it when the people who work for them talk about their feelings.
Smith was different.
He walked closer to the picture. Said "my father thinks that success is more important than how you feel".
Phyna looked at him quietly. Said "and you do not agree?".
Smith took a sip of his coffee. Said "I think that if all you care about is success you will end up empty inside".
What he said made her feel strange.
Because even though he was rich and wore suits he sounded really lonely.
Then they heard some footsteps coming from the stairs.
They both turned around. Saw Richard Laurent walking towards them with some security people and advisors.
The atmosphere changed away.
Richard Laurent had a lot of power. Everyone could feel it.
Phyna looked down. Moved out of the way.
Smith stood up straight. Said "good morning, Father".
Richard Laurent barely looked at him. Said "the people from London are coming tonight and I expect you to be ready".
Smith said "I am ready".
Richard Laurent said "good". Then he looked at Phyna.
His face did not show any feelings. Phyna felt uncomfortable anyway.
"Who is this?" he asked.
Smith said "she is one of the workers".
Richard Laurent. Said "it is very important to be efficient in this house. I do not like it when people are not paying attention".
Phyna said "yes sir" quietly.
For some reason what he said made her feel strange.
Richard Laurent looked at his son again. Said "I want to see you in my office in ten minutes".
Then he walked away with his advisors.
Soon as he was gone Phyna felt like she could breathe again.
"He is really scary " she said quietly.
Smith looked thoughtful. Said "most people are afraid of powerful people".
Phyna asked ". You?".
Smith paused for a second. Said "sometimes".
Phyna was surprised.
How could someone like Smith be afraid of anything?
He had money and influence and status.
His eyes still looked tired and sad.
Before she could say anything Clara called out for the workers to come and help.
Phyna said "I have to go" and started walking
Then Smith said "Phyna".
She turned around. He asked "did you used to smile a lot before things got tough?".
The question hit her hard.
For a second she remembered times with her mom and dad.
Then she remembered the bad things that happened and her face felt sad.
Phyna tried to smile. It was not a real smile. "I do not remember " she said.
Then she walked away before Smith could see the sadness on her face.
Inside Richard Laurents office the atmosphere was tense.
Richard was standing by the window reading some papers.
Smith came in quietly. Said "you wanted to see me?".
Richard put the papers down. Said "I heard about what happened last night".
Smith said "what are you talking about?".
Richard said "the businessman you embarrassed in front of everyone".
Smith said "he was not nice to one of the workers".
Richard turned around. Said "since when do you get involved with the workers?".
Smith said "there was nothing going on".
Richard looked at his son carefully. Said "I heard that you were paying a lot of attention to that girl".
The atmosphere got heavier.
Smith did not say anything.
Richard said "you are not a kid anymore. What you do has consequences".
Smith said "she just works here. That is all".
Richard stepped closer. Said "good. Because people like us cannot afford to get attached to someone who's not on our level".
Smiths jaw got tight.
Richard said "do not confuse being nice with being weak".
There was silence in the room.
Richard had spent a lot of time building his power. He did not want anything to mess it up.
His son dating someone who was not rich and important?
That was not okay.
Not because he did not like people.
Because the world was not always kind.
Powerful families had to be careful about who they associated with.
Love could make things complicated.
Richard looked at his son. Said "you are the future of this family. Do not forget that".
Then he told Smith to leave.
The conversation made Smith feel frustrated and trapped.
He felt like he was stuck with his fathers expectations.
Meanwhile Phyna was working in the library organizing the books.
The rain was still pouring outside. Some soft music was playing in the background.
She was thinking about what Smith had asked her
Did you used to smile a lot before things got tough?
Nobody had ever asked her something personal before.
Most people only cared about how she looked or what they could get from her.
Smith noticed how she felt.
That made him different.
As she was working one of the workers came up to her and said "you should be careful".
Phyna said "what do you mean?".
The woman looked around. Said quietly "rich men notice pretty girls quickly.. It does not usually end well".
Phyna felt a little scared.
The woman said "I know what I am talking about. It always starts like this".
After the woman left Phyna stood there for a second.
Maybe the woman was right.
Maybe she should stay away from Smith before things got complicated.
Because down she already knew something that scared her.
She liked being around Smith Laurent.
People like her could not afford to have feelings for someone, like him.
- Writer
